Back to the subject of extraordinarily high Hawaii hotel prices, there’s a new Kauai hotel reopening, the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay. It’s the latest Starwood hotel reprise of what we’ll always think of as the Princeville Resort. In its last iteration, it was known as the St. Regis Princeville Resort. We’ve recently seen a great deal of promotion for the new hotel and looked into it a bit further. When it opens, we’ll also provide some on-the-ground feedback.
The 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay will have 252 rooms, of which 51 are suites. The website says that “Thoughtful touches will bring nature into each space, with native greenery, reclaimed materials, organic cotton linens, and views of lush gardens, soaring mountains, or sparkling Hanalei Bay.”
Set apart by its iconic Bali Hai view.
The hotel features an iconic Bali Hai view that knocks you off your feet when you first walk into the lobby. It is that magnificent.
The resort was bought in 2018 by Starwood Capital Group and was destined to be one of its 1 Hotels and Resorts brand. It will finally be opening in the next few months and they are taking “discounted” opening special reservations starting February 1.
Fresh off a $250M renovation.
The 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay has had a significant makeover, for which it has been closed for more than two years. The last time it saw any real redo was in 2009, when about $100M was spent and the hotel was closed for about a year. This time, the resort shuttered conveniently in May 2020, right as Covid shut down Kauai.
The resort has always been a special place for its Makana Terrace dining with unequaled views. The food was never very good, frankly, and hopefully, that too will change with this latest iteration.
Mildew has also plagued the property since it was built. Because of its location, the resort needs to remain largely air conditioned 24/7 in order to help prevent the return of mildew which was hard to avoid or remediate, and unpleasant to experience.
Best rates at 1 Hotel Hanalei range from $8,000 to $77,000 per week.
A variety of room categories are available with some geared towards, well, the more reasonable. A mountain view king room, for example, will set you back just $6,406, for a 7-night stay, which with resort fees and taxes comes to $8,011.
Heading up towards the higher end of extreme prices, a large oceanfront loft suite, for two guests, will cost $48K plus resort fees and taxes for the week, which comes to a total of just over $57K. But it still goes up from there, if you’re willing.
Keep in mind that the above rates are the cheapest we found on their website. These rates are “fully pre-paid and non-refundable.” There are somewhat higher “pay later” rates which let you cancel up to 14-days prior to arrival.
The only rooms with a lanai are marked as “terrace.”
Sadly, as has always been the case, only a small number of rooms at the hotel have a lanai. Otherwise, you’ll be enjoying the beautiful views strictly through your room’s large windows. If you want a lanai, be sure to check for the room categories that have the word terrace in the title.
Gorgeous views but not much beach to speak of.
The hotel has a small strip of mostly rocky beach which is also used by the nearby Hanalei Bay Resort. To enjoy the beach magic associated with the new hotel’s name, it is about a 15-minute drive to arrive at iconic Hanalei Bay, which sits just across the Hanalei River but is otherwise inaccessible. Most visitors will opt for that choice.
The $250M makeover.
The resort said, “Every corner of this irreplaceable property is being reimagined — the results will boast 252 transformed rooms and suites; a 7,900-square-foot wellness center; renovated pools, including the addition of a new adult pool with sweeping tropical views; and an 18,000-square-foot spa and fitness center.”
Retreat accommodations are also planned in association with the hotel’s wellness concept. That includes sage-burning, special lighting, and sleep tracking too. Look for personalized nutrition and exercise programs as well as restorative therapies for wellness.
Reservations are being taken now for arrival dates starting in February. The resort was bought in 2018 by Starwood Capital Group when it became part of its 1 Hotels and Resorts brand.
Do you plan to stay at 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay and be what’s your take on their opening prices?
Have you done an update on this resort since it opened? I’d love to hear a solid review on it since your article stated that when it opens you’ll provide feedback. I have been hearing and seeing a lot of mixed reviews and some 5 star reviews that look like fake or paid ones. It seems as if it’s understaffed and the service is lacking. The travel agent community has been talking about it lately and we’d love an honest review about it so we can make informed decisions for our clients. Mahalo!
Hi Rebecca.
We have not done that yet but it is on our list for articles being considered. Thanks for suggesting it.
Aloha.
I was looking at their rates a couple of days ago and cheapest rate (PRE-PAID) was $1,500. And taxes and fees and you are looking at $1,750 per night. Entry level room too!!
Thanks for the info! Great article. I love the 1 Hotel properties , but also love St Regis properties. Haven’t been to the Princeville since 98. Such amazing views! Looking forward to getting out there with my family one of these days.
1 Hotel is obviously catering to a clientele with which I am not familiar, or necessarily care to be. But if there are people who can afford this type of extravagance, more power to them. Let them enjoy the fruits of their labors. Me, I just enjoy being on Kauai, experiencing the culture, picking up a few Hawaiian phases-“Aloha Kakahiaka” anyone?- and everything else the island has to offer.
I commented earlier but I thought of something else. I haven’t stayed overnight in Kauai but I have taken a day trip and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The places I considered for overnight are Plantation Hale on the windward side and the Tip Top which has a cafe. They are more in my price range. Thank you for allowing me to share.
On our next trip in 2023, we will stop by the lobby bar for drinks and pupus and the magnificant sunset view like we did often when it was the St. Regis. That will only set us back about $200. A bit more doable than $1000s per night. As a side note, the condo we rented in 2022 and we are renting in 2023 went up a mere 36%. Yep, the price of Hawaii keeps going up beyond even normal infaltionary rates. These increases clearly must be forcing many Hawaii lovers to consider other options.
Last year I spent 2.5 months on Kauai and $20k. This year it’s going to Costa Rica and I’m paying 1/2. Good bye Kauai until you stop ripping people off.
Costa Rica is a Wonderful Vacation Destination, the savings will make you feel much better. Hawaii has been taking advantage of Tourists for much too long believing that They were the Best and no one could do better, they’re finding that they were wrong. Enjoy staying away from Hawaii, you’ll find Many comparable places without the Ignorance and Over Paying.
Yes
I noticed the Hotel listed,”Sage Burning”. Are they Native Americans? Otherwise, this would be Cultural Appropriation at its’ finest.
Just sayin’…
Mahalo
We’re Maui vacationers, but for research on Costco Travel I plugged in a 7 night stay on Kauai first week of May found 5 resorts under 3k and an additional 5 more under 4k all with a rental car.
Price didn’t include flights.
All were offering some combination of the following perks no resort fee, Costco Rebate cards or resort food credits.
Example was Royal Sonesta Kauai Resort Package for $3,205.44 includes rental car, 188.00 Costco Rebate card, 100.00 food credit and no resort fee. I don’t know anything about the resort other than it gets excellent reviews, but this sounds like a very reasonable package for a 7 night stay.
Hi Richard.
Good to hear from you again! Sonesta is the new name for the Marriott at Kalapaki Beach. It is not at all comparable to the Princeville Resort or the new 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay. Just saying.
Aloha.
I get that, but you’ve run so many articles about the high cost of traveling to Hawaii that I felt the need to balance the perception with there is still reasonable resort priced accommodations available on the islands.
Hi Richard.
Got it. We mentioned them before when we did an article on using Costco Travel if you saw that.
Aloha.
We stayed at the Royal Sonesta last October. It was fabulous! Reasonably priced abs great location. 5 star accommodations and would absolutely go back!
Someone commented earlier about camping on the beach. Say what you will, but during my years on Maui, that was my reality at times. One beach in particular is probably still my favorite place on the planet. Great memories. Being just down the road from the billion-dollar hotels, I can remember on many occasions looking back from the beautiful ocean up towards whichever million-dollar condo/vacation rental which loomed in the background and thinking,”I bet I’m happier than a lot of these people.” Of course, how could I have known. But you get my point. (And for sure has to be that it’s much more difficult now to camp on the beach as more of these types of projects go live.)
Yep it’s an expensive hotel.. like a lot of the other high end places throughout Hawaii and the rest of the world. Heck, there’s a Ritz Carlton in Dana Point, CA that’s Not in a tropical paradise or fancy resort area that goes for $880 all in and that’s on a cheap day. And that’s not even the most expensive place in the area.
These hotels aren’t meant for average Joes like us. They never have and never will.
Are they supposed to pump $250 million into a hotel renovation and charge $200 a night?
I ran a phantom booking scenario and was a bit amused by the exorbitant taxes and fees added on. They make up about 20% of the overall cost. Heck, they even tax the resort fee.
But I guess if u really care about such a thing you can’t afford it.
The General Excise, State Transient and Country Transient taxes add up to nearly 20%, not counting resort fees. And all of the taxes are also assessed on the resort fees.
Despite the amount of money that they bring in isn’t it strange that they can’t manage to build some Affordable Housing?
This hotel has several liens place against it for failing to pay subcontractors including Island Glass here on Kauai. Wonder if the hotel paid up?