1 Hotel Hanalei Bay

We have been to the Princeville Hotel around 25 times or so since the early 1990’s. Now that 1Hotels has taken over the hotel, they demolished the stately lobby, removed most of the retail stores & busy sundry shop – and replaced it with a wood/steel parking canopy and an open-air entry walkway that is okay but not elegant. Walking into the hotel lobby, the terrace seating area has been completely redone, replacing the elegant deep finished woods with modern cheaper finishes. The entire terrace seating area previously had the “Bali Hai” view from “South Pacific”, but now the view has been diminished by placing the bar in the center of the room instead of its previous position on the side, resulting in less seating with a view. Walking through the hotel, they placed sand on the sides of some of the hallways to try to evoke an image of the beach indoors. Unfortunately, every day, guests and their children kick the sand into the hallway tiled areas, making a mess for the hotel staff. {Picture #1). Also, many hotel hallways are maintained at temperatures substantially below 72°F, probably 60°F or possibly even lower, defeating the 1Hotel LEED goals. We heard several guests complain about the temperature. The bottom floor rooms used to have shallow decks that faced the “Bali Hai” view, but they added ramshackle bamboo/wood extensions that result in giving the rooms a tunnel aperture that limits the room view. (Picture #2) The new showers still have view windows, however, the smaller shower with no door allows the water to spray over an area covering about 4’ around the shower entry, and provides no privacy for the showerer. The new showers use an integral blind in the view window for privacy on that side, which is harder to operate and maintain than the previous design which opaqued with a simple wall switch. The shower floors have slick tile on the floor with no abrasive assistance to prevent slippage. The beds have been moved to the room center facing the window, instead of facing the opposite wall, so there is only room for a narrow path on one side. People with mobility issues may have trouble with the narrow paths. There is a counter height desk in the room with a standard height chair, making it unusable. (Picture #3) The new room furniture is okay but relatively inexpensive. The room lighting is terribly dim, probably to meet LEED standards, although LEED can still be satisfied with bright LED lights. My wife found it frustrating to apply her makeup, and when we questioned the hotel about the lighting, we were told all rooms were similar. The lighting was tolerable during the day with the curtains open, but at night, it was problematic. There are some mattresses set out by the pool. (Picture #4) The mattresses are a poor choice for a pool where it rains nearly every day. They are wet and cold, so the water soaks into your swimsuit, and they cannot be inclined. The picture shows people propping themselves up. (Picture

This hotel is beautiful. The rooms are beautiful. The beach and pool are beautiful. The gym is the best I have ever seen at any hotel anywhere, and I travel a ton! I read quite a few reviews that complained about service issues. We had absolutely zero problems. In fact, we found the service to be excellent, friendly, responsive, and helpful. Breakfast was excellent. Poolside bar and food were also excellent. Our only wish is that there were more choices for dinner. Overall, we highly recommend this as both a destination and a wonderful place to stay.

This place is simply magical - a tropical, healing, and sustainable oasis that will make you reconsider ever leaving the north shore of Kauai. From the managers to the room attendants and waitstaff we were treated with the utmost kindness and hospitality throughout our stay. The gym, fitness classes, pools, private beach, spa, and bikes were easily accessible and brought several serendipitous adventures our way. On property dining was pricey but luxurious. Our room had amazing views of the ocean, a super comfy bed, and all the amenities one would expect in a luxury hotel. We will definitely be back!

This is a lovely hotel, however I don’t think they go “above and beyond” as I would expect from a hotel of this caliber. - it is bombarded with kids. They do have a separate pool area but kids are screaming everywhere. - we told them multiple times we were here for our honeymoon and they did not acknowledge it nor do anything special (which you would expect from this type of hotel). - Our room has a lovely terrace with a couch-like thing to lay outside and read/ sunbathe, however, it has rained every single day and that has been soaking and we could not use it. Would have been smart of them to have a roof or covering over this furniture so it could be used. - The maid service is terrible. So many times we came back to the room and garbage was still left out, things not put away. We actually weren’t even sure a maid had come on several occasions. - the restaurant and breakfast buffet are excellent. And the gym was gorgeous. Definitely would not return here next time I am in Kauai.

The size of the room and design is great, everything is comfortable, and decent sized for a small family. The view is incredible. And the facilities, swimming pool etc, are well designed and easy to access. The issue with the hotel lies with the service. We arrived around 7pm at night, and the checkin was so casual that other than being given the room keys, we were not given any welcome leis that others got, we were also not informed about the new feature: 50 dollar vallet parking a day. This resulted in a surprise bill when we checked out. I already spoke with the service desk a day before checkout and they agreed to remove the valet charges. Yet, the bill appeared again when we checked out. Thankfully it all resolved in the end, but this experience left us feeling the staff don't have the best communication, and there is a lot training that the hotel needs to do, especially considering the hefty pricetag.

Johnny is awesome - highly recommend this one hour experience. You will taste the BEST Mai Tais that you have ever had. Offered on Mondays (April 2024) do not miss this. In addition to an excellent tasting experience- you will see amazing views.

We took our children (ages 5 & 7) for Spring Break, and our experience could not have been any better! The property is stunning, the staff is incredible, and the property is perfectly situated on the island. From the stunning views to the incredible amenities, we really couldn't have asked for more. The resort was perfect for our family of 4, and the concierge team was instrumental in ensuring that we had the most memorable trip. They helped us plan activities, meals, and daily adventures with the kids. Our room was immaculate at all times, and room service was always so easy when we needed food last-minute. I really can't say enough great things about this hotel and the team at 1 Hotel. I highly recommend it!

Johnny who facilitated the mai tai making class was phenomenal and entirely enhanced our experience. He was hilarious and incredibly informative. I did not expect to be as fascinated by and immersed in mai tai tiki culture and history, and on top of all of it everyone in the class was in stitches with his sense of humor

Extremely disappointed as we checked into one of the most beautiful spots on the island of Kaua that unfortunately had the worst service we had experienced. The hotel has a casual beach bar/restaurant downstairs which serves tacos and pizzas. The tacos we had were delicious but we had to wait 45mins just to be served. Then they had got our order mixed up. We initially assumed it was because they were busy. However, the same pattern repeated itself in all the other restaurants/cafes in the hotel. Raising this with the manager did absolutely nothing. We had a read on trip advisor and noted that previous guests also reported exactly the same issues. It seems the hotel did not get a process in place to train its staff so service is inconsistent and perhaps lacking in staff causing total chaos. So come here to sleep but do not eat or order drinks!