1 Hotel Hanalei Bay

We went to 1 Kitchen 3 times - once for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Service was mixed - we had 2 great waiters and one that was MIA for most of the meal. We had to keep flagging down other servers to get whatever was missing from our drinks or food. Mentioned it to the hotel manager on our way out - not sure it did much good. Food was pricy and mixed. The fish tacos were very dry and had to ask twice for some dressing or something to add to the taco to make it more enjoyable. Breakfast buffet was very nice but the hotel does not provide an ala carte breakfast menu for those with smaller appetites. For dinner we had a great steak and burger - but the ceviche was extremely tart and needed some of my pina colada to reduce the acid. We really wanted a piece of fish, but the only way to do that was to order a 16 oz piece of fish for 2, which didn't work with our party. Beautiful location, but it seemed like the restaurant was lacking management and food quality that was at the same level as the view. We tried to make reservations and they never had any available - and yet much of the restaurant was empty during at least 2 of our meals. Just go by and hopefully they will have a table available. Also note they charge you $20/tax (they do not take cash, btw) for valet parking.

This resort is located in Princeville, which seems to be something like a gated-style community for resorts and vacation homes. Sort of an odd but beautiful area with rolling golf courses and wide open green spaces. The hotel is very modern and dramatic, built into a cliffside. The general feel at this hotel is probably more "exclusive" than "family friendly". Not to say it's not family friendly, but it just seemed more of a couples oriented place. All parking is valet, with a $55/day charge, plus tips. So that wasn't great. The room was very nice-- clean, stylish, modern, and large. However, upon arrival we found the mini fridge completely stocked with a bunch of stuff with no pricing in sight. Literally no room to put even a single can of Coke in there. We had to ask housekeeping to send someone up to clean out the mini fridge-- never heard of such a thing. Anyway, the pool is great-- very large, great scenery. A smaller pool off the side has some 3-ft areas for the little kids, which was a nice touch. Neither pool was especially crowded at any point in our stay. Plenty of food and drink options around the pool area. Out beyond the pool is the beach. Amazing views of Hanalei Bay. The beach itself doesn't offer much in terms of swimming. A large coral reef prevents you from walking out too far. However, the flip side of that is they offer great snorkeling. No surf whatsoever during our stay-- very very calm waters at Hanalei Bay. Buffet breakfast was something like $60/person so we skipped that. The hotel has a few restaurants, all of which seemed very nice, but hard to justify paying for that given the cost of the room! I've seen some other reviews mention it-- and I did get the sense that I was being "nickel and dimed" a bit here-- frustrating when the most basic room rate is over $1000/night to begin with! There's not much in Princeville, but if you drive out a bit there's places to eat in Kilauea and Hanalei. Not quite as nice as the dining and shopping options near Poipu though. Hanalei beach is a gigantic white sand beach with plenty of wide open spaces, maybe a 10 minute drive from the hotel. Again, practically no waves here this August, so the little kid liked it, but the bigger kid didn't. All in all a nice hotel, but probably not one I'd come back to.

I had very mixed feelings about this hotel. PROS: -Beautiful beautiful setting; the pool and beach are wonderful and the views are incredible -Some staff members are great; we loved the sunrise yoga with Julie for example CONS: -You will get charged (a ton) for everything. $8 for black coffee, $4 for a refill, $160 for a casual lunch, $180 for an hour of paddleboarding (seriously??); $25 for a regular movie on your room TV; $55 for daily valet. We stayed 4 night and we had a total of $1800 in extra charges (food, activities) and we only spent a couple full days at the hotel -Service is extremely bad sometimes. You'll have three servers stop by your table and no one will know what's going on. The hostesses at Wailea will ignore you (we couldn't get a table at Wailea for three nights in a row). -Half the activities listed on the website won't be available, including things like hula and boxing. I kept messaging and getting promises that I would be contacted by someone or other and it never happened -My bill was incorrectly computed and they didn't include a substantial credit, so then I had to both email and call to fix it. Overall Kauai is beautiful but this hotel is just so mixed bag at such high prices that I would never return.

Subpar with resturants, amazing brunch from the previous St Regis Princeville replaced with a 59 dollars basic omelette and sides bar. Spent 4000 dollars in 5 days on food there and still had to leave the hotel to find some good food. Bright spot was the pool and beach staff. The general manager was amazing, his staff attentive and his lunch food was good. They were always smiling and the manager always made rounds to talk to everyone. The hotel is beautiful , they just have to work on their food food. Maybe the pool manager should take over🤣

From the moment we arrived at the 1 Hotel Kauai…Lisa, the concierge, completely transformed our stay into something unforgettable. Having never been to Hawaii before, I came in with zero knowledge of the island, but Lisa made me feel like we were in the best hands possible. She didn’t just hand us a list of standard options…she took the time to truly understand the exact vibe we were looking for. She even went as far as checking out my Instagram to get a sense of our style and interests, which I thought was above and beyond. What impressed me most was how decisive, warm, and emotionally intelligent she was. She seamlessly curated a lineup of activities and experiences that not only matched our vibe perfectly, but ensured we were always with the best companies and guides on the island. She even surprised us with off-menu ideas like private tours that we never would have discovered on our own. Each day felt exciting because Lisa had crafted an itinerary we could look forward to. Her thoughtfulness and attention to detail made our trip feel not just special, but effortless. Lisa is truly a gem, and if you’re lucky enough to have her as your concierge, know that your Hawaiian experience will be taken to the next level.