1 Hotel Hanalei Bay

The views at this hotel are breathtaking. Unfortunately, my experience with their billing and post-stay follow-up was not. Upon check-in, our complimentary banana bread was already being enjoyed by hundreds of ants. We pointed this out to the staff member who brought in our luggage, and to his credit, he promptly replaced it. I chose to let it go so it wouldn’t affect my attitude during the stay, and honestly, I otherwise had a really great time. In hindsight, this should have been a warning. Despite having a breakfast-included package and a $100 property credit, I was incorrectly charged for breakfast multiple times, billed for minibar items I never touched, and then sent on a five-day scavenger hunt to recover a $28.25 credit I was clearly owed. Yes, twenty-eight dollars. The irony of spending thousands at a “five-star” resort only to fight this hard over pocket change was not lost on me. Had I not carefully reviewed my invoice after checkout, the hotel would have charged me for items I was never supposed to be billed for in the first place, which is alarming at this price point. When the hotel first attempted to correct the breakfast charges, they refunded one full breakfast and only a partial breakfast, then claimed I still owed a random remaining amount of $56 for breakfast on the first day. The only item I ordered outside of breakfast was a green juice, which costs $16.75. When I asked how a juice somehow became $56, no one could explain how that number was calculated. To make matters more confusing, the hotel applied $55 of the $100 property credit to valet, leaving a remaining $45 credit unaccounted for. I emailed multiple times and called the hotel twice trying to understand how that remaining credit was applied. After my emails stopped receiving responses, I escalated the issue to Chase. I then spent over an hour on the phone with Chase while they attempted to get a clear explanation from the hotel. The hotel insisted the remaining $45 credit had been applied to “a lunch,” yet could not specify which lunch on the invoice. In the end, Chase had to manually credit me points because the hotel could not, or would not, issue a proper refund themselves. After speaking with Chase, I called the hotel again because at that point, I genuinely felt I was being gaslit. I finally reached a manager directly and asked her to pull up my invoice so we could review it together. She stated that the $45 credit had actually been applied to a breakfast charge. I pointed out that I was never supposed to be billed for breakfast in the first place, meaning they had applied my property credit to a free breakfast. She simply asked how much I was owed and said she would process it. There was no apology for the repeated billing errors, the time wasted, or the frustration of having to untangle this over several days and multiple calls. This experience was particularly disappointing because there were genuine bright spots. Matthew at breakfast was exceptional, the kind of thoughtful, detail-oriented service you expect at a true luxury resort. On the first morning, I mentioned that I like limes squeezed over my papaya. On subsequent mornings, he brought limes without me even asking. He remembered that I take cream with my coffee, and when we got up to leave, he proactively brought us fresh coffees in to-go cups. Mahina at the adult pool was also fantastic and incredibly attentive. She suggested an off-menu ube piña colada that was so good I ordered it both days. Service for the most part was great throughout our stay. But a hotel positioning itself alongside Fairmont or Four Seasons at this price point should be able to deliver a clean welcome, a correct invoice, and apply a property credit accurately, without guests having to audit their stay or argue with an invoice that seems to make up numbers.

At our first breakfast, we watched a sparrow and a dove nestled and grooming (picking nits) on the supposedly clean napkins at the adjacent table. YUCK! Another day, an unsuspecting couple left their table and instantly a dozen or more birds swarmed all over their breakfast. DOUBLE YUCK! We were constantly on guard; not to mention repulsed. These were not isolated instances, the birds rule 1 Restaurant at breakfast. The staff does NOTHING to repel the birds. The only place I've seen more birds ON breakfast was in a developing country that was not known for its hygiene. We have been at several hotels that take measures to repel the birds from the breakfast room (a falcon in Dubai), but not at 1 Hotel. Our room had a fabulous view across Hanalei Bay - one of the most beautiful places on earth. But the room is as dark as a cave with only dim lighting. The bellman did not show us anything so it was a couple of days before we figured out that there were two separate lighting circuits. Still with all the lights on, you may want a headlamp to see any hard to find items in your luggage. Even worse, the room is full of furniture and built ins. We had to coordinate our movements to go from the area of the bathroom to the window. Do not swing your arms, or you'll hit something. I didn't realize how claustrophobic it was until we arrived in our spacious and luxurious room on Maui, where we could actually exhale and walk around our room. Our relaxation was palpable. 1 Hotel has no problem with having you wait a long time on hold to reach guest services. And, you will often wait a while for your car at the valet stand - even on those occasions when guest services REMEMBERED to contact the valet when you call from your room. But 1 Hotel is extremely concerned about their time. At 4 MINUTES past check out time, a staff member was at our door wondering why we were still there, they asked, "did we arrange for late check out?" 4 MINUTES!!!! I will not believe any response that suggests this was a mistake as it is consistent with 1 Hotel's lack of respect for their client's time. The formerly expansive lobby provided a dramatic reveal of the fabulous view. After 1 Hotel's remodel, that is gone. The view is hidden. Guests enter via a too narrow passage - easily blocked by the many oblivious guests who walk slowly three abreast ignoring an "excuse me" from anyone who wishes to pass. Entitled aren't they! It's hard to see the view anymore unless you get onto the narrow balcony beyond the bar which is shoulder to shoulder with people enamored in having themselves photographed. No fun. I'm guessing that few of these people are hotel guests, but they enjoy the view that registered guests paid a fortune for. Most of the staff are generally pleasant.

The views were spectacular and the room was very comfortable. The beach and pool area are beautiful and relaxing. The bar has expensive drinks, but the views make up for it and are amazing, especially at sunset. However, the food at the restaurant did not feel five stars, especially considering the prices. For what you pay for the quality should be better. Overall, it's a beautiful property with great scenery!

We come to Hawaii every year and this year decided to spend our time in Hanalei, where previously we’ve just done day trips and opted to stay at 1 Hotel I had high expectations given the price tag and we were not let down. The views from our room and the beach were STUNNING. We enjoyed breakfast and coffee everyday at Neighbor’s. We ate lunch beachside every day ordering off the pool menu (the ahi sandwich and shrimp tacos were our favorites!). Service from all employees was great! The hotel or pool never felt crowded. We enjoyed the cushions on the pool and beach chairs but I do wish the beach chair cushions somehow could be protected from the overnight moisture as they were always soaked in the morning. One other touch that would be nice that’s often done at other luxury resorts is morning and afternoon “snacks” by the beach/pool staff (things like fruit skewers etc). Those are very minor and again we otherwise had a great time and will certainly be back! Kelsey

I think this is probably a decent hotel, the location is superb, and it seems to be the best spot on the island. Our stay could have been wonderful but the check-in experience and response that evening was absurd and our room was not what we selected and paid for. Checking in late evening from NY, we were assisted to our room, and I noticed a strong sour odor in the hallway. After turning the corner I saw the hallway full of industrial de-humidifiers, hoses and cords dangling from walls and open ceiling panels, blocking the hallway. It appeared to be water damage mitigation in the ceiling, walls, and rugs. The stench outside all the rooms in that wing was gross. I asked the bellman what happened and he acted as if he had no idea (not possible) and said "It must be construction" which did not sound good either, but I told the bellman we needed to change rooms. At the front desk all involved acted as if they had no idea about this damage (not possible). We were given two options for the first night, neither were similar rooms, one was a similar price category but on the ground level in view of beach goers, not quiet and not private, from sunrise to sundown. Beach level is probably ideal for some, we wanted a high room (Mountain View), private balcony and the trip to first floor is a long walk requiring two elevator rides. We took it for the evening and decided the next day it was not worth moving our bags a third time. I went back to look the next day and not only was it still a smelly war zone and I felt bad for the guests ducking under cords and getting that smell each time they left their room; wow. To be clear, one of the managers did call us the next day while we were on a tour so I could not take the call, by that point, however, there was nothing to talk about and there was no mention of it again. I understand a GM that does not want to lose thousands in room revenues and also needs to honor reservations, but assuming there is no mold or health risk, I hope those guests were somehow compensated, given discounts or acknowledged for the plain unsightliness and smell. Kauai has a lot of rain, and things happen, but this hotel is also owned by Starwood Capital which has some skills in RE and hospitality. It is unforgivable that we were not warned at check-in about the mess, and given some options. I don't need a manager's apology or free dessert but nobody ever really acknowledged anything. East coast travelers need to consider that they may get assigned the worst possible rooms as a penalty for being the last to arrive to the party, and that this place is light on supervision.