Hanalei Bay Resort
View prices for your travel dates
About
We’re delighted to have you as our guests! Our Princeville accommodations offer all the perks of a vacation rental along with award-winning service from our friendly staff. Located on Kauai’s North Shore, Hanalei Bay Resort captures the island’s beauty inside and out. Voted #1 for Mid Range Hotel and Boutique Hotel by Best of Kauai 2018. A Daily Resort Fee of $25 plus tax and a Parking Fee of $10 plus tax per night will be collected at time of booking. The restaurant is currently closed for renovations. The newly renovated Happy Talk Bar and Lounge is opened to enjoy food and drinks at this time.
Our Sidewalk and Walkway Repair project is underway in our constant efforts to beautify the Resort. The scope of work includes cutting of concrete and excavation intermittently throughout the property. Work is limited to Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm. Heavy noise can be anticipated during this time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The resort's exterior paint project will also continue through the end of the year. While renovations should not adversely affect you, there may be some construction noise.
Location
Reviews
- 1,312
- 481
- 190
- 124
- 109
- Filter
- English
One pool is big and showy and sees more usage) while the other is less used. Both are beautiful. Several families did cookouts with the BBQ set up. The beach is pretty - lots of trees- and a short walk on a charming path. It's more reef-y underfoot.
Unfortunately, One Hanalei Bay has made a construction site of the final bit up to the beach.
There is shuttle service on golf carts, which is helpful if you have luggage or groceries or beach gearas all parking is at the top off the hill (so out of sight for most units.) Tennis is popular and there's a small gym. The staff is friendly and helpful.
You will need to drive to get pretty much anywhere, and this is a great base for exploring the north side of the island. But you will be really happy to come "home" to HBR after every outing. I hope to return.
Cons- Our room had a very distinct moldy/wet towel smell. When getting into bed to sleep, we realized that the bedding and sheets were damp and smelled like old, wet towels. This made us question how clean the rest of the room was. When I let the front desk know about this, they brought by new bedding but we had to change it ourselves because there is no housekeeping available, and nobody reached out to follow up, offer another room, or apologize. The old bedding still made the bedroom smell so we had put them in the bathroom to mask it. The condo is actually two separate hotel rooms converted into one space so was not well thought out, and the bathrooms/showers were outdated. They also require earlier checkout than other stays/resorts due to covid-19 cleaning and will charge you $200 if you stay past 10am. When we checked out, there was already a giant bag of towels and bedding just sitting on the ground for the next guests outside our door.
Pros- The kitchen was up to date and features many amenities, the view from the pool is beautiful, and it is a short walk to Hanalei Bay
Units are close to the beach so we always walked. Only once did we call for a golf cart who arrived quickly. We LOVED the beach and sitting in the shade under the trees or wallowing in the water with those incredible view. We liked it better than Hanalei and Ke'e. The pool is lovely and we sat in the hot tub everyday, especially after some of the islands crazy hikes. The pool bar is not open but it didnt matter. We bought Koloa Coconut Rum and POG juice and made our own. Tennis courts were used all week, although botth two hard-tru can use some resurfacing.Two nights we grabbed a bite to eat at Happy Talk without a reservation and loved the laid back vibe. There is a fire pit in the lobby where we sat for 15 minutes while waiting for our table.I cannot imagine staying anywhere else on the island. 1 Hotel Hanalei is still under construction but was not a factor. Will be interesting to see the impact it might have on Pua Poa Beach. I loved a 5 star hotel as much as anyone but the Hotel really sits like a Behometh on the hill. At this point HBR has much more charm and Hawaiian feel. If you are reading reviews because you are considering booking, don't hesitate a minute,
The resort is gorgeous due it's setting overlooking the bay and mountains and the pool and landscaping. We loved the golf cart rides to the beach and the beach ended up being our favorite on the island. It's perfect for swimming and snorkeling, has nice views, is not crowded, and has shade almost to the edge of water.
The only food option is Happy Talk. It's pricey and it's only open certain evenings. We bought breakfast foods and sandwich fixings and I am sure that saved us a ton of money and time we would have spent trying to get food at a restaurant.
This resort is among my favorite I have stayed at.
On the positive side, our suite was gigantic and had a beautiful view. The resort property is well maintained and the pool area is pretty. The problem for us was the vibe of the place.
Our impression is that this resort is not for the people who are in Kauai to explore the island, go to beaches, hike, etc. In fact, the resort has no amenities at its own beach — no chairs, umbrellas, anything. The scene is at the pool, which is dominated by loud people who are drinking heavily.
When you check in, the resort goes to great pains to require proof of the Safe Travels pass issued by Hawaii. But after that, masking and social distancing is not enforced and most guests seem oblivious to it. There is a tiny sign at the hot tub that says only four people are allowed, but it’s up to the guests to enforce it and they don’t.
Another big negative for us was the live band from the bar right below our balcony. It ran from 6 to 9. When we complained, we were offered the only other room available in the resort, but it was in a much less desirable spot (ground floor up against the jungle).
So... I think this resort would be great if you want to party, like the resort scene, and aren’t into the beach. But it was a meh choice for us.
If you’re looking for a nice sunset view, sure this has it. But if you’re looking for easy beach access (it’s down a huge hill next to construction for the hotel next door), and good sleep, this isn’t the place. We went to Koloa Landing in Poipu for the first half of our honeymoon and with the Costco package discount the price was the same. We wish we had just stayed down there and done day trips to princeville. Not to mention our Parrish Collection room smelled like feet and was pretty shabby. Stay in a nice condo elsewhere or down in Poipu/Koloa. We really don’t know what our “resort fee” is paying for besides cheap towels.
The pro is that the grounds are beautiful and well maintained, and once you’re down at the beach it’s beautiful as well. The place has an air of a once popular resort in the 80s/90s that has since lost its mojo.
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Listing