Hanalei Bay Resort

We have been here for a week and LOVE everything about this place. We just got a timeshare and this is our first time using it. My husband and I came with his 18 year old daughter and niece. We were in rooms 2307 – 2308 overlooking the pool and Hanalei Bay! I have overheard that since it is mostly timeshare, the quality of rooms does vary but this is our experience:
We have a 1 bed/​2 bath… one side has a king bed and full bath and the other has a pull out queen sofa, full kitchen, and full bath. Both baths are huge and have large closets. Both rooms have vaulted ceilings, granite bathrooms and kitchen, stainless appliances, and plates/​cups/​pots/​pans/​utensils/​etc. Each side has its own AC, tv, and lanai. We all have plenty of room and there are 2 doors separating the spaces so we can all have our privacy as well! Everything is very clean and they even gave us a new set of towels halfway through the week that we didn’t even ask for. Bell service and concierge has been great.
The pool is amazing! You can get fresh towels everyday, the sand bottom jacuzzi is great, and there’s even a waterfall and a little kids beach shallow section. No lifeguards. Happy Talk bar is open now and the food is actually way better than we thought it would be, large selection of drinks and beer, and a good happy hour. They have live music at night too and the view is spectacular. Restaurant isn’t open yet but it’s owned by the same guy that owns Kalypso in town, so should be good when it opens. They’re also adding a pool bar but it’s not open yet. The little private beach is beautiful and just a short walk away. We always walked up and down but they do have golf cart shuttles.
Other amenities: little fitness room is just OK, but you’re in Kauai just go on a hike or something! Plenty of well kept tennis courts for use, both hard and turf. They have rentals for water activities (which we didn’t use so I can’t attest to how that works) and a little gift shop/​store if you need some quick snacks or sunblock, Etc.
We are out doing stuff all the time so our accommodations have been more than enough… if you want to sit in your plush room all day go next door to St Regis! So glad we bought this timeshare and can’t wait to come back.

My husband and I booked a privately-​owned condo at the Hanalei Bay Resort for our second wedding anniversary. It was a 2-​unit condo… one half had a full bath, kitchen, and living room, and the other half had a full bath and bedroom. Both sides had their own air condition units and terraces. It was quite pricy to stay under these accommodations, but all six nights of our stay were very enjoyable. Upon checking in, we were warmly greeted and then given a parking lot pass. We were then driven to our room in a golf cart with all of our luggage onboard. When walking into our rooms, we were astonished at how great our accommodations were. Such a beautiful condo! It was very clean and delicately decorated. The furnishings were very nice and the bed was comfortable. It was great that we both had our own bathrooms just as we do at home. This helps cut time getting ready in half. The bathrooms themselves were very large, and the showers had pretty good water pressure. The kitchen was ideal for the few meals we had bought at Costco in Lihue. The fridge had plenty of room and there was enough dinnerware available. We had a coffee maker and free internet access (which we had to sign into every 24 hours, which was annoying). The living room was nice and had an entertainment center. The TV was very nice, and there was a convenient stereo that we could connect to our phones wirelessly to listen to music. The furniture in the living room was a bit uncomfortable, but let’s be honest, if you’re in Kaua’i why would you spend a lot of time watching TV? The internet itself wasn’t the fastest, but it was enough to watch Netflix in standard def on the Apple TV we brought with us. There were plenty of books and DVDs available as well but we did not use them. The bedroom also had its own television. From both the living room and the bedroom, we had a dramatic view of Mt. Waialeale. There were practically no other units available from our balconies, which made the view particularly stunning. There’s really nothing like waking up each morning to the sight of a 5 million year old extinct volcano. The resort itself is very nice and has the most awesome pool I’ve ever swam in. It’s a huge pool with plenty of room, and it has an attached kid’s pool and a secluded sand-​bottom jacuzzi nearby. The pool has waterfalls and doesn’t get more than about 5′ deep. It was mostly clean but at night did look a bit dirty near the pool lights. There is an awesome, recently-​renovated bar upstairs from the pool. The bartenders are friendly and make some delicious drinks. We had Moscow mules, mai tais, and blue Hawaiians. These guys know how to make a good drink! The nearby restaurant was closed and apparently has been for a very long time. The atmosphere of the resort itself is stunning, and that’s apparent from the moment you walk in and see all the little koi ponds surrounding the check in/​check out area. You can walk down to the nearby beach on Hanalei Bay, but it’s a bit of an uphill walk coming back up. You can also request a ride from the golf carts to and from the beach, but the wait was pretty long so we stopped using them. The resort also has tennis courts, but we did not get the chance to use them.
Overall, you can’t beat the Hanalei Bay Resort. Situated in scenic Hanalei Bay, the views of the volcano and the ocean are unbeatable. It would seem that no matter where you stay on the property, you are likely to have a view of either one (or both) of them. Hanalei is also a few minutes drive away, so we went into town a few times to eat. There is also a Foodland nearby, which is convenient for groceries (though parking can be difficult). Keep in mind that this is the north side of the island, so you are likely to see at least some rain each day. We got lucky and didn’t see much rain until our very last day. Driving to the south side of the island is also not difficult and it’s not too far away, but there tends to be quite a bit of traffic in Kapa’a… at least right now during the summer season. Speed limits are also no higher than 50 MPH, and they change suddenly, so getting places takes a bit longer than it might on the mainland. The only negative thing that happened during our stay is that my husband’s sandals were stolen from our doorstep without a trace. In any case, we WILL stay here again. This was the best place we’ve ever stayed on vacation by a longshot.

We stayed here 4÷17÷16−4÷23÷16 in room 5301. We are not timeshare owners and after this stay, would never wish to be at this resort (although we’ve considered it, just not here).
Pros:
The bellman was super friendly.
The views are great.
Cons:
The walls are paper thin (don’t stay here on your honeymoon *wink wink*).
The coffee maker cord did not reach the outlet in the wall (not long enough) so we ended up having to make coffee on the floor every morning (who wants to walk to the front for free coffee or have to go out for coffee???).
Speaking of coffee, if you want more than 1 single serving bag of coffee (that’s for 1 day), it’ll cost you $ 1/​bag (after paying a premium for the room).
The bed is not comfortable at all.
The water pressure in the shower is horrible (had to take longer showers just to wash off the sand).
While I appreciate that the bellmen are available 24 hours, it’s annoying to be woken up by their gas-​powered golf carts at 2 in the morning (remember, paper thin walls).
We found a roach in our shower. Not horrible but just not sanitary.
The free wifi is a joke.
We asked for an extra pillow — never brought it to the room. Went down to the front desk (again) the next day and was told «housekeeping has already left for the day but I’ll see what I can do.» — really??? See what you can do? It’s a pillow. And that lady was SUPER rude!
A bellman FINALLY arrived with a pillow that looked nothing like the other pillows in the room and smelled really bad (kind of sour smelling).
Housekeeping once/​week. Was not told that at checkin.
We will be coming back to Kauai multiple times in the future, but this property will not be on my list of places to even consider.

Things I loved:
–the rooms were spacious and had lots of great amenities, and the bed was super comfortable and I kind of wish I could have brought it home with me
–the layout/​general décor of the resort was nicer than I expected. The pool area is pretty, the front desk has a nice koi pond, and the bar is really nice.
–24 HR golf cart rides to the beach, which is shared with the St. Regis. We actually didn’t use this as much as I thought we would because we went on to Hanalei bay/​the beach with the pier where you can surf, but it was a cool convenience
–the food at the restaurant was actually quite good. Recommend the guava jam and Brie pizza. They had live music and also played Surf competitions on loop, which my boyfriend appreciated
–location: the resort is actually in Princeville. It’s about a mile away from Queen’s bath, which is my favorite thing to see in Kauai. It was easy to run there, walk down the trail, which is covered with beautiful jungly plants and waterfalls, and see nature at its finest. The hotel is about ten minutes from the town of Hanalei, so having a rental car was clutch.
–the customer service: we were super annoying and changed our dates and bookings a lot before we even arrived, and everyone was really flexible. The maintenance workers and golf cart drivers were super welcoming and the waiter at the restaurant was super attentive. More on customer service later…
–the pool area: we didn’t go in the pool once (why would you when the ocean water is 70 degrees and the waves are perfect?) but the jacuzzi was really nice. Families/​pool people would enjoy the space. Wish the swim up bar was open, although our hotel room was maybe fifteen yards from it and there were plenty of drinks in our fridge.
Things I didn’t love so much:
–the customer service at the front desk was weird, at times. That whole first impression thing was sort of lost on us. We felt like we were a burden for the people working there (and we’re actually pretty cool, I think). No one was rude or inhospitable but it definitely could have been better. We had some reservation changes/​complications and expected a little more tlc than we were given, but whatever.
–the rooms were nice, and we were surprised that they weren’t cleaned until we checked out. Maybe that is a time share thing, but we both said we’d wished someone had given us that info either way. Also there was a cricket/​cock roach in our bathroom, which I tried to overlook because, it is the rainforest after all, but it kinda grossed me out.
–broken things: our really nice, state-​of-​the-​art blender was broken. Not ideal to find that out AFTER you’ve poured piña colada mix into it, but not the end of the world. We were brought another blender promptly, and our cocktail making picked up where it left off. The bigger issue was that our bathtub totally flooded, somehow, in minutes, when neither of us had even used that bathroom all morning. It sort of reminded me of «The Ring.» Anyway. Maintenance came and fixed it, and we went and enjoyed the beach.
We would totally stay here again. It was expensive for what it was, it was pretty and the location/​rooms were nice. If you’re looking for luxury/​more amenities, I wouldn’t stay here. But pretty much every moment in Hanalei feels luxurious, so there’s that.

There is no doubt that this is a beautiful place, it is Hawaii for goodness sake! This trip was for our 20^th anniversary and we are time share owners so we traded to get this resort. The resort was nice and what you would expect for a Hawaiian resort. Koi fish ponds, lots of shrubs, vegetation and chickens! We had a 2 bedroom lock out for the 2 of us, we had 2 bedrooms, 2 complete bathrooms, a full kitchen and living room with 2 sliding glass doors that led outside. The resort is a very nice place, the people are friendly and the guy that greeted us at the gate was awesome. There were a few things that could use repair. We spent a week here and we had signs on patio switches that said out of order and there were some lights out on the pathways which made it a bit dark at night. There is also a goose defending one of the small pools so beware! He is on-​guard at night too. There were laundry facilities that needed repairs also. We were staying near the area where they must have the maintenance staff and carts flying by all the time. They were good about picking you up if you needed a ride to the beach or parking lot. The walk to the beach is a long, windy one but you get to see same raw woods and stream with wildlife. I liked the walk but the way down is WAY better than coming up the hill. There is a phone in a small bench area at the bottom to call for a ride back up. They even picked us up in the dark. The beach is shared with other resorts and the beach is dangerous with the lava rock coming up from the ground in areas and if a wave slams you into it, you will be hurting. I suggest beach/​aqua shoes. The worse part of this place in my opinion is that there is NO room service, no restaurant or bar or anywhere to eat anything on the premises. This resort is tucked away and it isn’t really walking distance anywhere. I was told that the bar and/​or restaurant would be open in 2016 sometime but it has been without it for 5 years due to a fire. they are really slow at getting that completed. There was also a poolside bar being built, it was started and looks they just stopped working on it. The main pool and hot tub are a sandy bottom which is different. They do have other pools to use that aren’t. They have a nice outdoor cooking area by one of the smaller pools, watch out for the goose! If I were to go back, I wouldn’t mind staying there after they get some eating area opened up there otherwise I would look nearby. Once they open the bar/​restaurant, they could actually have some nightly activities to promote more food and drink sales. Great potential, not sure why it is taking so long. Maybe by the time I can afford to go again, it will be done. I have several photos taken but I stayed here back in Oct 2015 so they may not attach to this review…

Mr. Pacer, when I read your response from December, I was excited to see that Hanalei Bay Resort planned to remove one night’s fee from our bill. Now it’s the end of March, and over three months later, I’ve not seen the reimbursement applied to my bank account. I would like to invite you to honor your word and refund one night’s stay.
Regards,
James H.

Nice place, all the rooms are laid out with a nice view of Hanalei and the mountains, prices are reasonable and they have a new restraunt on site called happy talk which was very good!

Most awesome resort. We have stayed here many times. Choose condo 5201 – 5202. Just remodeled and highly recommend this unit and property. We did not need anything except our clothes and food. Everything else is provided in this condo.

We stayed in one of the studios with an ocean and mountain view for a week in February, our first time on Kauai. Here is a list of all the things we loved: the view from the lanai, the super comfy bed, the pool and hot tub with all the waterfalls, the beautiful plants, especially the plumeria and orchids; the beach within walking distance, the starry nights, and being able to fall asleep to the sound of the sea. We were pleasantly surprised to find the pool was salt water and really enjoyed our time there. At night we loved relaxing in the hot tub under the stars surrounded by the tiki torches. The hot tub is rock with a sand bottom, which feels like a natural hot spring. HBR is a great place to stay if you want to feel like home on Kauai and have a place to «get away from it all» at the end of a day out exploring the island.
The only reason we are giving 4 stars and not 5 is that the restaurant was not open. We hope it will be open the next time we come to stay!
Thanks HBR for a great vacation!

Augh would be an understatement. I booked this place on expedia thinking it was legit because it came up on top as an expedia suggestion and I didn’t have time to research as I was flying out there the next day. BAD MOVE.
I should’ve read the fine print. For a studio room it says «Sofa Bed.» I had thought this was IN ADDITION TO A REAL BED. Not so. If you want a kitchen, you get the room with a kitchen and a sofa bed as your primary bed. I asked where my bed was and the bellboy opened up the sofa and plopped the cushions on top. No pillows. WOW. I asked to be moved to a room with a real bed, and they did.
The bellboy said this was a better room. I walk in after he circled around the whole property because he was lost (?) and there is no kitchen. Just the bed. I guess I can’t have both, which I had thought I paid for. But at this point, the bed was more important after traveling all day with tons of production gear. I settled in.
Next morning I get all my gear and was about to call for someone to help me but I figured I didn’t want to wait for a ride in case he took forever. I walked out in total darkness to try to find the lobby and there are no lights anywhere so aside from almost hurting myself, I got a bit lost with a ton of bags. There isn’t a single elevator anywhere so I had to lug all the crap up the stairs to the lobby.
I had some time before my ride came to pick me up so I asked to see a manager. I tried to see if there was any way they could refund me so I could stay elsewhere where there was a kitchen AND a bed and was close to where a car could pick me up. They said no refunds. I have to pay for all the nights. Fine. Move me somewhere closer then, I don’t care about the kitchen. Give me a room with a bed and where someone can pick me up from my room so I don’t have to lug equipment all over the damn place. They finally gave me my third room, which was on the third floor. Remember? No elevator.
Augh. The view from this room was great. I can’t say what the view was in my second room because it was always dark when I was going in and out. Aside from the view, this room had barely any amenities (but more than the other two). Just Towels, an old coffee maker, a very old fridge that made so much noise when I plugged it in I just unplugged it. No conditioner, just shampoo and a bar soap.
NO RESTAURANT OR EATERY ANYWHERE ON THE PROPERTY. NO ROOM SERVICE.
I had to eat before coming here. A kitchen would have been nice so I could make my own food since there was no food option on the property but then I’d have to stay on the sofa bed.
The staff = unhelpful. Made me feel like an overbearing princess and trust me, I’m not!
Never staying here again.

Well, the grounds and location and staff were very nice, but even though the rooms were supposedly remodeled a year and a half ago, our corner lower floor «hotel room» was tired looking, dark and had a somewhat musty/​moldy smell.
We’d first checked into a pretty nice «studio» only to realize that the studio only had a hide-​a-​bed which wouldn’t have worked for my husband’s bad back. The studio had a kitchen but since it was a short stay we didn’t worry about that. When we realized there was no real «bed» we asked to be moved, but were informed the «hotel room with a king bed» would be $ 10 more a night. $ 240 plus tax and resort fees ($ 15) a night for that room is NOT a bargain for early December.
We had no idea we would be moving to a substantially smaller and smelly room without even a coffee maker. It’s a LONG haul to the front desk for their free morning coffee (CoffeeMate only folks) and there is currently no bar and of restaurant. Apparently, that renovation has been going on for a long while and without a kitchen, one would have to go all the way to town for any food.
There were people in the adjoining unit (ours must have been a lock-​out room) and the sound insulation isn’t good, so we could hear them at all hours. Also, the odor of whatever they were cooking next to us permeated our room for hours — though it was better than the musty smell.
The Wi-​fi connection was weak, and I there is little or no ATT cell service in the lower part of the resort, at least. Not their fault, but just and FYI.
The gas powered shuttles that are available at all hours are handy, but extremely loud and can easily be heard from inside the room. Electric cars would be a lot quieter
We had stayed at the resort about 20 years ago, and at that point it was lovely, clean and well maintained. When I let the front desk know about the the smell and about our general disappointment with the room, I was told that the last guests didn’t complain. Hmmmm.

We loved our stay at the HBR and were sad when we had to leave for the last three nights of our belated Hawaii honeymoon. Most everything was perfect; let’s dive in!
Upon arriving we were greeted with a nicely landscaped turnaround that led under a canopy to the front desk — we couldn’t see anything except the light of a fire pit and tiki torches out front and the candles on the check in desk… thinking this was the usual «old hawaii» tradition here at the resort, I didn’t second guess it until we walked up and learned that the power had went out. Oh well we thought, we wanted a true secluded hawaiian experience anyway, and we were able to get in our room no problem. We were on the third floor of one of the buildings right by the lagoon pool. We were led to a parking space and assisted by a smallish man with surprising strength to get our very heavy bags up the stairs. I was very thankful he helped because we had brought along our BIG suitcase and it was packed full of clothing for the 10 day stay. After we dropped our stuff in the room we went out to the pool for a night swim — figured might as well because we weren’t completely tired yet and it was only 9ish their time… night swimming was AWESOME with the tiki torches and very very very well landscaped pool. One of the best pools I’ve ever swam in — did I say the pool was great? =)
The room was comfy — we had a 1 bedroom, which means a king size bed, a living room, kitchen, all upgraded, two balconies and two bathrooms. Obviously two separate rooms adjoined into one. AWESOME experience, highly recommend, look at the views! Service was top notch and the grounds are stunning. Convenient to Hanalei and north island amenities, and not a bad drive from the south/​Waimea. Concierge service is great, free (amenities you purchase, they get a fee from the separate companies), and bus trips are offered to the local attractions.
Did I say I highly recommend this place? Because I do! I want to go back!!!

Hiked over to the old Hanalei Plantation today after it was recommended by one of the managers at HBR. To get there, walk down to the beach shared with the St. Regis, go left until you see a path going up. The old resort is a walk into history and so worth the view. Tips like this from the staff at HBR have never steered us wrong. We’ll be repeating this adventure next year!

Two stars when compared with the competition. Three stars if you factor in price.
Pros
Great views and nice pool.
Cons
No food on site (this was a larger pain than expected, especially as it’s a 20 minute drive to food)
Lots of construction on premise
Very dated rooms
Slightly musty-​smelling rooms
Security lock on door broken off
Poor lighting in rooms
Management uses gas-​powered golf carts which can be loud, especially at 10pm, 12pm, and 4am when they passed our third floor unit (woke me up each time but not my wife)
Roosters start crowing at 5am (woke up my wife, not me)
The housekeeping services never showed up during our stay
The face cloths in the bathroom were disgusting (see attached)
The wifi is so sporadic that I ended up ditching it in favor of Verizon LTE.
Overall, this is an okay option for anyone on a tight budget or has kids that love the pool. Otherwise, I’d recommend splurging a bit more for one of the 4+ star hotels in the area.

Stayed here for the first time and wasn’t sure what to expect. I was torn on how to write this review since the listing said fully stocked kitchen and we got a mini fridge and mini microwave. However we booked through Parrish Collection not the resort so I can’t blame the resort.
The restaurant, pool bar and lounge are still under construction and were supposed to be open by the time we got here but from the looks of it, it’s still a long way away from opening. The room is a bit shabby but clean and comfortable. Our lanai had a beautiful view of the grounds and bay.
The staff and service are spectacular. Always a smile for the guests and friendly in a way that feels genuine not forced. The pools and grounds are gorgeous and well maintained. The walk to the beach is great for swimming and a quick walk down from the main resort.
They have Nenes on the property, it might just be me but it’s pretty cool to sit by the pool as a pair of endangered birds waddle by.
I think it’s a good value for the price, if they ever get the restaurant and bars done I’ll add another star to my review.

This resort is very nice. We stayed here for 5 days and really enjoyed it. The pool is awesome, with waterfalls and tiki torches. The view out to Bali hai and the bay is beautiful. It’s also nice that it shares a beach with the st Regis. Will be especially great when the restaurant & bar are open in a month or so. I will definitely return.

Wow, what can I say? Simply beautiful and elegant beyond measure. I was there for a friend’s prewedding. There was pretty good food and beautiful views but then the rain came later and it got dark. Overall I didn’t mind it. People were pretty nice. They actually talk to you, not like all stuck up like the Bay Area

Great staff and service. Excellent location. The fact that it is right next door to the St. Regis says a lot. Offers one of the best views of Hanalei Bay to be found. Gorgeous sunset views. Includes access to the private beach shared with St. Regis.
Funny thing: we actually saw guests from the St. Regis sneaking over to the pool at HBR. HBR has an awesome salt water pool with waterfalls.
The North Shore is just fantastic. And staying at HBR made it a lot easier to drive further up north for swimming and snorkeling at places like Tunnels Beach, Anini beach, and Hanalei Bay. The North Shore is just mesmerizing. It is also close enough to the East Shore for a few quick excursions.

I enjoyed this place. It’s clean, the resort is beautiful. It is close to the beach, and they’ll give you rides on their golf carts. It is close to Princeville, but you should just go into Hanalei for the small town charm.
I stayed in a privately owned studio condo. I would recommend paying the extra money for the nicer, full service room. I wish I would have. Lots to do and see, but expect to drive a lot if you do a lot of excursions on the south shore.

Wonderful staff that goes above and beyond. Two pools which the main one with a waterfall is very pretty although a little chilly. The hot tub was the best I’ve ever been in. It’s made of large rocks with a sand bottom surrounded by flowers and trees. The second hot tub is under construction but it’s for a good cause– swim up pool bar. The restaurant is also under construction at present time.
The problems? It’s not the hotel or the staff. It’s the guests! Why is there no adults only pool? Why not make the main pool for adults and the smaller pool for kids away from those of us trying to relax. The beautiful hot tub experience was constantly ruined by inconsiderate parents letting their young children jump and splash in the hot tub. One woman chose this area to breast feed and change diapers. Gross! I’m trying to have a romantic vacation and spending lots of money to enjoy it.
Management needs to make the hot tub for 18 and up not the current rule of 5 and up. Yes 5. Although even then parents are bathing their 1 years old in there like its a bath. We the adults are your customers and this is our playground. Give us peace and quiet and make the main pool and hot tub off limits to kids at least for a few hours a day!
And for those inconsiderate parents– take your kids to Disney World or leave them home next time. Leave Hawaii resorts like this one for us adults to relax in peace!
*chose not to take pictures of all the kids in pool and hot tub for privacy reasons. But believe me they are everywhere! Lol
If they fix these issues it really is a fantastic place to stay!