The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook - Hanalei Bay Resort & Suites

280 rooms, 2 pools, spa, 8 tennis courts, a tennis pro shop, coffee makers, washer/dryers in some units, a/c, hi-speed Internet access, suites have kitchens, bbq area. This resort is located in Princeville on 22 acres of beautiful, lush and winding grounds. It looks and feels very tropical. You can’t drive to most rooms, but they will shuttle you around the grounds or to either Princeville golf course, so you don’t have to tie up the car for the day.

The main swimming pool has a small waterfall next to the spa. (Wish they had some umbrellas around the pool.) The layout of the resort makes it quiet, even when they’re nearly full. The lounge has always been a great place to have a drink. It was closed for a long time, but is open again, and a restaurant was also planned at press time.

All rooms are not created equal. There are three main types: hotel-type rooms, studios (the same but with a kitchenette and sofa bed) and condo-type rooms (called suites). Of these, the suites are much better. In these, you get a living room area and larger rooms. Ocean views are fairly distant, but many are stunning, overlooking Hanalei Bay and Bali Hai.

Some people get frustrated that they can’t use the beach chairs at Pu‘u Poa Beach in front of the St. Regis Princeville. (The chairs belong to that hotel.) Hanalei Bay Resort will rent you a chair ($3) to take down to the beach and pick you up (there’s a phone down there). The resort charges a $5 per day resort fee. (For what? We’re not sure). They also charge a $25 “check-in” fee to every guest, regardless of who you rent from. Internet is $10 per day.

They converted 150 or more of the rooms to timeshares. If you don’t want to buy a timeshare, tell them so and they (hopefully) won’t bug you about it again. The agents we listed handle many of the rental units.

We used to give them a gem rating. Though the grounds are still exotic, the common areas were still feeling tired on this visit. If you stay in Regency Pacific Realty or Oceanfront Realty rooms, the quality feels much better than the timeshare rooms.

Depending on the view, hotel rooms (around 550 sq. ft.) are $115–$220 ($193–$218 for studio kitchenette). Condo-type suites (1,091 sq. ft.) are $165–$363 for 1/1s. Larger units available by combining lock-offs with 1/1s, 2/2 (1,325 sq. ft.) are $270–$495. 3/3 (1,600 sq. ft.) are $495–$578. The second agent we list has much cheaper prices, but doesn’t handle as many units.