When I had decided that I wanted to go to Kauai, I had also decided that I wanted to stay on the north shore. The north shore is more scenic than the other coasts. It’s certainly the greenest, receiving more rain than any other coast of Kauai. Hanalei Bay is the Crown Jewel of the north shore, and the Princeville resort the diamond. The Hanalei Bay Resort is the Princeville’s bastard half brother. They are located less than a half mile from each other in Princeville on the same side of the bay.

Bastard half brother it may be, the Hanalei Bay did give me great rate for 4 nights via Expedia. I paid $134/night with the 4th night thrown in for “free,” netting a total cost of a little over $100/night including tax. For comparison, the same period mountainview rooms at the Princeville were $380/night not including taxes. While there are cheaper hotels, and hostels for that matter, the Hanalei Bay I thought represented by the far the best value. Most guidebooks listed the hotel in a grade below the Princeville. On Orbitz it’s listed as 3 star versus the 5 star Princeville.

However once I arrived and checked in, I was very curious about both the 3 star rating, and the “very expensive” classification the resort is given in most guidebooks.  This is not the say Hanalei Bay is not a pleasant place to stay. Our room was large, and the king size bed plenty comfortable.  The small patio overlooked the mountains as promised.  The staff was helpful and courteous.  However, the Hanalei Bay Resort is not exactly what I would call a high end hotel despite being listed as such in many guides.

One of the reasons Hanalei Bay is the way it is simply a question of ownership.  Hanalei Bay is owned by developer Quintus Resorts.  Quintus is not a hotel management company like Marriot, Hyatt or Starwoods.  It only owns Hanalei Bay, and is currently developing a property in Nevada.  The company is primarily in the timeshare development business.  As a result most of the units at the Hanalei Bay are privately owned especially the larger units with kitchens.  I stayed in a hotel room owned by Quintus.

It’s possible to book a unit privately at Hanalei Bay with an owner directly. Some of these units have been extensively remodeled, others poorly maintained. The rooms owned by Quintus I imagine are like the one we had. Dated, but clean. In addition room service does not happen every day. According to a note in the room, room service could be requested for additional $30 for each visit or $10 just for towel service.  However I found my room cleaned the second day.  I believe room service happens every other day unless requested which is more than fine with me.

Some people look to receive a certain class of service from resorts. They want to be waited upon hand and foot from check in to check out as I felt when I stayed at Caneel Bay.  Hanalei Bay is not this type of resort.  The staff is friendly, casual and low key and nothing like the staff that might be found at a Four Seasons hotel.  For some this might be a good thing, for others unacceptable.  Given that my stay in Kauai was to enjoy the outdoors, I wasn’t particularly concerned with the lack of “plus” hotel service.  If you’re looking for that, stay at another hotel.  Stay at Hanalei Bay if you want in beautiful setting, at a resort that takes a hands off approach.  If you want a superior room at the resort, I would recommend researching different privately owned units at the Hanalei and booking such a unit directly with the owner.  The rooms owned by Quintus are unlikely to impress, but are certainly adequate enough for most people