1 Hotel Hanalei Bay
Kauai's hottest new hotel & how we booked it for less money.
When it comes to visting Hawaii - there are two main options for accommodations:
Option A: AirBnB, Vrbo, Vacasa
Pros: Save $$$ on food, access to laundry, and cheaper for large groups.
Cons: Doesn’t always have a pool and can feel like you aren’t on a vacation when you are doing dishes.
Option B: Resorts (& many are bookable via points)
Pros: You are at a resort in Hawaii, what’s not to love?
Cons: Even on points, the resort fees & food prices onsite can get crazy $$$.
On Kauai, you must do option A for at least a few days. Why? This island is gorgeous and you feel horrible sitting inside for even a minute knowing you could be missing out on seeing sea turtles, rainbows, doing a helicopter ride over the mountain tops and much much more.
Which brings me to our stay at the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay……
First off, this place is stunning, JAW-DROPPINGLY gorgeous, and definitely worth every penny.
From the moment we arrived, we didn’t want to leave. And that’s a shame because as I said above, you will feel horrible missing out on all Kauai has to offer. My advice?
Book 1-2 nights at this hotel (through Amex FHR, but more on that below) and wretch yourself away from this haven to go to a vacation rental afterwards (or before) and experience everything Kauai has to offer. As hard as it will be leaving the 1 Hotel in the moment, you won’t regret it and end your trip feeling like you & your wallet got the best of both worlds.
Now onto all things 1 Hotel.
How We Booked Our Stay (for less)
Booking Method: American Express Travel - Fine Hotels & Resorts
Credit Card Used: American Express Platinum Card
The American Express Platinum Card comes with a $200 yearly hotel credit that you get through a statement credit each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts (1 night or more) or The Hotel Collection bookings (2 nights or more) through the American Express Travel portal when you pay with your Platinum Card. Fine Hotels +Resorts come with extensive benefits (listed below) and resorts will frequently have specials (like additional food & beverage credits) on top of the base $100 property credit that you get with every Fine Hotels & Resorts reservation. Booking a hotel that is apart of FHR or The Hotel Collection on Amex’s travel portal is like getting all the extra & special benefits that come with a travel advisor without ever needing to talk to one.
If you want to learn more & apply for an American Express Platinum card, my referral link is HERE. Note: please be sure to open the link in an incognito/private browser window so you see the highest sign up bonus possible (should be around 150k sign up points right now).
Nights stayed: 1
Total Cost: $1,150 ($950 after Amex statement credit)
Benefits of Booking through American Express Travel - Fine Hotels & Resorts
Daily Breakfast for 2 at the 1 Kitchen.
$100 Property Credit to be used during our stay (we could use for activities, dining, spa & more).
Early 12pm check-in (was available for us).
Guaranteed 4pm late check-out.
Room Upgrade (we were upgraded).
Free WiFi.
1 Hotel Hanalei Bay was offering a special through American Express travel when we booked so we received an additional $250 resort credit to use during our stay.
I’ve noticed that this hotel frequently has a special with Amex and there is usually up to $750 is additional resorts credits (exact amount dependent on length of stay) if you book through Amex FHR. You can use those resort credits for almost anything during your stay (food, spa, etc).
Cost Analysis (aka was it worth the $$$?)
While this hotel does cost around $1,000 a night, staying only a night or two is definitely worth it when you book through a luxury travel portal like American Express and get the extra benefits/credits.
Hotel Review - 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay
My Rating: 5 Stars
Arrival - 12pm Early Check In: They provided us with a light coconut rum beverage while they explained all our benefits & courtesy upgrade as per our booking through Amex’s Fine Hotels & Resorts. We had no trouble getting into our suite right at check in which was nice because we could get changed right away and enjoy the resort.
Our Room: We booked the cheapest base room, a Mountain View King and we received a free upgrade to an Ocean View Studio Suite. The suite has an extra 300 square feet and you can really feel it as there is a spacious entryway for your beach gear, large open air closet with room for both your suitcases to lay out, and a big l-shaped couch living room area and bar. The bathroom was honestly our favorite part of the room as it was large rain shower that overlooked the ocean & mountains and you could open the windows to hear the waves crashing while you shower. The bar was set up with high-end alcohol and local Hawaiian snacks (all free of charge). They also told us that suites come with priority seating at their onsite bars & restaurants but we never tested that out.
Ocean View Suite Pool & Beach Club Set-Up:
Adult Infinity Pool: This is one of the most picture perfect pools in Hawaii as it outlooks onto Mount Makana and Hanalei Bay. There are plenty of lounge chairs and even large bed style cabanas (and there is no extra charge for them!). Service is attentive, they usually come around with a few complimentary snacks & drinks every few hours. The only negative is the hotel’s workout class room is right next to one side of the pool & if you’ll hear the whole class if you like to get to the pool early in the morning while power sculpt yoga is still in session.
Main Pool: This pool is large and there are plenty of chairs but it is not as serene as the adults pool and I found the staff wasn’t as easy to hunt down for a drink/food order.
Beach: The beach is right off the main pool and the staff will set up your beds. You can also grab a paddle board, surfboard, snorkel gear etc quickly from their water sports shack right on the beach. The waves can be a little rough at this beach though so you can’t guarantee you will be get out there though.
Amenities:
Activities: There are a LOT of activities offered at the 1 and they are included in your room rate. I’ve never been to a resort in Hawaii that had more daily programming honestly. There is a good mix of everything to enjoy ranging from exercise classes, cocktail making & fresh coconut sipping to learning about Hawaiian culture & the island of Kauai.
Keiki (kids) club: We didn’t have any kids with us on this trip so can’t speak to it but we walked by the kids adventure classroom where you can drop your little ones off at for a few hours.
Gym: The gym here was impeccably furnished, it had every machine you could need (like Equinox equipped level) and a lot of space to do your workout in peace (even at peak hours like 7-8am).
Spa: We didn’t have enough time to visit their spa this trip but it had a large menu of offerings and their prices were on par with a luxury Hawaiian resort ($500 for a couples massage).
Food & Beverage:
The food was better than most resorts in Hawaii and definitely a noticeably higher quality than the Grand Hyatt Kauai and other Poipu resorts. They source the majority of the food they serve from local purveyors and the meat/seafood is also responsibly sourced from the Islands whenever possible.
Welina Terrace Lounge: This is the resort’s oceanfront high-end Japanese inspired restaurant serving up small plates, rolls & nigiri, and cocktails. Local musicians play on the weekends which creates a nice ambiance during sunset hour. We didn’t think the food was extraordinarily good - you are really paying for the view & experience. It’s more of a splurge night restaurant and you will find a lot of people celebrating birthdays, engagements etc.
Breakfast: This was included with our Amex FHR booking and it was a large buffet filled with local fruits, veggies and plenty of egg & pastry dishes. The stand out items were the fresh juices and Hawaiian coffee. It is served in the 1 Hotel Kitchen which is large open air restaurant with views of the Makana. It almost feels like you are in Jurassic park when it’s morning before the sun rises and the mountain is very green.
Welina Terrace Lounge (top) and the 1 Hotel Kitchen where breakfast is served (bottom) Departure - 4pm late Check Out: At our early 12pm check in, they confirmed we had a late check out of 4pm through American Express FHR. This benefit essentially made our stay there 2 full days and paying that $950 price for 1 night completely worth it. We never payed for any food out of pocket during our stay because we had breakfast covered and our $350 additional property credits all our other food/drinks. Honestly it was hard to use up all the credits in 2 days!
Overall, this is the best hotel on Kauai you could choose to stay at. It is well worth the price point but follow my advice and reserve a few days for an rental or cheaper hotel to experience everything else Kauai has to offer!
Awesome post Mer!