JohnRain

Thanks Valveking. Could you please elaborate why you find the FS Hualalai a bit better than Montage? I'm asking this because both properties are on my shortlist.

ridefar

I didn't even notice it, but my wife did remark on it once or twice. We are early to bed, early to rise in Hawaii though--that may have something to do with it. We had a sea view room (which is closest to the road).

aa213bb

Spoke with my colleague, and he essentially confirmed all of ridefar's same comments.

Very much enjoyed the stay, felt private, romantic, and with very good food. Just, of course, be aware it is not on the beach.

Valveking

The Montage has a phenomenal hard product, and I loved the Kapalua area. We would go back in a heartbeat. I thought Hualalai had better service and much better food. The food prices at the Montage were insulting even for a luxury property and the food is only fair. Luckily there were plenty of good places to dine in the area including Merrimans right up the beach which is great.

The Montage did one thing which I found very annoying. They have a lovely pool area but they reserve most of the good spots for cabanas which they charge for. As far as I could tell, the cabanas got you nothing extra and they were never rented. So what this did was cause the dreaded chair dibsing issue on all of the chairs that were not in cabanas and it was totally unnecessary. Just give the cabanas away for free just like the FS in Hualalai and Punta Mita do.

FS Hualalai is just a special property. It is hard to explain but it just has a great vibe. It is almost always booked but never seems overwhelmed with people, but there are just enough people there to give it a very festive feel. Eating dinner at the Beach Tree with people all around having tons of fun and the kids chasing the torch lighter down the boardwalk just makes you feel good.

Be aware that Hualalai seems to have basically withdrawn themselves from the upgrade part of the FSPP amenities. They will only upgrade into the next room category and if that is booked then you are a out of luck and they will try to charge you for an upgrade. That is a little annoying also.

Kagehitokiri

montage and hualalai are very different designs

hualalai, mauna kea, mauna lani have houses (with pools) one can rent

upgrade benefits are always worded as "one category"

montage cabanas probably related to the many condos

Valveking

It may always be worded as one category, but rarely have I ever seen that actually enforced so rigidly. It makes it very tough to get an upgrade since there are so many different room categories. The point is that I would book the room that you will be happy in as I would not expect an upgrade here. We had two rooms and the "two category jump" would have gotten us the exact same room with a slightly better view. They wanted an extra $200 a night per room for the slightly better view.

I am not sure what the Montage condos have to do with the cabana issue?

Regardless, both of these properties are fantastic. I would rate Hualalai as one of my favorite luxury properties. The Montage is also great. I am guessing that they are the top two properties in Hawaii right now. Unfortunately, we did not make it down to the FS Wailea to compare, but the RC Kapalua is not even close to being in the same class as these two.

Kagehitokiri

number of pools at montage vs number of pools at hualalai for example, plus recent changes at hualalai

montage bedrooms - 168 BRs in hotel + 260 BRs in condos (Exclusive Resorts and Inspirato own/lease a bunch)

Valveking

I am still not clear how this relates to the cabana issue. They had plenty of space at the pool if they didn't have half the chairs tied up with unused cabanas.

Kagehitokiri

montage may still be figuring things out, although have managed for 3 years
owner is Colony/Woodridge. is there a condo owners association yet
how is montage residential sales advertising cabanas/pools to buyers
things like cabanas may already be seasonal, or become seasonal

other reports here mentioned montage charging for a lot of things
montage does not have the same hotel revenue, not sure re residential

(two thirds of hualalai owners do not rent out)

KatW

Best luxury hotel in Hawaii with children in tow? Kids are 7 and 11. Children's program a plus. A friend recommended Grand Wailea; it looks awfully glitzy. Other recs? Thankee.

We would need a one or two bedroom suite for the family plus another suite for ourselves.

bhrubin

Best hotels in Hawaii? There is no consensus because there is no obvious best hotel or two...and because no 5 star hotel is perfect for most and/or delivers the best Hawaiian experience for most. Many will simply choose the FS hotels because they always assume FS to be superior--but that isn't always true in Hawaii because it's such a popular and captured market.

Deciding which island is most of interest is as important if not more important than deciding which luxury hotel is best IMO.

Here's my best Hawaii summary:

My favorite island: Kauai

Best Kaui luxury hotel: St. Regis Princeville is the best and only luxury option, and has the best view/location of any luxury hotel in the Hawaiian islands. That being said, this can be a cloudier/wetter location depending on the season, and it's an older building (but with completely refurbished interiors). Service here is wonderful. To me, this is the 3rd best luxury hotel in all of the Hawaiian islands after the FS Hualalai and FS Maui. The Grand Hyatt Kauai is a very nice GH, but it isn't quite luxury as much as people want to pretend.

My second favorite island: Hawaii (the Big Island)

Best Hawaii luxury hotel: FS Hualalai is unquestionably the best luxury hotel for most on the Big Island, and many will name it as 1 of the 2 or 3 best luxury hotels in the entire Hawaiian islands (along with the FS Maui). Most will indicate the Mauna Lani as the clear second best luxury hotel on this island.

Many people's favorite island: Maui

Best Maui luxury hotel: FS Maui is unquestionably the best luxury hotel for most on Maui, and many will name it as 1 of the 2 or 3 best luxury hotels in the entire Hawaiian islands (along with the FS Hualalai). Montage Kapalua Bay and the RC Kapalua are nice luxury hotel options in that area of the island, with Montage winning for that region, but neither capture the consistent service excellence of the FS Maui. The Andaz Maui is like the Grand Hyatt Kaui--a nice option in a great location (almost FS adjacent) that isn't quite luxury.

Least discovered island: Lanai

Best Lanai luxury hotel: FS Manele Bay, followed by FS Lodge at Koele. Some might consider this to be 1 of the top luxury hotels in the Hawaiian islands, but its more remote location and trapped resort feel is a boon/bust depending on your preferences. It does have the newest and best hard product.

Rarely anyone's favorite island but the most visited: Oahu

Best Oahu luxury hotel: Halekulani, followed perhaps by the The Kahala. Both hotels approach luxury but don't always fully deliver on their promise IMO. Halekulani offers a retreat with Waikiki proximity, while Kahala offers a quieter periphery location. The FS at Ko Olina is not even close; if you want less urban/more remote location in Hawaii, you don't choose this Oahu property. The Trump and The Royal Hawaiian aren't quite luxury in the same league.

ridefar

There is no universe in which the StR on Kaui deserves to be called a luxury hotel. Neither the hard or soft product are even close to the standards of luxury. Even being generous with the definition of those standards based on competition and location. It may well be the best property on Kaui (dreadful if true but still likely) but that doesn't make it luxury. Yikes I know I call this place a Holiday Inn with a great view but even if you rank it much better than that it is still nowhere near the standards of even the worst luxury property I have stayed at.

bhrubin

I couldn't disagree more...and I've been there twice in the last 5 years. Have you even stayed there, recently or otherwise?

I have the benefit of perspective, having stayed also in the past 5-6 years at the FS Hualalai, FS Maui, and FS Manele Bay (pre-reno), not to mention the Halekulani several times, the Kahala, etc.

The St Regis Princeville is most certainly one of the nicest luxury hotels in Hawaii, and the nicest luxury hotel on Kauai

The hard product at the StR Princeville is absolutely comparable luxury to all of the other luxury hotels I mentioned--though as I said, the exterior isn't pretty because it is an older building (not unlike the Mauna Lani and many other Hawaiian luxury hotels!) that isn't permitted to be renovated by Hawaiian law. The interior public spaces and the rooms/suites are beautifully decorated and authentically Hawaiian. And the view, as stated previously, is the best in all of Hawaii. And the soft product service and food/beverage is also absolute luxury--easily as good as any of the other top hotels in Hawaii.

I had no major service issues for either of my last StR Princeville stays. I had major service and hard product issues at my last FS Hualalai, FS Manele Bay, and Halekulani stays--such that each of those had to comp us 2 nights of our stays.

Considering I've stayed worldwide at more luxury properties than most, including 10 Amans, several Peninsula, MO, and too many FS, RC, and other StR properties to count, not to mention smaller luxury properties like the Gritti in Venice, Singita Boulders/Ebony, La Residence, the Saxon, and Cape Grace in South Africa, Mukul in Nicaragua, Cayo Espanto in Belize, Alvear Palace and Las Cavas in Argentina, Villa San Michele and Il Pellicano in Tuscany, the Upper House in Hong Kong, Las Ventanas and Maroma in Mexico, I think I have a pretty good handle on what is considered luxury.

Referring to the StR as a Holiday Inn doesn't help with your credibility, either.

KatW

The Grand Wailea is by no means my cuppa tea yet it seems a good choice for those traveling with children which pertains to my post above. Also, only one stop from NYC. We'll be in Napua, the club tower.

We have some experience in Hawaii -- Lodge at Koehle, Manele Bay, Hualalai, the old Hana Maui, Halekulani. The Lanai properties were the best back when. But, you have to do that hop from Ohau which is onerous.

ridefar

I wasn't aware this was a "mine is bigger than yours contest."

I actually have stayed at it. For 10 nights. Just to deal with one of your aspersions.

I do feel I have a reasonable basis for comparison. To deal with another aspersion: my Aman experience by hotel count is similar; as is my experience with other luxury properties. Beyond that I don't really feel obliged to list them. Sorry.

On to the actual stay. In terms of hard product the room was badly dated. It was quiet. But in no way was it beautifully decorated. The public spaces were nice. But no more. No nicer than many Westin's. There were insufficient umbrellas at the beach. The food was mediocre. The hard product is truly unremarkable.

Service wise it is a disaster. I distinctly recall getting 10 different combinations of glasses for water and juice over ten mornings. The message therapist that insisted on regaling me with her Brietbart inspired political opinions. The concierges that simply refused to respond to email or phone messages. The front desk that was equally indifferent. As were the servers in the bar. And the folks down at the pool. And so on.

I know you have an abiding love for SPG and your Ambassador status. The year that I stayed there I too was Ambassador if I recall correctly. The service was still consistently inexcusably miserable. Saying you had issues elsewhere is irrelevant.

You are entitled to your opinion. However it would be nice if you accorded me that same courtesy and acknowledged that mine is equally grounded in experience.

My opinion based on a great deal of experience with the property in question and luxury properties around the world is simple that it isn't. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Being better that it's local competition is no great achievement and in no way elevates it to a luxury property.