[Left Marriott 15 Nov 2018] St. Regis Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii [Master Thread]
May 26, 2013, 1:05 pm
As a Platinum SPG member and booking a 10 night stay on points with Suite a night Awards at the St. Regis Princeville I still was not confident on my chances of an upgrade after reading this thread. However 5 days prior to our stay I received the magical email notifying me of an upgrade to a Prince Junior Suite!!! Our honey moon from May 26 - June 5 will be even more special!
May 27, 2013, 7:00 pm
May 27, 2013, 9:36 pm
May 27, 2013, 11:45 pm
Jun 9, 2013, 9:10 am
Also, does anyone know if the Platinum breakfast credit can be applied towards the cost of brunch?
-FlyerBeek
Jun 17, 2013, 9:59 pm
Jun 17, 2013, 10:27 pm
Jul 1, 2013, 10:00 am
Jul 2, 2013, 11:34 pm
The room was really nice, would have been better with a balcony but we just sat at the table by the window and had a similar effect. Very nice rooms. Had a fridge in the room, so we picked up a bottle of champagne at Longs in Kapaa rather than pay the 200% markup.
Took the continental breakfast for a quick bite to eat since we had activities planned most mornings (I would call down for the valet to get the car, head over for coffee and breakfast for about 10-15 minutes, and go to hiking/scuba etc). Pastries, croissants, cereal, bagels, smoked salmon. They didn't seem to really care who paid for what, but that's what they specifically told us we could have at one point or another; to be honest, it wasn't really clear what was included in the continental breakfast.
Excellent service that under-promises and over-delivers (room service quoted 35 minutes, came in 20). Butler service was very helpful without being overbearing. We only took advantage of the in-room coffee service one day and I had a couple shirts pressed, but everyone we walked by would ask if they could help.
Towels by the valet to take to the beach, etc. Valet would offer water to go as well, and take our dirty towels. Valet was fairly quick; I don't think I waited more than 5 minutes even if I didn't call down.
Wish we could have taken advantage of more activities and amenities at the hotel. We did the spa which was very good, but priced at the high end. No hot tubs or anything at the spa, just some nice showers, steam room, and sauna.
The pool was nice, but fairly crowded and often had a lot of kids nearby. The beach was similar. At least we could easily get open chairs whenever we went, though.
We didn't get a chance to see the sabering, though we've seen that a few times already at other St. Regis properties so we didn't make it a priority. We walked around the beach at around 8 pm one night and didn't see the tide pool activity or s'mores, and the stargazing activity the next night was rained out (I assume), since we didn't see anyone around at around 7:30. Maybe we were in the wrong place. A small wedding there seemed like a nice spot, and we met someone while on a scuba trip who was in a bigger wedding later that week.
Internet was really really slow for me. I actually shut off my wifi and used 4G since it was faster, except when I needed to download apps that required wifi.
Overall, we had a great stay and wished we had a couple extra days to just hang around the property. For 8000 star points and $150 a night + $30 for resort fee + tipping the valet + SNAs, it was great value. For families hanging out at the resort more I might recommend the Grand Hyatt in Poipu but I don't think Princeville can be beat for relaxation.
Jul 25, 2013, 8:18 am
I used my suite upgrade awards and we were upgraded to a junior suite, which was beautiful. We enjoyed how quiet it was so that we could enjoy the sounds of nature outside. The room was very clean and comfortable. The bathroom was gorgeous and had a beautiful tub overlooking the bay in Hanalei.
We dined at the Jean-Georges restaurant downstairs one evening and thoroughly enjoyed it. The food was spectacular. The restaurant could benefit from a renovation, but that did not take away from the great food and service we received.
My only regret is that we didn't stay longer at the St. Regis Princeville!
We cannot wait to return at some point in the future!
Sep 11, 2013, 8:19 pm
Sep 12, 2013, 1:34 pm
Sep 14, 2013, 4:25 pm
The St. Regis Princeville Resort
5520 Kahaku Road Princeville, HI US 96722
The St. Regis Princeville Resort (0 Photo)
The St. Regis Princeville Resort
We are about to depart after a 3 night stay. Initially we had booked at the GH, but decided it was too family oriented for our liking. Managed to get a $395++ prepaid rate which seemed reasonable given the other rates on spg.com
It's an easy drive from LIH, realistically about 45 mins. We drove in and the bellboy gave us us leis which seem to be made from wood (perhaps for men?) and immediately took our luggage. He introduced us to another bellboy who walked us to check in and waited.
Check in was swift, and I already knew we were preupgraded to the beautiful Bali Hai Signature Suite. We chose the breakfats amenity with the $15 upgrade to the full buffet.
Bellboy gave us a thorough tour, made recommendations and even gave us an overview of the room features. The hotel sent up a bottle of Champagne for a special occasion we were celebrating.
The room appears to be the size of 4 standard rooms, is a bi level suite with 1.5 bathrooms, full Kitchen including glasses, cutlery, even pots and pans with separate butler entrance. I figure this is what celebrities book, and may request the butler or a chef cook specific meals in the kitchen. You could host a dinner party for 8 and a cocktail party for 16 judging by the wine glasses.
The property is the perfect antithesis to tacky Honolulu. It's quiet, beautiful and calm. As soon as we arrived we noticed a much different clientele to Honolulu. Guests are mainly American, and you won't see shorts or singlets in the lobby.
We walked down to the beach and had a quick swim. I didn't realise it was so rocky and literally swim directly into a rock. There is a pocket of sand next to the big tree where there are no rocks and where most people stay.
We didn't use the pool, but the gym is adequate.
We expected f&b to be expensive, but the Accents boutique on site sells high quality gourmet snacks such as Proscuitto, cheeses etc. They even sell Musclemilk! To save on alcohol (we mainly drink cocktails) we bought a bottle of Grey Goose and Scotch fromt the ABC store en route on the highway.
We did visit with Westin for dinner, but this came to $175 and was not worth it. In hindsight, we should have ordered rooms service. We had out final dinner at the Kauai grill and did the tasting menu which I recommend.
It appears that other guests were leaving the property to eat in the local town. We did drive along the coast and to the end of the road and the local town Hanalei is quaint.
The butler delivered our coffee every morning, and on the final morning brought us pastries. Other than minor requests, we didn't really utilise their services. The staff here are genuinely warm and friendly, it's not the typical LA customer service which I find beyond insincere.
The internet is painfully slow. We rented Jurassic Park off iTunes and it took 12 hours to download. Simply unacceptable for a property of this nature. Also, the Kauai Grill tried to deny the 10% for SPG members despite being grestaurantsandbars.com/united-states/hawaii/kauai/kauai-grill-by-jean-georges-vongerichten
Overall the property is beautiful, and great for America, but it's not the Maldives. If you were looking for a once in a lifetime holiday, for this price I would go to the Maldives.
Last edited by m0hamed; Sep 14, 2013 at 6:32 pm
Sep 15, 2013, 6:40 am
I'm about to go for my second trip to Hawaii of the year and I visit every year and own at the SVO property on Maui.
And I'm startled by your comments about "tacky Honolulu".
For a start, the finest restaurants and the finest hotels in the islands are located there. Yes, the Royal Hawaiian has taken to nickel and diming, but the Halekulani and Kahala hotels are a cut above.
Secondly, the hotel at Princeville has a pretty view, sort of like Moorea only full of rain.
But how can you talk about the Maldives, when Windward Oahu is vastly more beautiful - and only an hour from Honolulu? You get the turquoise water of the Maldives, but instead of boring flat coral islands you get spectacular mountains like in French Polynesia - the Maldives offers no lagoon / mountain landscapes whatsoever. Kailua, Lanikai and Bellows at Waimanalo Beach are each massively more beautiful than anywhere in the Maldives, and not far off French Polynesia in their levels of beauty. And they are in the county of Honolulu.
And lastly, what about the culture in "tacky" Honolulu? The Royal Mausoleum is my favourite historical site in the USA, with the Royal Palace not far behind and the Bishop Museum commanding an honourable mention. And surfing culture and history is extremely important to, for the town that gave the world Duke Kahanamoku.