jibi

If someone is offended by this paragraph, they are likely one of the people you are describing. I agree completely. ^

SJChick

Thanks, jibi. I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would take children to this resort; I wouldn't even bring my 23 year old! In my opinion, these are selfish parents who are hell-bent on this location. There are so many better places to vacation with kids. We stay at the Westin Villas for 2 weeks each January, and Maui is perfect for families. We expect lots of kids there and wouldn't think to complain about behavior at the pool or wet, sandy swimsuits at the bar. The St. Regis is whole 'nother ballgame...

m0hamed

We chose the StR because we wanted a property that didn't have children...

controller1

SJChick, please don't forget to post your review on the hotel's website.

SJChick

Thanks for the reminder, controller1; I'll try to do that tonight. Thing is, I really love this location but given the points to stay here, we may opt for the Westin Villas next trip.

Score8

I suppose people skip Orlando as the view is a bit better here and for those from California, equidistant. I too find many of the kids' behavior unfortunate, but for my 10 and 12 year old, this is a special place. If there was a Starwood hotel in Wailea, maybe. Also, if the Westin was anywhere comporable, then I would ask why so many people at the Westin seem to spend the day at the StR.

Anyway:

I'm just finished a week-long stay here and thought I'd post a review:

Room: We originally had a Prince Suite on 9, but were moved to a St. Regis suite for the remainder of our stay. We are a family of four, so the extra space was great. Our suite was on the second of three tier and had a nice combination view of both the bay, the pool area and the ocean. It's not as majestic a view as the higher floors, I suppose, but top notch nevertheless. I agree with other posters that the room appointments are not up to the St Regis standard, including the lack of the 'brain' in the phone that is typical. The bathroom is very large in this suite (separate shower) and the walk-in closet is attached to it. There's lots of drawers and hanging space for a four-some. There's a very large tv in the living area and a bose system. You can, I believe dock your iphone to the TV to watch your Iphone in large format (didn't try this). Both sets of windows open and listening to the waves crash is a highlight (roosters did get a little noisy towards the end of the vacation). Bed is St Regis quality. Desk has a few outlets, but they are tucked away from easy access (a pet peeve of mine). It's hard to compare a suite here to my regular room at the Bahia Beach in PR last year, but those new rooms in PR are a step above. Lastly, there was no minibar, but there was an empty wine fridge (which I filled from the local market with various beverages for the week).
Pool: Again, not that anyone asked, but the pool in PR was vastly superior in terms of privacy and architecture. What PR doesn't have is the very best view that I have experienced from a hotel/pool. Simply stunning. We tended to stay by the pool rather than the beach. The beach definitely looked like a nice place to sit for folks who aren't watching their kids in the pool. The service at the pool chairs was a bit sporadic and as with most St Regis, the price of drinks was $16+. I suspect management understands the elasticity of pricing/demand better than I, but I know that in my case that lower prices would probably keep me from going to the grocery store for beer etc…. The attendants were helpful in getting the chairs ready when called upon, but as was the case in other situations, were uncomfortably hawking for tips. The pool chairs were really uncomfortable. I'm guessing that the padded ones at other resorts are not an option due to the persistent rain in Kauai – understandable but a bummer. We spent a decent amount of time dodging the rain under the various umbrellas.
Pool bar/restaurant: We ate lunch at the restaurant here nearly every day. The Fish tacos were really good as was the Turkey Burger. Kids enjoyed the various offerings.
Kauai Grill: This is the higher end restaurant. We really enjoyed our dinners here. I know that there have been mixed reviews, but we had very good meals (various fish dishes) and appetizers we ordered were pretty large. Was the pork belly slightly over cooked? Sure, but that was the extent of the complaints. Our entrees of the Tandoori Sea Bass and the Mahi Mahi were great. One funny thing was that the bottle of wine that I ordered at this restaurant was 35 to 40 percent more expensive at the Makena restaurant, which is right next door.
Makena for Breakfast: My wife and I had the complimentary Platinum continental breakfast, which pretty much means that I ate oatmeal and fruit for breakfast nearly every day. My kids, who were on the SPG Kids program, got to have pancakes and bacon. No one ate eggs, so I can’t comment on the omelet station. There was definitely a break in period for the wait staff to understand that we weren’t supposed to be charged for the continental breakfast.
Makena for dinner: Great view from the deck. Our two meals at this locaton were good and the Ahi sushi was really excellent. In retrospect, I would have rather just filled up on raw Ahi then fooled around with an actual entre.
Other stuff: Valet was very responsive, and we used them at least once, if not twice per day. If we called from our room, the car was always there by the time we got to the front door. We had heard that wireless and cell service were a problem, but we had good results – both in our room as well as at the pool. Wireless was much more consistent than cell. Butler service for coffee was typically very quick and the coffee was really excellent. We did a Zodiac trip to the Napali coast - leaving from up north (most leave from the south) and we did the zip lining from at the Princeville Ranch group. Both were among our favorite things to do. Apparently there are a bunch of times during the year when the Zodiac trip is too rough and get cancelled (particularly in the winter). That’s all I can think of for now.

ridefar

In response to this and the OP it is referring to: maybe you should stay at a resort that explicitly asks children under 12 or 16 to stay somewhere else? We stayed there a couple years ago, and if anything it was far worse than the description in the review. Feral children were rampant in the pool area, the lounge, and breakfast area, the halls, etc. One of many many reasons I call the hotel a Holiday Inn with a great view. But I don't blame the parents for going there with children, why shouldn't they? Blame them for their children's inappropriate behaviour in public spaces (at least by my standards).

But given the outdated rooms, the terrible layout, the dismal service, mediocre food, and expensive price, you couldn't pay me to return. The StR Princeville is a 2* resort masquerading as a 5*. Why people think it is great is beyond me. It is crap value, and the fact that they can't decide if they are family friendly or not just makes it worse.

Edit: I don't have kids, and I still find the post off target.

controller1

I certainly hope you are wrong as I'll be there in early June for three nights. Just noticed that AAA gives it 4 Diamonds and based on traveler reviews TripAdvisor gives it 4.5 out of 5.

spgplat21

I think there was some slight exaggeration in the previous posts. Maybe a 4-star hotel masquerading as a 5-star, but certainly not a 2-star. I went there with my wife (no kids) and really enjoyed it. I will agree with the statements that it's not a super kid-friendly place. The pool is on the small side and there isn't a ton of open space for kids so it makes it seem like they are all right on top of you. But I've found that there are lots of kids almost everywhere in Hawaii so I wasn't surprised. The price point is on the high side and it seems to have only gotten worse recently so I don't know that we would choose to visit again, but I'm still glad we went.

Don't get me wrong, the kids were annoying at times and the rooms are not quite up to the standards of other St. Regis properties. But the hotel is still pretty nice (arguably the nicest in Kauai) and the kids certainly didn't ruin our trip. We had some minor hiccups, but the views from the hotel are still among the best I've seen and we enjoyed our dinners at both restaurants and the bar.

blort

If you're used to staying in Sheratons and Westins, it'll feel like a five-star property.

If you're used to Four Seasons, then it's going to be a let down.

I don't think the pricing is outrageous. Last time I stayed there, junior suites with breakfast and parking were $655/night. Partial ocean view rooms (not suites) at the FS Hualalai with breakfast were just over $1000/night.

On an unrelated note, went to Kauai Ono for the first time, and also highly recommend it. It's BYO -- the wine shop at Princeville Center is no great shakes but does the job.

controller1

Thanks for the recommendation! BTW, also paying that same rate of $655 for a junior suite including the parking and breakfast!

FD1971

Please see my earlier comments in this thread including a more objective review of this property in comparison to other SPG LC Hotels or other AAA 4 or 5 Diamond properties in general.

ridefar

I would argue that even if you are used to good Westins, it will be a let down (note that I have yet to encounter a "good" Westin in Hawaii--the one on Maui is not bad, not great, but it is relatively poor value, IMO). If you are used to good FS, it will be 2 steps down. At least. Where else can you go and pay $650/nt plus and not have access to a chair or an umbrella for shade unless you show up at 7 am, constantly have poorly behaved children underfoot, stay in a room that is badly outdated, and get terrible service from the staff (no exaggeration--service is not average, nor even poor, it is brutally bad)? Oh yeah, the spa is bad too. I was treated to a lovely diatribe by my therapist on why every state should be open carry for handguns, and how public education in Hawaii sucks. And the massage wasnt good either.

EXPLAT

We're renting a pool cabana but cannot find the layout. Any particular cabana number better than another? They reserve the cabana # at the time of booking, we currently have #2.

controller1

Just completed three days at St. Regis. The best cabana and largest cabana is #1. We had it one day and #2 the next day (#1 was already reserved).

#1 has a day bed, two chairs, and two chase lounges on the platform. #2 has a day bed on the platform and two chase lounges reserved on the ground next to the cabana.