bocastephen

This is unfortunate and doesn't sound like their usual service delivery model - but I will say this - never, ever stay here within two weeks of one of these private corporate events. Everyone is stressed out, some of the facilities or areas are closed to construct temporary stages or venues for the event, and no one really wants to be there especially when the 'attendees' start showing up and making the place a nightmare while dropping the class level down to a Holiday Inn Express clientele - the best time is the week after the event when the staff is relaxed, relieved, the attendees are gone, and upgrade opportunities from some of the room areas are much easier (ie the Golf/Ocean Villas) during venue tear-down...and prices are often at their best the weeks after the event and before the holiday period begins.

RichardInSF

And exactly how is a guest supposed to know these events are going to happen just after their booking? The hotel will hardly volunteer the information.

bocastephen

Regulars know the event schedule - most of the resort book-outs are annual things, but I agree the information should be volunteered by the hotel, both verbally while making a reservation by phone, and on the website, given the experience prior to, and immediately after a book-out event will be different than normally expected.

bhrubin

pancakex

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Cityflyer10

Thanks for the report.

Sounds like the usual service issues that people complain about at the FS Hawaii properties! Have you visited FS Maui or Lanai? If so, were does Hualalai rank relative to either, in your mind?

scented

Sounds like the typical "vacation mill" that Four Seasons is pulling off on Hawaii.... AVOID. Much better Four Seasons elsewhere, where you are actually treated like a guest.

BESVISOR

For Hawaii, after having visited all 4 FS properties in recent months, I'd say the only one worth visiting is Four Seasons Lanai and the value spot is booking the Love Lanai to get unlimited activities include (if you're active). The other 3 aren't impressive at all. Maui was my least favorite one.

Pausanias

Such a shame about Hawaii - fantastically beautiful islands, nowhere decent to stay, though in the early 1980s, when I first went there, the Mauna Kea and the Kapalua Bay were decent options with lovely beaches.

Cityflyer10

aa213bb

God, how dreadful

bocastephen

I am really concerned about some of what I read in the review, but thanks for sharing - question - when you say you booked through FSPP, I assume you mean a FS Preferred Partner agent, correct? Did you advise them of any of these issues during the stay? If not, this is the first thing I would recommend doing in the future - you shouldn't be taking time to complain and escalate, the travel agent should be doing this for you while you're relaxing.

Hair in the shower? This is a major fail! The one thing I can always count on at Hualalai are clean rooms and bathrooms, even if both are starting to look worn out. This is a major pet peeve for me, and I would have had housekeeping in there immediately to rescrub every inch of that room - nothing is more unforgivable to me than to find traces of previous guests in the room, on the sheets, towels, etc. I've stormed out of hotels in the past for just such an issue that went unresolved.

Of course it could have been worse - as the world's biggest arachnophobe, I've always been fretting about finding a cane spider during one of my stays in Hawaii - especially after reading about a fellow FT member's adventure with a giant sized cane spider running up and down her body at the FS Lanai many years ago. Last time we were at Hualalai, we walked into the room and found what we thought was an odd piece of artwork on the wall that we didn't notice before - which then took off running around the room - the cane spider. Luckily maintenance came quickly and was able to catch and get rid of it....and even more lucky, we saw it before turning in for the night. It happens - they can run in through an open door or lanai in a flash, I didn't hold the hotel responsible, but I was a little peeved they sent the maintenance guy over with a bottle of what he said was "natural, non-chemical" insecticide instead of a bottle of the DDT I was hoping to see.

There are areas designated for receptions and parties, but it's really hard to keep the noise from disturbing at least one wing of rooms - however, the hotel should be guiding the party noise down once midnight passes. One of the reasons we always book the Golf/Ocean villas and request a room as far away from the resort as possible, is to be completely isolated from nighttime disturbances and to get the privacy that is almost impossible from other room areas.

For check-in, I prefer a quick turn - I want to be in the room changing into my bathing suit, not getting an instructional session on the same amenities I've been using for 10+ years. Give me the cold towel, mai-tai, lei, and room key and let me go. Sometimes I leave everyone in the car, run inside to sign my paperwork, quick wipe of the towel, gulp of drink and grab the key packet and I'm off.

The FSSP amenity should be coordinated by your agent - they should be contacting the hotel to pre-arrange a specific amenity and greeting card.

bhrubin

Thanks for sharing...how dreadful the FS Hualalai still can be.

Makes me want to return to the less-than-perfect but still wonderful and far more hospitable St Regis Princeville on Kauai and appreciate how spectacularly beautiful the views are and how good the food/beverage and service can be in comparison.

KatW

I think I'll just give up on Hawaii. Six trips, always disappointed.

Nicoolio

I thought the problem was more that some of these hotels have vanity owner, who buy in for love, then realize Hawaii's high labor and operating costs mean they don't feel like they will get ROI and they realize they are already in very deep!