We were very excited for our stay at the St. Regis Princeville. Princeville is located in the Northern side of the island, which is known for being the prettier side due to its lush grounds - which also means that the Northern side is the rainier part of the island. We went in November which is considered the start of the rainy season, and it did rain a little bit but we still got plenty of time in the sun.
The Princeville area is an upscale/planned community. We entered through a gate and saw golf courses as well as multiple condo communities. The Westin Princeville was located in the same general area. We didn't get a chance to visit it during this trip though.
From what we understand, the St. Regis Princeville used to be another resort which was then bought by Starwood and re-branded as a St. Regis. That explains why the hotel was not brand new, although they did do some renovations when the rebranding took place.
The St. Regis was located at the very end of the road. Parking was valet only, and we were greeted by his and her Leis which was a really nice touch. As typical in other St Regis hotels, the check in was done at a desk, concierge style. The lobby was nice and grande - and on the opposite side we saw glass walls that overlooked Hanalei Bay.
We were notified that we had been upgraded to an Ocean View room, which we greatly appreciated! Our room was on the 4th floor.
The room was a pretty good size and the view of Hanalei Bay was just gorgeous.
The bathroom looked a bit dated but still in good condition. Ours was decked in dark green marble. The one interesting feature about the bathroom was the window that we could fog by flipping a switch for privacy.
The furnishing was quite nice although it didn't feel brand new - but everything was pretty well maintained.
Activities at the St. Regis
Pool Service
We LOVED the swimming pool at the St. Regis as well as the pool service. We've never been to a hotel with such great pool service. The pool attendant asked us for our room number, and then proceeded to take 3 towels for each of us. Even though the pool was somewhat full, we were able to find a place to sit. The pool attendant asked us where we wanted to sit, and then he set up our pool seating: 1 towel to cover the top half of the lawn chair, another towel for the lower half, and the last towel for us to use after swimming. How nice is that!
The other nice thing about the pool service at this hotel was that they had a flag attached to our chair than we could raise to signify one of the pool attendants to come and take our bar/kitchen order. How nice is that. :) We shared burgers & fries and an oreo milkshake...yum!
We felt very pampered here and loved our visits at the pool.
Sunday Brunch at Makana Terrace
The selection was decent, although I think I had expected more. I think I'm biased/used to sprawling buffet options in Asia - and the one here was actually quite small - but it did have pretty decent selection and we're glad we tried it. I guess we're paying for the view. :)
The beach was located a little ways away from the pool. We ended up spending the majority of our time at the pool instead of the beach, although we did do a morning walk on the beach one day and it was really nice. I believe they also have "pool service" even if you're seated on the beach.
As far as I know, guests at the Westin can also use the beach at the St. Regis, but they aren't allowed to use the pool.
We looked up the calendar of activities during our stay at the hotel and noticed that they had a smores night on the beach and decided to check it out.
They have a pretty nice setup with all you can eat graham crackers, marshmallow, and chocolate bars. We were given the thongs to roast the marshmallow.
I was actually surprised that it wasn't crowded at all when we went - although from the check in sheet it looked like some guests did stop by earlier to do this activity as well.
Here's our result. :)
Thoughts:
We loved our stay at the St.Regis - definitely a step up from the Sheraton. Service was really good and we felt pampered. We have to say though the service at the St. Regis in Singapore was better. We loved the view of Hanalei Bay from our room, as well as the great pool an direct access to the beach. The only downside was that everything was expensive, but I guess that is expected. Also, if you are staying here, they have free DVDs to borrow. Another thing that was not advertised but also included was tea service, but we never tried it. We've only stayed at 2 St. Regis so far and we really enjoy it - it's quickly becoming one of our favorite hotels.
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