Aloha Condos, Hanalei Bay Resort, Condo 1558, Mountain View, AC

Good view of the mountains (waterfalls if you look close) and jungle off the back porch. Great pool / hot tub. Princeville is total yuppie cookie cutter-vil, but, it is comfortable and easy! Hideaways beach is one of the best sunsets on the island and only a 15min walk away if you like steep paths. Decent snorkeling at Hideaways (better than the hotel beach down the hill). The North Shore is one of the prettiest parts of the island and we like staying up there, lots of beautiful beaches that require 15 min often steep hikes to access, and only ~ 1h from Poipu / the southern beaches and 2h from the west side / Polihale (another not to miss sunset - great camping). So any day it is rainy up north, you can hop in the car and hit sunny places down south.

Be aware that there are a LOT of fees associated with resorts / rentals in HI. Everyone charges a cleaning fee (obviously a room needs to be cleaned after it is stayed in - separating the fee is good marketing, makes the price appear artificially low. They could charge $1 per night, then charge for cleaning, linens, trash, electricity, pool, key, wifi, front desk, etc). Advertised price probably 70% actual cost.

This condo is clean and has a great location on the resort property. Quite and private! Close to stores. Make sure you bring your towels back with you from the beach and return to the desk when checking out. If you plan a Queensbath visit it is easier to leave your car and just walk there. Long walk, but no parking at Queensbath. I would definitely return to this condo!

We had a lovely time at the Hanalei Bay Resort. The condo was nicely furnished and the gift bag on arrival was appreciated. Loved the balcony with the view of the mountains and waterfalls. My only suggestion would be too fix the shower so the water could be adjusted to a warmer temperature and a small skillet would be useful. I guess the pool doesn't have a heater and prior to our visit they had cooler temps so the pool was too cold. The jacuzzi is very nice. Mahalo

This was a perfectly compact studio for a couple at a very reasonable price. The management was very responsive and provided very clear instructions from booking to the check in process. Don't be put off by the Murphy bed - it was comfortable and easy to pull down. It was nice to have a kitchen and washer/dryer (very helpful during the rainy season as the north of Kauai gets very muddy!). The only slight drawback was the lack of warm shower water which my guess is a function of the resort plumbing and not the specific unit.

We enjoyed the resort and its amenities and felt the resort was nicely maintained without being cookie cutter. Be aware that the $20 resort fee which gives you access to resort amenities such as wifi, the fitness room, hot tub and pool, is separate than the stated price of the room on VRBO and is collected upon check-out. Our only negative experience with resort service was with the concierge who booked us a yoga class on the property but failed to inform us that the yoga instructor could not make it.

A note on dining: the resort restaurant opens at 3pm so your breakfast options are nearby hotel restaurants (St Regis and Westin), buying groceries or grabbing food in the Princeville shopping center (<15 min drive). The restaurant is perfect for happy hour appetizers and drinks. Overall, we had a wonderful stay in Hanalei Bay and hope to return again in the future.

We absolutely LOVED this condo. I cannot say enough good things about it and our stay.

Things we enjoyed:

-The wonderful lanai

-That it was located near the pool

-The well stocked kitchen made cooking a breeze

-Dishwasher

-Very clean and comfortable

-The shower

-The wonderful jungle view

-The beach and snorkeling

-The resort as a whole blew us away! It was BEAUTIFUL!

Things that were not our favorite:

-The bed

While the bed was fairly comfortable at first, the mattress bowed inward which made us both sink into the center of the bed and into each other. My only suggestion at all about the condo would be to get a foam mattress or mattress topper to help with this issue. Foam, even a 1/2 inch topper would help. I know the clearance with the fold up bed doesn't offer a lot of extra space to work with, but I think this would easily solve the issue. While at first it didn't bother us, after 7 nights my back hurt terribly. I'm in my 30's and I thought about trying to sleep on the couch the last night of our stay. With one person in the bed it's not too big of a problem because they would be nestled in the middle of the mattress but for two people...it was uncomfortable. This is my only critical feedback and the only thing that would make us hesitate about staying here for that long again. We are already planning a return visit to the resort because we enjoyed everything else so much. This small upgrade would have us signed up, in this unit, in a heartbeat to stay here again, possibly even twice a year.

Thank you for a wonderful vacation and taking the time to read my feedback. We can't wait to return!

Amanda Krafft