Old World Meets Old Hawaii at St. Regis Princeville

When the St. Regis Hotel opened in Manhattan during September 1904, it was described as one of the most opulent hotels of the age, in the finest neighborhood of one of the world’s great cities.

Rooms were climate controlled and each had telephones, which were new innovations in hospitality at the time. En-suite bathrooms were still decades away. Room rates began at $5 per day, around $127 adjusted for inflation today.

Five thousand miles away on Kaua‘i, sleepy Hanalei couldn’t likely have been more different, with few fine carriages and only a handful of motorcars punctuating the sounds of the tradewinds and the breaking surf.

One similarity, however, was hospitality.

The Garden Island, which is still printed today, gave notice of attractions still popular with modern visitors, (such as the wet and dry caves at Haena), and also advised that rooms could be had in a large family home for $3 a day. Oh, and telephone ahead when leaving Lihue so that a room could be prepared, often by the mistress of the household herself.

Deverill’s Hotel, an 1838 private home later called The Hotel Hanalei, has long since been demolished. But very near its site, the St. Regis Princeville carries on the legacy of 1904's original with distinct nods to the rich heritage of its own fine address.

Just as the corner of 5th Avenue and 55th Street in Manhattan is the best address in the city, the crest of the hill overlooking Hanalei Bay with its lazily long surf break and lurid sunsets is a special place on this most lush of the Hawaiian Islands.

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Arriving visitors receive a lei greeting. Then the anticipation builds as they’re escorted through a cool, fragranced passageway one might find in a private home of the St. Regis’s nascent years before being deposited into an expansive lobby with wraparound views of the bay that curiously seem to magnify the scenery.

Misty green mountain peaks yield soaring waterfalls while seabirds dart and plunge from beach to sky. A showpiece crystal chandelier seems to evoke the drops of the island’s rainy blessings or the mystery of the valley’s fleeting waterfalls, which surge after rains only to slow to a trickle, then disappear.

Guest rooms and suites are outfitted in the rich fabrics and polished marbles one might expect in the New York original, but with distinctly local touches such as work by local artists and the gold maile leaf patterned boudoir pillows. Junior suite and suite categories here include St. Regis Butler Service.

In addition to butlers unpacking and caring for garments and stowing luggage on arrival, guests can also return to rooms just before check out time to find clothes expertly packed between layers of tissue paper crowned with a personal note and bright orchid in a final gesture of farewell. Butlers also proffer coffee or tea upon arrival and with a wakeup call each morning. The coffee is magnificent: 100% Kona Coffee on an orchid-adorned silver tray with a chocolate macadamia nut biscotti.

Guest room windows slide completely open to take full advantage of the sea breeze, and it’s a leisurely way to spend the morning—sipping coffee, watching the surf and plotting a day in one of the world’s most beautiful locales.

My butler sported the cultivated tan, easygoing manner and well-known family surname that spoke of longtime association with the island. Inquiries about dining and island activities coaxed forth a steady stream of excited recommendations.

With gorgeous views of the bay, a fantastic infinity edge pool, plus attentive beach and pool service with attendants offering chilled face towels and fruit skewers, it’s difficult to leave the hotel.

This seems to have been taken into account, for there’s plenty to do on site. The gift shop is even surprisingly (for a luxury resort) well priced for necessities and souvenirs compared with similar outlets elsewhere on the island, including the grocery store just up the street at the Princeville Shopping Center.

Dining on site is a gracious affair best taken in a progressive form.

Sunset, either indoors or outdoors at the St. Regis Bar with its eye-catching mural is a definite must, as is the champagne sabering here just as the sun slips below the horizon to enlighten distant lands. Guests can dine on light bites, try the hotel’s signature Aloha Mary, along with bloody Mary incarnations from other St. Regis properties—look for recipe cards at turndown—and listen to local artists strum out Hawaiian and pop standards.

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For dinner, culinary superstar Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Kaua‘i Grill (dinner only, Friday through Saturday) is a “don’t miss” with local steaks and seafood—plus a lovely crunchy quinoa salad and crispy caviar-topped soft egg.

For a more relaxed setting try Makana Terrace, which does sumptuous buffet breakfasts and cozy al fresco dinners where fresh seafood takes the limelight. Poolside dining at Nalu Kai is typical poolside fare, yet with Hawai‘i favorites like kalua pork, poke and, of course, mai tais.

While the resort is large, with several hundred rooms and suites, the property cascades down a hillside toward the water that also seems to disperse guests throughout. The pool and beach almost never seemed crowded, nor does the sanctuary Halele‘a Spa with its jetted spa showers, locally produced Maile Organics products and iced towels for post steam/sauna bliss.

One morning in Makana Terrace, as I was waiting for my Portuguese sausage omelet, I noticed the mu‘umu‘u clad hostess (who had greeted me and the other guests that morning) personably showing a large family who were clearly scoping out breakfast options on their first morning and not quite sure about the breakfast buffet.

As I watched her open the silver chafing dishes and explain each of the buffet items to the group with the family’s youngest child on her hip, I felt echoes of Deverill’s and the unquestionably Hawaiian style of hospitality that hasn’t changed in a century or more. It is incidentally also central to the St. Regis identity.

When you’re a guest here, you feel like you’re in a grand, private home among new, lasting friends.

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The Takeaway

With gracious service both comfortably rooted in the Old World and Old Hawai‘i, the St. Regis Princeville offers guests an accessible, heartfelt hospitality that won’t soon be forgotten.

The Math

Rooms start around $505 per night plus resort fee.

Instagrammable Moment

Sunsets, champagne sabering, pool and beach shots and butler-delivered coffee with stunning views are guaranteed to draw FOMO and follower likes.

Loyalty

Starwood Preferred Guest

Good To Know

Parking is valet-only, and there’s a daily charge. For guests planning to spend most of their time at the resort, it may be worthwhile to arrange for transfers. There are also car rentals available onsite.

During peak seasons, reservations are highly recommended for Kaua‘i Grill, which is also popular with guests not staying at the resort.

Kaua‘i’s north shore is one of the wetter coasts on the island. Sunseekers can typically find clear skies on a rainy day by heading to the drier southern and western coasts. And don’t complain about the weather, locals refer to raindrops as “blessings” because they’re the island’s only source of fresh water.

Accommodations were furnished by St. Regis Princeville in preparation for this story.

The author recognizes the importance of Hawaiian Language diacritical marks, such as the kahako (macron) although some have been removed for web browser compatibility.