Yesterday, five days after returning to Monterey from Kauai I caught the last part of the George Clooney film The Descendants, where the family goes to Kauai and stays at the St. Regis Princeville. I saw the film once before and I did not realize there were scenes filmed at the St. Regis hotel and along the beaches of Hanalei. The weather was mostly cloudy during their filming at the St. Regis too.

Infinity pool at St. Regis Princeville.

Kauai is a trippy place with only about 68,000 year-round residents, yet there are many times that number of tourists annually visiting the island. The area of Princeville with around 2,500 residents can fill with more than 10,000 tourists in the busiest weeks. I read there are traffic congestion problems on the limited roads. That was not too much of an issue during the first week of December.

The north coast beaches of Kauai around Hanalei and Princeville average around 80 inches of rain and typically have about twice the annual rainfall of the Poipu resort area on the south side of the island. March 2-9, 2012 Hanalei set a weather record with 42 inches of rain in one week.

The rain only came down heavy on the last night of my stay with a brilliant lightning storm. I kept the windows open and watched the mountains light up in flashes.

Surf’s up. I watched one person surf a wave for about 30 seconds across hundreds of yards on Hanalei Bay.

The pool at the St. Regis is open 24 hours. There were generally only a few people in the pool at any one time.

The weather was in the 70s in early morning and pool swimming was comfortable anytime.

Floor 1 rooms at the St. Regis could be your dream room or a location to avoid at all costs depending on your desire to be adjacent to the pool area and hot tubs.

There are three dining areas at the St. Regis Princeville. Lunch was only offered at the pool area Nalu Kai Grill & Bar during my stay. This is a nice location with a shaded area outside, but no indoor seating if the weather is too hot and muggy for your comfort.

Nalu Kai Grill & Bar, St. Regis Princeville

Listening to the birds and surf was a pleasant dining experience. The place was kind of packed at the time I ate lunch with this restaurant the only place open for dining.

I ordered the $8 coffee milkshake at Nalu Kai.

John Travolta in the movie Pulp Fiction goes on about the $5 shake Uma Thurman ordered:

VINCENT:Goddamn, that’s a pretty fucking good milkshake!

MIA: Told you.

VINCENT: I don’t know if it’s worth $5, but it’s pretty fucking good!

Swordfish ($27) was a tasty meal too. Although, I don’t think I would pair fish with a milkshake again.

Catch of the Day at Nalu Kai Grill & Bar.

Nalu Kai Grill & Bar on right with activities desk straight ahead for beach rental equipment.

Apparently these beachside cabanas can be rented for a private dinner. During the day there did not seem to be an issue just sitting here for a while.

This hammock is just a few steps away from the pool bar.

The St. Regis resort maintains a small strip of grass lawn next to the beach if sand is not your thing. The area was popular for families with infants.

The beach at the St. Regis Princeville is not very big. You can walk along the sand a few hundred yards until the large rocks block the beach before the Hanalei River outlet.

Hanalei Pier

Away from the hotel the beach is narrow and bordered by mangrove forest.

Coconut on the beach, weathered and colored by the sea.

This is not the white sand beach you will find in other locations on Kauai.

Hanalei Bay is filled with coral reef making the water on calm days a good place for snorkeling. There are beach signs warning visitors not to walk on the living coral.

The Reef is Alive.

Related posts:

St. Regis Princeville, Kauai Part 1 (Room and lobby description)

Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas

I will likely write a third post on St. Regis Princeville to show more photos of the hotel interior. I found the interior design of the St. Regis Princeville quite attractive.

Disclosure: My two night stay room rate was complimentary from Starwood Preferred Guest American Express as part of SPG Amex Stars travel blogger campaign in 2012. The room rate was $360 per night during my stay. Airfare and all other expenses for my Kauai stay were covered by me.

Ric Garrido, writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.

Where are Hawaii hotel deals?

That question is by far the most asked query I hear. I seldom analyze Hawaii hotel rates since they are highly variable and exhibit the hotelier’s model of buy up packages. The great deals really are not too frequent at hotels unless you get a package with benefits and service discounts you would definitely have paid to use anyway.

I see good deals for 7-night last minute timeshare residences for Hawaii. Most people are too wary of waiting until two weeks before arrival to get the good timeshare deals, but if you have risk tolerance and a good backup plan, the deals are around. It has been years since I bought from SkyAuction.com, but they still have many great timeshare deals around the country and some international locations for $300 to $500 per week. Read More…

Waikoloa Beach Marriott celebrates its 30th anniversary on the Big Island with a Twitter contest for 30 days for a 5-night stay in a Royal Suite. A daily photo, Monday-Friday starting yesterday, will be posted @MarriottHawaii. Reply to @MarriottHawaii with a photo caption and include hashtag #WaikoloaMarriott30 in your tweet. The best photo caption for each day’s photo will be entered into a drawing for a five night stay in a Royal Suite at Waikoloa Beach Marriott on Hawaii.

Waikoloa Beach Resort & Spa Contest

• Follow @MarriottHawaii on Twitter
• Reply to @MarriottHawaii with a caption that best describes the daily photo.
• Include #WaikoloaMarriott30 in your tweet.
• A daily photo is posted Monday-Friday for six weeks beginning Monday 3pm (ET) July 11 through Friday 3pm (ET) August 22, 2011.
• The best caption each day will be entered into a drawing for a 5-night Royal Suite stay at Waikoloa Marriott on the big island of Hawaii. Airfare is not part of the prize. Prize is hotel room only for winner and one guest.
• Limit of one entry tweet per member per photo. Must enter by 2:59pm (ET) of day following photo posting.
• Daily qualifiers will be announced on Twitter and notified prior to next photo being posted.
• Grand prize winner for Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort Royal Suite stay will be drawn from 30 daily winners.
• Contest Rules.
• Prize is valid for travel from October 1, 2011 to October 31, 2012.
• Contest open only to US residents of 50 states and DC. Must be 21 years of age.

Marriott Waikoloa Beach Twitter photo-caption contest July 11 - August 22

Marriott Hotels in Hawaii have come up with a charitable promotion for tourists and locals staying in their five Hawaii resorts. A minimum 5-night stay is required. The last night of your stay will be donated to charity. Enter Promotion Code P74 in Corporate/Promotional Code box on reservations page.

Marriott Hawaii “Giving With Aloha” Press Release

The promotional code P74 is the same code used for Marriott’s Hawaii Paradise Plus promotion. Paradise Plus rates give you the choice between free breakfast for two daily or a Hertz rental car.

The primary difference between these special offers is a 5-night minimum requirement for the “Giving with Aloha” charity package. If your stay will be four nights or less you can still get the Paradise Plus package.

Charity donations are down significantly in 2009. The room rate for your last night’s Marriott stay will be donated to one of three charities of your choice:

1.       American Heart Association, Hawaii chapter;

2.       Kapiolani Children’s Miracle Network; or

3.       American Red Cross, Hawaii chapter.

Marriott Hotels in Hawaii participating in Giving with Aloha charity promotion

1.       JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa – Oahu

2.       Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa – Oahu

3.       Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club – Kauai

4.       Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa – Maui

5.       Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa – Island of Hawaii.

This offer is an altruistic gesture as long as Marriott is not adjusting the nightly rate to mean the hotel is passing the total cost of the donation directly to the hotel guest in the form of higher room rates.

Total Rate Comparisons after tax:

JW Marriott Ihilani Resort, November 7-12, 2009; 5-night stay

$1,688.80 Escape Package Ocean View Room with $50 daily resort credit for food and services.

$2,089.80 AAA rate Ocean View room. No additional amenities.

$2,084.15 Giving with Aloha package Mountain View room (lower room category). Breakfast for two daily and one night’s room charges will be donated to Hawaii charity.

$2,366.55 Paradise Plus package Ocean View room.

Rate offers choice of daily breakfast for two or Hertz rental car. (This would be comparable “Giving with Aloha” rate if that rate were available for ocean view rooms. $677.75 extra than the lowest available rate with more flexible resort credit.)

Loyalty Traveler Conclusion: Marriott has a charitable offer, but the charitable portion is being fully funded, or perhaps over-funded by the resort guest.

Loyalty Traveler Advice to Marriott – add higher category rooms to the Giving with Aloha offer. Every participating Marriott resort only shows “Giving with Aloha” rate for the lowest category hotel rooms. No ocean view rooms were found in a check of all 5 particpating Marriott Resorts for November 7-12, 2009.

Reluctantly, Loyalty Traveler gives the “Giving with Aloha” promotion 3 keys out of 5 keys and that is only for charity.

Loyalty Traveler Marriott “Giving with Aloha” room rate analysis in hotel detail.

Out-of-state guest package includes 5 nights in deluxe accommodations with daily breakfast

Hawaii Residents package includes 4 nights in deluxe accommodations; no breakfast.

Sample Hotel Rates at JW Ihilani Resort & Spa, 5-night stay

November 7-12, 2009

P74 Giving with Aloha Package (Room rate for 5^th night is donated to charity)

$369 per night Mountain View (640 Square feet, sofa, chair, flat screen tv)

$416.83 per night after tax

“Giving with Aloha” package was not shown for higher category room types on these dates. The following rooms were available as “Paradise Plus” package in website search.

Paradise Plus package with either breakfast for two or Hertz rental car.

$419 per night Ocean view (640 Square feet, sofa, chair, flat screen tv)

$473.31 per night after tax.

$469 Deluxe Ocean View (640 Square feet, sofa, chair, flat screen tv)

Cancellation rules: Cancel at no charge up to 3 days before arrival.

AAA rate 5-night stay, Nov. 7-12, 2009 No breakfast.

$322 per night Mountain View

$370 per night Ocean view Final Price $417.96 per night

$417 Deluxe Ocean View

Setting search parameters to show all rates revealed the best deal for this 5-night stay.

Escape $50 Resort credit per night was lowest available rate Loyalty Traveler found for 5-night stay Nov 7-12.

$299 per night Ocean View (rate includes $50 daily resort credit valid for resort restaurants, resort market, room service, internet, parking, spa, gift shops.)

$337.76 per night after tax with $50 in added-value daily credit for meals, market, gifts, etc.

Hawaii hotels are a rate comparison nightmare. Most resorts have a dozen or more special offer rates. Fortunately Marriott is a fairly user-friendly site for searching rate types.

Preliminary analysis indicated this was a reasonable deal for the hotel consumer who could get a nice hotel room including daily breakfast while contributing to a worthy cause. Upon closer examination, I was surprised to find the availability of the “Giving with Aloha” package restricted to the lowest category hotel rooms while the comparably priced Paradise Plus package that offers the hotel guest the same benefits for the same price includes higher category rooms – but Paradise Plus rates do not include a charitable donation from Marriott to a Hawaiian non-profit.

It seems odd that the Giving with Aloha rate is not available for higher category rooms when the identically priced Paradise Plus rate is offered for better room types.

Marriott is to be congratulated for making a charitable gesture by teaming up with Hawaii non-profits. Too bad my sample rate analysis using Nov 7-12 dates for the JW Ihilani shows the “Giving with Aloha” offer will cost the guest $400 more for a lower category mountain view room than another rate offer charges for an ocean view room.

The lowest available rate found for the November 7-12 dates offers the guest a better category ocean view room at a lower price with more flexible resort credit in $250 to spend at restaurants, gift shops, parking, and in-room services rather than just the complimentary breakfast offer of “Giving with Aloha”.

Na Pali Coast, Kauai