Review: Striking scenery takes centre stage at 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay

Location: Nestled on Kaua’i’s laid-back North Shore, 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay looks out over mountain scenery and the golden crescent of Hanalei Bay from a cliffside spot near Princeville. The island’s diminutive size means getting here from Lihue Airport on the main ring road takes less than an hour.

First impressions: Breathtaking. It may sound clichéd, but from the moment we pulled up to the hotel’s porte cochère – a wooden entrance draped in greenery, with warm wooden lamps and a gently trickling waterfall – I knew I’d love it here. The view of the mountains, ocean and beach takes centre stage in every space, which I soak in from the property’s signature restaurant, 1 Kitchen by chef Chris Crary, where high ceilings, open doorways and trailing vines bring the outdoors inside. Looking up at the hotel from its secluded beach, the light wood blends with the trees, the windows reflect the ocean and the jungle enveloping the property place it in perfect harmony with its surroundings. The same is true in my Mountain View Two Queen Room, which is furnished with rattan, reclaimed wood and macramé wall hangings. Beyond the room’s sliding windows, foliage cascades down the walls, and from the chaise longue, I enjoy a slice of the hotel’s homemade banana bread, made with locally sourced fruit and vanilla beans from nearby Lydgate Farms, and admire the stunning coastline.