We have reservations for a garden view studio at HBR in early September. I am very concerned about the negative reviews I've been reading and would like to know if anyone has been to been to HBR in the last couple of months and can address the shabby room problems - studio rooms in particular.
Any recommendations for alternatives to HBR on the north shore (can't afford Princeville)are certainly welcome.

I was there a little less than a year ago and can tell you this:

On the plus side, the grounds of the resort are beautifully landscaped and it's great if you're looking for total relaxation. The view of Bali Hai is spectacular and the town of Hanalei, while not a happening place by any stretch, has some nice shops and restaurants. There are lots of rainbows.

On the negative side, it rains quite a bit (not for long, but it does rain), Hanalei Resort's beach is very unspectacular, the resort is very low key (i.e., borderline boring) and the one restaurant and one bar close at 9 PM so after that it's time for beddiebye. My room was clean enough, but the TV broke 3 days into the trip. The concierge would not answer a question without mentioning their timeshare program. (Example: Helicopter rides can cost $350 or $400 but if you listen to our 3-hour timeshare presentation we can get you on one for $200.) Next to the town of Hanalei, the nearest town is Kapaa, about 20 or so miles away.

Personally, if I had it to do over I'd look to the south shore for a nice hotel there and take a day trip up north -- maybe have lunch at Hanalei Bay Resort or Princeville. The scenery won't be as pretty, but the weather will be better, there's more things to do and you'll be closer to the different towns in the area. Then again, it's your honeymoon...

We are a family of six and just returned from HBR and although I have to concur with what the previous poster said, we would stay there again just because the views were spectacular. However, I would only stay there in the summer. It did rain daily, usually at night a couple of days there were passing showers. We didn't find that the rain impacted our plans however. My 13 year old learned to surf, we went to the beach, hiked the Na Pali coast, visited the light house,drove to Waimea Canyon, sat in the hot tub...life goes on, even in the rain showers. We had a three bedroom unit which seemed to combine two hotel units with a one bedroom. It was a bit shabby, starting with poor construction in the first place however, it met our needs and was comfortable. The view was spectacular. The pool is lovely, the restaurant was excellent and yes, they do "encourage" you to attend the time share presentation. It was a reasonable way to spend a morning however, the kids were still sleeping and it was worth the $100 towards our dinner. No, we didn't buy. They try to sell it as a 5 star resort. No way is it a five star resort. We drove to Poipu and the East side of the island a couple of times. We preferred the weather and climate up north to that of the south shore, particularly since it was summer.

We stayed one night there on our honeymoon in September. Of course that was 4 years ago and things change. We had a garden view room and it was gorgeous! We actually had a professional photographer take our pictures around the resort. They are spectacular! We did a lot of walking on the beach finding shells, and touring the resort. Princeville is a bit further North and breathtaking. Worth the trip for viewing. Regarding the bar closing at 9pm; pretty much the whole island closes down at 9pm. We were looking for gas one night, and the stations were closed. We stayed one week down south, and one week up North. It was like 2 different vacations. Very very romantic! Don't miss it.

My wife and I stayed at HBR in Sept 2000 and enjoyed it! If you are strong willed to say NO, take the HBR timeshare presentation and get a $100 gift certificate at their Bali Hai restaurant. The walk to the beach is steep but HBR provides transportation. See http://www.geocities.com/coconutpala...onreports.html for things to do and see. Helicopter ride with Island Helicopters was great! The rains do not last long. Enjoy and congrats!