Want to take advantage of Marriott STARS benefits, including a space available room upgrade, complimentary breakfast, a hotel credit, and more? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked. This is valid for paid stays at BVLGARI, EDITION, Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, and St. Regis.
The St. Regis brand is making a comeback to Hawaii, with the conversion of a property that has huge accommodations…
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The Resort at Kapalua Bay joining St. Regis brand
Marriott has signed an agreement with Kemmons Wilson Hospitality Partners to have the Resort at Kapalua Bay join Marriott’s portfolio. So, how soon is this all happening?
Marriott’s management of the hotel has started as of March 14, 2026, without belonging to any particular Marriott brand. Thanks to that, Marriott Bonvoy members have a points and status angle (however, I’m not sure about points redemptions, due to the types of accommodations). The property will now undergo a renovation (during which time it will remain open), before joining the St. Regis portfolio at some point in 2027.
For those not familiar, the Resort at Kapalua Bay used to be managed by luxury hotel group Montage, but they seemingly recently lost their contract for the property. It’s located on Maui’s northwest coast, and sits on 25 acres of oceanfront property, within the larger Kapalua Resort community. It’s also less than a mile from the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua Bay.
The resort features 146 accommodations, and they’re all multi-bedroom, ocean view residences. All residences have two, three, or four bedrooms, and range from 1,774 to 4,050 square feet. So it’s interesting to have a St. Regis where all accommodations are multi-bedroom residences.
The resort offers a 40,000 square foot spa with 19 treatment rooms and ocean-view wellness facilities, several outdoor pools (including a multi-tiered, cascading lagoon pool), and access to a championship level golf course and tennis courts.
Rates at the property currently start at around $2,500 per night (that includes the $185 per night resort fee — ouch!), but go up substantially from there. That’s of course very expensive, but let me emphasize these are all multi-bedroom units.
For what it’s worth, while this isn’t yet technically part of one of Marriott’s luxury portfolios, the hotel does already belong to Marriott STARS, which would be the best way to book, to get perks like a hotel credit, breakfast, etc. Ford’s team can help with these requests, and can be reached at [email protected].
Once this becomes a St. Regis, it marks the brand’s return to Hawaii. In 2022, we saw the former St. Regis Princeville Resort rebrand as the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay.
I’d say this is a generally positive development
It’s always interesting when we see luxury properties rebrand, given what’s often going on in the background. Sometimes the major hotel groups with loyalty programs pick up properties this way, while sometimes they lose properties this way.
For example, we recently saw St. Regis lose its Puerto Rico property to Four Seasons, while now we’re seeing St. Regis gain a property through a conversion. Quite honestly, my general take with these conversions is as follows:
- It’s always good when a conversion also includes an investment in renovating a property, and that seems to be going on here
- All else being equal, I of course prefer when a hotel belongs to a major loyalty program, so I can earn and redeem points, and take advantage of elite perks
- I also know that Marriott managing a luxury property generally isn’t good for service standards, a focus on guest experience, etc.
In this case, I’d say this is positive, since the property will be improving (through a renovation), and we’ll gain new options for points and loyalty perks. What we’re seeing with the Resort at Kapalua Bay is very similar to what we recently saw at the Resort at Pelican Hill, which is also now being managed by Marriott, and will become a St. Regis after an extensive renovation.
Bottom line
Marriott is taking over management of the Resort at Kapalua Bay. While it’s already bookable through Marriott, the plan is for the resort to undergo a renovation, and then officially be branded as a St. Regis as of 2027. This is a big win for Marriott and quite a loss for Montage, and I’m curious to see what the resort looks like after a renovation.
Admittedly this won’t be for everyone, not just in terms of the generally high price point of luxury hotels in Maui, but also in terms of all accommodations here having multiple bedrooms.
What do you make of the St. Regis brand returning to Maui?
Was there just a month ago and heard at the time that the Montage might be losing their management of the resort. Was also there in 2024. Beautiful high end property. True, the beach is not very big but it’s not that small and has some of the best snorkeling anywhere on Maui. All of the exteriors of the buildings have been or are being renovated over the last 2 years. Will be back in...
Was there just a month ago and heard at the time that the Montage might be losing their management of the resort. Was also there in 2024. Beautiful high end property. True, the beach is not very big but it’s not that small and has some of the best snorkeling anywhere on Maui. All of the exteriors of the buildings have been or are being renovated over the last 2 years. Will be back in early 2027. Excited to see what future changes might be made. Hard to imagine it could get much nicer. I will say the service didn’t always match the surroundings on my recent visit, there’s room for improvement there. Otherwise it’s already a pretty premium destination.
Stayed on this property back when it was the Renaissance Kapalua Bay Hotel 25 years ago, was a true old-school Hawaiian resort. Shortly after they knocked it down and built the Montage.
Yeah, Montage really changed that area. Do yourself a favor, save loads of money, and book a Kapalua Bay Villa. We've stayed in those multiple times and, other than a slightly longer walk to Kapalua Beach, it's an amazing stay. The first couple times we stayed there the spa that became the Montage's spa was included as were all the Ritz Carlton facilities. The spa was really great then, I'm sure it's over the top...
Yeah, Montage really changed that area. Do yourself a favor, save loads of money, and book a Kapalua Bay Villa. We've stayed in those multiple times and, other than a slightly longer walk to Kapalua Beach, it's an amazing stay. The first couple times we stayed there the spa that became the Montage's spa was included as were all the Ritz Carlton facilities. The spa was really great then, I'm sure it's over the top stunning now. But I digress. Same some money and stay somewhere else
The beach is practically nonexistent. It’s Its such a tiny beach that it might as well not be there. But the property looks forever from outside. All “rooms” have nice big oceanfront glass windows.
Great place to grab a cocktail and laze in the nice pools all day.
300k points/night standard redemption incoming
It will be interesting to see what, if any, impact this has on the higher end grand properties on the other side of the Island (Wailea) that are in a race to the bottom...looking at you the Grand Wailea
Wait till it starts denying platinum breakfasts by making the claim the restaurant is from a third party then somehow magically when it comes to breakfasts for paid stays through FHR/Stars, etc its suddenly included as part of the same hotel!
So St. Regis is now the "luxury" conversion brand for Marriott?
In the meantime, I wonder what Bonvoy perks will be honored.