Wai'oli — Restaurant in Hawaii

This place is a hidden gem! I've tried a majority of the shave ice places on Kauai that use fruit-derived flavors (ie no artificial flavors) and this is one of my top picks. You have to go through the 1hotel and take 2 elevators to get there but it's well worth the detour and the hotel offers gorgeous views of Hanalei Bay. The shave ice is $15 but it's about 2x the size of your standard shave ice and you get to pick 5 flavors plus real fruit toppings. It's easy to split with someone else and the price ends up feeling pretty comparable to getting 2 shave ices anywhere else. Every flavor that I tried was delicious (guava, matcha, coconut, pineapple, and vanilla made from real vanilla beans) and the fruit was perfectly ripe.

Service was great, friendly, and fast!

To get there, you'll have to valet your car or park nearby, go through the lobby, past the concierge desks, take a right to the elevators, go down the elevators to the 4th floor, get out and go down a hallway to a second bank of elevators, take them down to the 1st floor and then go across the pool area where it's located along the back next to the restaurant. Again, a bit of a trek but...

We recently had shave ice at Wai’Oli at the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay. We were not guests at the hotel, but came up from the beach to grab some shave ice. This is just one of several shave ice locations we tried on a recent trip, and posted reviews for each. Wai’Oli made a very strong showing.

The smoothness of the ice is excellent, with very little chunks of ice. The menu has a lot of variety, and you have the choice of five different named dishes, or creating your own. The create-your own invites you to choose a gelato or sorbet, house-made syrups, and toppings. Everything we had was delicious; I would recommend getting the Mai Tai gelato in your shave ice. The atmosphere is great: poolside, right along Hanalei Bay, with the mountains in the background. The only thing keeping Wai’Oli from being the best on the island is the exorbitant price. $14 or $15 for a medium-sized bowl. Offensive by island standards, but probably a bargain for guests at the 1 Hotel...

Hotel one was beyond...