My family stayed at the Hanalei Hotel a number of times in the late 80's and early 90's and we used to love it. Of course I was a teenager for most of those visits and had somewhat different expectations of a hotel than I do now.
We spent three nights there in mid-september along with other family members. We had a total of four rooms. All in all, we had a good time, and many things were the way we remembered them. The pool is great, the spa nice, but a bit of a walk from the pool. The koi ponds and whole area between the buildings is still nicely landscaped and pleasant.
On the negative side, parking is atrocious. It costs $8/day so you can park in a space that is about 6" wider than the typical car. That is if there isn't some sort of special event going on and you can actually find a space.
Our room wasn't bad. Certainly way beyond the typical Motel 6 room, but maintenance wasn't as good as it could be. I had to fix the toilet in my room so it would stop running in the middle of the night. Also, the TV has no usable inputs to attach a video camera, game system, or whatever else you may have.
Based on the price we paid (about $135/night with parking and taxes,) I would expect more. Considering the location and time of year, it probably isn't too far out of line, but I have stayed in much nicer, fancier hotels in other cities, for less than that.
It was fun for the memories it brought back, but I will certainly look harder at other options next time I go to San Diego.
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