The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort, Waikiki
2259 Kalākaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815, USAAbout The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort, Waikiki
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2259 Kalākaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815, USAInterested In Having Your Listing On This Site?
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We loved this hotel so much! The charm and character of an old hotel always gets me! We only stayed a couple nights and walked the beach in the morning and ate breakfast (amazing pink pancakes is must!). The mai tais were amazing too. The pool is tiny and the beach is crowded but even so, it still worked for what we came for. The staff was great. The room was super spacious (we got a free upgrade from our amex). I would highly recommend this hotel.
Lovely grounds and the landscape is very well maintained. However, you can see some areas of the property need updating especially the rooms. We had two rooms (connecting) - which we had to pay extra for every night to have it guaranteed. The rooms are very outdated and felt very dirty. The bathrooms are so small and felt more like an afterthought to put them in. I am not sure how a larger size person would be able to move around. It would also benefit from an exhaust fan and perhaps some more shelves. I understand that it may be hard to renovate bathrooms as it would be costly but perhaps lighten the rooms and add more shelf’s. Our housekeeper was super friendly. The swimming pool is small and also appeared to be dirty and not cleaned - I saw nobody cleaning the pool and I was down to reserve my chairs at 6am (yes, if you want good seats at the pool - bring towels and leave a few items). The pool attendant John is the most nicest man I have ever met. He took care of not only my family but all the people at the pool. He is truly a gem and this property is lucky to have him. Even if I don’t return to this property on my next visit I will surely stop by the property to say hello to him. It’s close to all the shops and beach. The location was absolutely on point.
I love this resort and will come back for the location, history, and ambiance. But to be completely honest, here goes - half of the front desk people are great. Half are a little rude. The people at the Bakery are great, but the quality of food is so-so. If you like cold quiche, go for it. Valet folks are amazing! Pool is small, but people at activity desk are fantastic. You also get access to the main pool at Sheraton next door, and the lobby at Sheraton is a little more geared to kids/teenagers with pool table. Wonderful location, but nothing is perfect.
The Royal Hawaiian is truly a gem! I agree with some of the reviews on here, this property would be more fitting as part of the Autograph Collection. Property is well maintained for a hundred year old site! The lobby area is spacious and peaceful compared to other properties on Waikiki. We stayed in the historic wing for experience and the room is spacious, however, the bathroom was very small with limited counter space. We did have a window in the bathroom which provided ventilation. Our room did not have a view worth sharing. Front desk was fairly standard. Housekeeping staff always had smiles on their faces- one younger lady even gave us some chocolate to enjoy as we passed in the hallways! Thankful for the beautiful pink water bottles provided as a welcome gift- they were so useful as they were insulated and kept our drinks cold. Such a great souvenir as well! We also were able to try the famous banana bread from the bakery- delicious! We enjoyed attending the lei making class. The pool staff are great and helpful. The pool is very small but the beach is literally steps away!
I stayed here for XMAS 2024 in a Premier Mailani double room. During this period the room rate was circa USD800 per night plus 18% in taxes totalling USD940 per night. It was marketed as a 5 star luxury hotel. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Mailani tower marketed as the new wing is seriously outdated and would not rate as a 3 star room in any other hotel chain. Our room was dirty, the balcony couch was stained (foul) with the furniture scratched and marked. The seriously outdated bathroom which had an old shower curtain and was mouldy (hardly acceptable in the post covid era and is unhygienic) had a corroded shower frame and bathroom taps missing. There was no hot water and the hotel plumber was unable to fix the issue which resulted in a horrendous water hammer sound. The two double beds (one bed frame was broken and had to be supported by 2 cushions) for 3 people were so small that two persons struggled in each bed. There were large gaps in both the hotel door and the adjoining connecting room door with both light and outside noise coming in. There was no mini bar/poor coffee appliance in a cupboard with no power connection, and a very old model TV. The corridor had all the windows open which created a wind tunnel. Complaints with staff were dismissed or just ignored with 4 different duty Assistant Managers providing different excuses. (The GM did not even bother to respond to the issues as requested during the busiest period of the year) - the customer service which was non-existent. The hotel food was basic (the breakfast being well below any acceptable standard), and the small swimming pool in this so called 5 star hotel could only be described as an absolute joke and not best of breed. There was no visible hotel security and people could enter and wonder around as they saw fit. This is definitely not a 5 star hotel at this price point. The lack of any customer service and poor attitude of the hotel staff was a professional disgrace. I would not recommend to anyone to stay here as it is not up to 5 star status and would be lucky to achieve a 2-3 star rating in the western world. It would easily rank as the worst hotel and most dismal experience I have encountered. This is definitely not a Luxury Experience!