The Kahala is a lovely, albeit older hotel away from the crazy fun of Waikiki. We spent our fair share of time shopping, surfing, eating, drinking, and beaching it in Waikiki and on the North Shore but loved to return to the luxury and peace away from it all at the Kahala.

What we loved:
1. The beds were made up so beautifully that even though they were the too-small double beds, they felt like you were sleeping on a cloud--- AMAZINGLY fluffy and cozy.
2. Our room--although we had no beach view from our room, we did get something better, the view of the dolphin lagoon which was fabulous. We loved these creatures and having them 10 feet from us was pretty surreal.
3. The hotel has bicycles for use by guests in the parking garage. They could have used a little more air in the tires but still our family enjoyed a bike to Diamondhead crater and didn't have to rent bikes to do it. It was nice to offer this complimentary service.
4.The concierge was so helpful and I don't think James could have been kinder or more willing to help if I was his own sister. Both concierges I worked with to plan family excursions and rent a car were so helpful and gave great service.
5. The Activities desk was perfect for getting us booked for everything we wanted to do while there from Pearl Harbor to surf lessons. It wear like having a cruise director.
6. The rentals for use at the beach were great for teens-- snorkeling, kayaks--- they loved it.
7. Great selection of food at the breakfast buffet and whatever your taste they can make you happy--- Omlettes made to order, fruit, lox, and all the usuals plus UN usuals! They had fabulous waters (with fruit and such) and even Asian influenced rice and miso soup!
8. Their Pina Coladas were delicious! What is better than one of those on the beach? Speaking of the beach--the food service there was great too. Paolo was a great server and was so personable and kind--really genuine.
9. LOVED the free shuttle to and from Waikiki. If you wanted to stay at the Kahala w/o having to rent a car, this made it easy to get downtown and to various malls for shopping without having to rent on. We did rent and were pleasantly surprised that we had a really reasonable rate (even better than at home!)
10. Great to see all of the pics of the famous people who stayed at the Kahala--too many to name--but lots of familiar faces on the wall.

What we didn't like so much:
1. On the days we at breakfast there and wanted to keep it light with only a bagel or cereal, we of course opted not to have the buffet. On those days we noticed a real drop off in service. It seemed if we didn't get the buffet we didn't get as much love from our waiter. One morning it took nearly 30 minutes to get a bagel with cream cheese and when it came it was nearly burnt and cold. On the breakfast buffet days we were catered to and our coffee refreshed and continually asked how everything was.
2. The pool was pretty and all--but it was small and a pretty standard as pools for a backyard would go. No wow factor there.
3. The rooms were a little on the older side but had nice flat screens.
4. Bathrooms were large but two sink areas and shower were inside along with the private door to a potty. So if one of our teens was showering no one could use a sink or the potty. Just a thought for the Kahala if they are renovating anytime soon--having a sink out int he room somewhere is nice--especially when families stay there.

Overall the staff went out of their way for us-- were kind and very service oriented. The location was so pretty and good for those who want easy access to a lot of action, but also want peace and luxury too...

Dolphins-
Absolutely loved the dolphins and the sea turtle pool. The dolphin experience is expensive but money well spent if that is your kind of thing. I loved learning about them, touching, and feeding them. The dolphin trainers were knowledgeable and very friendly. The animals seemed well cared for and happy. For me, watching the dolphins was a major plus and brought this hotel from a 4 star to a 5 star...so keep that in mind in my 5 star rating.

Pool and ocean - The pool is small and the heater was broken so hardly anyone swam. However, the pool area is attractive and well kept. Being February it wasn't very crowded and we had no trouble finding loungers by the pool or beach. It was very windy every day, but we rented paddle boards, snorkel gear, and enjoyed laying in the sun. There are few waves, so surfing is out. The private beach is wonderful, with soft loungers, all the towels you need, and servers right to your chair.

Restaurants - Breakfast buffet was included in our room price and we absolutely loved the variety. Catered to American, Japanese and western European tastes. The restaurants are expensive ($32 pp for the breakfast buffet), and we only ate one other meal on the property which was nothing special, and was spendy. I loved the environment in the downstairs, more casual restaurant.

Room view - We had an ocean view room, but first there was the drive in and valet area, parking garage, and then the ocean. This location was somewhat noisy with cars, carts, etc. However, the ocean view was fabulous and we enjoyed our deck. Just be specific and clear on what type of view you want, overall every room seemed to have a good view, but some were fabulous.

Room - We had 2 rooms, one with a king size and one with two "double" beds. The double beds are TINY. Really for one person. The rooms are large and the bathroom has a sink at each end which was helpful when we were getting ready for dinner. Everything worked great in the room (the kids complained about the TV, but not sure what the issue was). The room reminded me of a Hawaiian plantation room in it's decoration. I really liked the decor.

Check-in - It was absolutely pouring down rain when we checked in so we had to go back to get our leis, which were beautiful. We also had a small plate of chocolate macadamia treats in our room when we arrived which was a great touch. Our luggage nearly beat us to our room, and the bell person was informative and friendly.

Staff - Housekeeping is fabulous. They were there at least twice a day, once to clean and once to turn down the beds. They were very responsive and friendly.
Concierge - not very friendly or helpful. Almost seemed as if he was filling in for someone else as he didn't know very much about local restaurants and flipped through a large book looking for information.
Front desk - so so..not that friendly or helpful. Our bell desk call button on our phone didn't work so we had to call the front desk to get our car brought up, they didn't always relay this to valet, so our car wasn't always ready for us. We had stayed a couple nights at the new Disney hotel prior to the Kahala, and the Disney staff were much more friendly and helpful.

Poolside bar - not friendly. The guys who come out and take orders were much better (maybe they are the ones who get the tips). Foo foo drinks are $12 and beer $7+. Pool side lunches $12+, I think the hotdog and fries was $16. But all tasty.

Spa - We had $160 (plus 18% gratuity) massages. Spa check in area is a small room near the shops and then you walk quite a ways to the massage area. However, the walk is worth it as the massage rooms are wonderful. The massage itself was nothing special and I get a better one at home for $50. Not something I would recommend unless you have the money to spend.

Overall - Although I may sound negative in the descriptions above, we loved this hotel as it seemed like an old Hawaiian plantation (although much smaller than a plantation). Loved the dolphins, the "private" beach, lack of crowds, large rooms with good views, and wonderful housekeeping. Is it worth the high price? Depends on what your are looking for. We thought it was worth it.

Our family has been going to this hotel for over 30 years, and while it is a little beat up, it is a great hotel, and usually a wonderful experience, usually!

What we were treated to is days of intense jack hammering and construction that could be heard all over the property, including in your room. This was done 9am to 5pm every single day. This was the worst "vacation" of all time!

Of course we brought this to the hotel managements attention, but they could not quite hear our complaints over the amazingly loud racket in the hotel lobby, really. Every time we complained, they pretended to listen, and apologize, but nothing happened, and the noise continued. There was basically a revolt at the hotel from all the guests and everyone was complaining, and yet nothing was done.

I created a video just to show what this noise was like, as it is almost too amazingly bad to describe. Even on the video, you can't really understand what it was like. And they had weddings going on this whole time too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FM-vUl0Yts&

We talked to several guests who said they specifically asked if there was to be any construction during their visit, and the hotel lied. The hotel also told us that the work had just started when we arrived, but we checked with other guests and it had been going on for 4 previous days!

This hotel has a complete lack of respect for the guests, their time and their money. Any other hotel would have notified guest up front, or never done this level of work with any guests there. There was no free room offered, or no option to move us to another hotel. The only compensation was a $100 credit per day, which is not even reasonable considering the expense of the vacation and what we experienced.

Find any other hotel than this, you can't be sure they won't pull this on your visit. I even heard that they are already planning on further work down on the beach from a hotel employee, so this is not over yet.

We booked through Expedia, got a great deal, were pleasantly surprised at the luxuriousness and quality of the Kahala. Rooms were lovely, private beach is lovely, service is extremely attentive and solicitous. Location is well away from the noise and traffic of Waikiki but close enough to Honolulu that all the great restaurants and other attractions are easily accessible by car.

Environs are quiet and peaceful (except for the occasional construction noise--they were renovating the lobby Veranda at the time).

Only downsides: The bar is small and not enough seats. Plumeria restaurant has a terrific breakfast buffet, but it's a bit pricey ($30). Spa prices are very expensive.

We didn't try Hoku, the restaurant, though it came highly recommended. It, too, is expensive.

Did we mention they have dolphins?

We'd come back to the Kahala for a nice relaxing peaceful vacation next time we're in Honolulu if we can get a similar deal.