Built in 1927, The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort, Waikiki is an iconic resort hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii that ushered in a new era of luxurious resort travel to Hawaii.
Situated in the heart of Waikiki, the luxury hotel offers cultural activities, concierge service, valet parking, doctors-on-call, florist, currency exchange service, Japanese concierge, laundry and dry cleaning, world-class restaurants and bars, wireless internet access in rooms and all public areas, multi-lingual staff, 24-hour room service, business center, and beach and pool services at our Malulani Pool and Helumoa Playground.
Loved our stay here. The hotel is very pretty. Rooms are big and the bed is super comfy. Great smelling shampoos. Loved the rocking chairs facing the water. Wish all the rooms had a sit down balcony. The only complaint I had was they need a much bigger pool.
This is our family’s favourite hotel resort of all time. A truly beautiful hotel with such character and lush grounds. The hotel staff were exceptional, especially Elaine from Surf Lanai. She was such a great example of excellence in customer service and always proactive in our needs. The onsite bakery was so yummy for light breakfasts or snacks. The resort activities includes were also a lot of fun, from lei making to kukui bracelet making (which was a nice respite from the sun when needed). The toiletries were also high quality from Malie, just gorgeous! RH guests also get access to Sheratons pools which includes a water slide that was a nice addition to beach time. The beach was nicely shallow which allowed for lots of safe water play and sun bathing. Highly recommend!…
Reading the reviews from December had me slightly panicked about our reservation and what to expect from the hotel. When you are spending a lot of money to travel from the east coast of the US to Hawaii this isn’t a small concern. Here is what we experienced. We arrived late on a Sunday night with one family ahead of us at check in. Check in was not a speedy process, not entirely sure why to be honest but the man checking us in was pleasant and our luggage was already handed off to a bellman so at least it was just ourselves standing in line and not us with a bunch of our stuff. Anyway, you get wristbands that activate the doors to your rooms and if you are in the Mailani Tower it also accesses that area and it’s elevators. One point on the wristbands, we had two rooms and each room required one new wristband because it wouldn’t work. Once that was sorted out the bands were fine the rest of the trip. The lobby, shops/hallways and grounds are beautiful. The signature scent of the hotel is wafting about and can be purchased in a store called Accents on property. Have to say i got both the reed diffuser and the room spray, bringing a little bit of vacation home with me. We ate at the Surf Lanai restaurant twice for breakfast and both the Avocado/Tomato and the Short Rib Benedicts were delicious. That said, the menu is crazy expensive, with most menu items averaging $32. Also did the pool food/drink service which starts at 11am with food from the same restaurant and it was decent. Had a good Poke Bowl for lunch and my husband and I split the Cheese platter which was also good, although again pricey. That said, we came on vacation knowing full well this wasn’t going to be cheap. We did walk to the local Denny’s one morning for breakfast, which honestly was not bad and a nice quick option near the hotel. The rooms are where most people seem to complain and to be 100% honest I understand. If the hotel is listed as premium your mind goes to a certain level of expectation. These rooms are VERY average. Our bed was comfortable, we had a lounge chair in the one corner which was nice for one person, but the other person had to sit on the bed. Our balcony had a couch and a small table which was nice and a spectacular view of the ocean, pool area and Diamond head. That is what you’re paying for, at least in the tower rooms, the view. Everything within those rooms is fairly dated, the bathrooms could use a refresh. The robes and slipper they provide are nice (and if you want your own pink striped rob they are for sale in the shop for $158). Room service has been suspended so that is another touch I think people may be expecting at a premium resort hotel. I could knock off a star for this, but I knew this going in from the other reviews. The rooms were also really clean and the housekeeping staff was very good at keeping us tidy and stocked with water. Everyone we encountered who worked there were super nice and friendly and really made our experience great. They all get 5 stars all on their own. So again, this is not the cheapest hotel to stay at, but it’s also not the most expensive and it is located in a great spot of Honolulu. You can share some of the amenities with the Sheraton next door and you are steps away from some great city shopping and dining. For those reasons I can recommend a stay here.…
I love historic hotels and this is one of the best! Right on Waikiki Beach—and the grounds are magical. The room was good, worth the price. The ambiance of the hotel is the thing, though. Stay here for an exceptional experience, whether with a romantic partner or family members, like I did.
I've wanted to stay at this hotel FOREVER as it's so beautiful But after finally biting the bullet and paying an exorbitant rate, I was pretty disappointed. This place is expensive. I stayed in the newer tower with a balcony and my room was no better than an older Sheraton. My first red flag was when I was checking in and there was a line of people at the desk complaining about a number of things. Clearly there were unhappy guests for broken issues in their rooms. Here are some of the highlights I'd share: Room - dated and small. Old carpet. But the balcony was nice with a great view Bed - was very comfortable as were the pillows Love the amazing bathrobe Lobby and common areas - gorgeous with nice seating Pool - way too small for the number of rooms and not the best for children. Get down and get your chair early as they fill up quickly. Children fill the pool and since it's small, it's not as comfortable if you don't have children. The jacuzzi was supposed to be for 16 and older but at one point my hubby and I counted 9 children in with us, all under 12 years old. Restaurants: Love the mai tai bar! But drinks are really expensive. Loved the truffle fries and other food was good. Best part was eating at the bar for breakfast. Food was delicious and the bartender Eric was amazing. He was personable, offered great suggestions and made our time that much more enjoyable. Overall, I'd say this place is overpriced for what you get. There are other places to stay that are just as nice, if not nicer and cost less.…
The Royal Hawaiian is a dump. Out front you will find trash on the beach discarded by bums and homeless people and the hotel does nothing to address the situation. As I walked out on the beach a homeless guy was camped out surrounded by litter cardboard boxes and broken chairs and umbrellas. He was very aggressive when asked if he would clean up the area surrounding him. Pretty scary and not what I would expect for $50 per day resort fee. The hotel did nothing just looked the other way. No police to be seen. Never again!
My husband and I have been coming to royal hawaiin for nearly 30 years and over the past 7 years have returned annually with the exception of 2021 always with the anticipation of a memorable stay Having said this and for the first time I am compelled to write a review on trip advisor ever I am a member of Sheraton Marriott Bonvoy and was equally excited about the benefits of points I would enjoy whilst enjoy what was one of our favourite hotels anywhere Day one we arrived late and exhausted and I had looked forward to just relaxing in the room and enjoying a room service burger to find after ringing for room service for nearly 45 minutes and finally getting hold of the guest services manager that there was no room service in the hotel at all I have to say that this in the most basic of hotels for all travellers is usually essential and that this was not properly disclosed when you are booking to come here a complete reflection of marriott group and a culture that appears to be losing too much as it becomes so much bigger as a group. The following day the kids we most of us travel with were promptly told by a person at the pool to leave the spa as it was now only allowed to be used for kids over sixteen. Odd at the least as we and most of the other families that travel here annually have always been able to have the kids enjoy the spa from when they were 2 years of age. These same kids are now 10 years old. When I raised this with the guest services manager I was told it was because of the fumes from the spa???? I asked then why 16 year olds could cope with the fumes and or why they have allowed all of the other children to frequent the spa which is attached to the pool itself over the last 7-8 years if they were breathing in the fumes. As yet there is now written response as to the real reason Concierge services - beware in principal they sit they but have a strong inability to understand any requests or what you are even saying in queens English. Finally breakfast as always appears to ad new rules to its all inclusive breakfast policy every single year For a family travelling in these times breakfast is a huge bonus but now beware if you choose the royal hawaiin The standard inclusive breakfast is juice fruit cereal eggs coffee however as of now at the royal hawaiin if for example you feel like a juice and a coffee you are not allowed in your breakfast inclusive package to have both Sadly it feels at the moment that is all about the NEW rules and nothing about disclosure to guests looking to book this hotel They do have a duty particularly with long term returning guests to ensure they know about changes that are relevant to the comfort and cost of their stay Full breakfast package which covers the cost of travelling in these more expensive times with families - explain what that means as it is not much more now than a light continental breakfast you might get at a one star resort No room service which is imperative for anyone who may be weary or want some quiet time and a meal or hot chocolate in their room Facilities that may exclude one or more of the same cost paying guest Thankyou for your time…
Very average hotel outdated, poor service. No room service long queues tiny pool. Old and outdated. The only good thing was that it was very private. Nice to come back from busy Waikiki Beach. The gym was also tiny. Not luxury at all . Don’t get me wrong it’s a nice hotel but that’s about it .
I have wanted to stay at the Royal Hawaiian for years, it was always on my bucket list. There was always something very special about that hotel when I walked through it. So I paid a huge premium for one night this last Dec. on a trip to Waikiki. I paid close to one thousand for that night. I noticed as we went to our room, the hallways (floors/carpets, windowsills) were dusty and dirty, needed vacuuming, the brass in the elevators was very dirty and full of prints, not to mention all the dirt in the floor corners of the elevators. When we got to our room in the historic wing, the room had a very musty smell upon entering, the lampshades were very dusty and the bed pillows had absolutely zero support. The worst part was the bathroom for sure! The toilet was wedged between the wall and the vanity-so close you could not sit back on it! My husband (who is 6/1 and 190# had to lean forward or he would be wedged in! Room 242- Unbeleivable! I sent formal complaints and review to the hotel manager, all I got in return was a "so sorry our cleanliness did not meet your standards, we hope you will give us another try". No, sorry Royal Hawaiian, you broke my heart, you dashed my dreams and nostalgia for something I hoped would be all that I imagined it to be. So beware fellow travelers, you will get much more bang for your buck elsewhere!!! Totally disapointing.…
No room service for a 5* Hotel. During last weekend no laundry service. Restaurant close at 9.45pm Bathrooms are tiny Check out staff not really supporting, when credit card not working. Just tell you to fix your problem yourself eventhough it’s obviously their payment system which fails to accept my cards Breakfast for 6 people about 350$ Location is of course great, fantastic. Food quality is good too. Elevator door partially didn’t open. will not go back but chose differently. Surely not 5*. Let’s give it a low 4* rating but for a price of ~800$ a night surely not a bargain.
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