The Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort, Waikiki

“Beautiful and historic but perhaps not worth the cost.”

I recently stayed at the Royal Hawaiian during my vacation in Hawaii. I had wanted to stay there for some time because of the history of the hotel, the reputation, and for the prominent location in Waikiki. It was a good experience but considering the cost of the hotel I expected better. The r... more

I recently stayed at the Royal Hawaiian during my vacation in Hawaii. I had wanted to stay there for some time because of the history of the hotel, the reputation, and for the prominent location in Waikiki. It was a good experience but considering the cost of the hotel I expected better. The room and facility were clean and the staff were friendly. When asked, they were very helpful. The location is excellent and the grounds are beautiful. I expected an older hotel but was surprised that many features of the hotel are not maintained better; the historic elevators, for instance. The room I stayed in was functional and clean but rather sparsely furnished for a $600/night room. The air conditioning could not keep up and the room remained warm all night long and did not become cool until 6:00 AM. I was shocked to learn the very small, simple pool closes at 6:00. Why would the hotel of a prominent and expensive hotel close at 6:00 PM? I found a number of other hotels and condos in Hawaii now close their pools early; the excuse of some - "COVID". Give me a break! The check-in and check-out process was very slow. A constant line for the front desk exists because there are few staff members to help guests and they were not making any effort to speed up the process. Sometimes staff members at the front desk were not helping guests for 10-15 minutes while there was a line of guests waiting. Lastly, I was shocked to learn the hotel tacks on an additional "Fee" of $42 + taxes per day to the bill on top of the room charge. This fee is added for amenities that should already be covered in the room/hotel charge. I would love to stay at the Royal Hawaiian again, but I may have to reconsider based upon the observations above.

less

“Iconic landmark to stay, rooms leave room for improvement”

We stayed here for our first two nights of our honeymoon. We chose the Royal Hawaiian for its location and history/cultural relevance. Overall, the view from our room and its proximity to the beach were ideal. We could watch the surf break from our balcony and we were just seconds from the beach.... more

We stayed here for our first two nights of our honeymoon. We chose the Royal Hawaiian for its location and history/cultural relevance. Overall, the view from our room and its proximity to the beach were ideal. We could watch the surf break from our balcony and we were just seconds from the beach. The recent renovations of the grounds and lobby etc are beautiful and make the stay iconic. The rooms themselves, however, were drab, outdated and at times a bit nasty (see attached photos) - the lamps were rusty, the vents had mold, the bathrooms felt a bit dank. In addition, the pool area was somewhat unkempt - we had to clean our own area more than once when we found empty chairs to sit, busing empty glasses and garbage etc. We also found it shocking that the hotel does not provide guests with umbrellas and chairs for the beach - these you’ll need to rent for $150 to sit “front row” by the ocean and $70 for the “back row.” Since this is a beach front property, we felt this should be an included amenity that many other hotels in Waikiki do offer as part of their stay. Overall, it was cool to stay at such an iconic landmark but I would not return for the amount we paid for night and what we actually got (aside from location).

less