TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Simply gorgeous hotel. Rooms were clean,staff very kind. The lobby makes you feel welcoming and elegant. The Beach House was fantastic for lunch. There is a wonderful piano player in the lobby each evening and people had fun dancing and socializing. This hotel doesn’t give off mall vibes like a few others we walked thru. Located directly on the beach. You can easily walk to lots of places.

The Moana Surfrider is undeniably one of Hawaii’s most iconic and breathtaking buildings. With its rich history and stunning architecture, it truly is a "must-stay" for anyone visiting Waikiki. Location-wise, you simply cannot beat it, a solid 10/10. However, after experiencing this property multiple times, I’ve found that your experience here will heavily depend on where you sleep and where you swim. Here is a breakdown of my most recent stay: The Rooms: A Game of Roulette During my previous visit, I booked the Tower Wing. It was exactly what you expect from a luxury Hawaiian resort: beautiful, modern, and wonderfully spacious. This time as the Tower Wing was full occupied, I booked the historic Banyan Wing. Unfortunately, I was incredibly disappointed. The room itself was small, and the bathroom was tiny. Given the premium nightly rate, the price point simply did not match the quality or comfort of the Banyan Wing room. That being said, I have to give a massive shoutout to the housekeeping team. Both previously and during this recent stay, the rooms were impeccably clean. Thank you for your hard work! (Cleanliness: 10/10) Resort Activities: The Heart of the Hotel The hotel’s daily cultural and wellness offerings are truly where this property shines. • Morning Yoga (10/10): The morning yoga offering is absolutely beautiful. Each instructor brings their own unique flavor and energy to the practice, making it the absolute perfect start to a beautiful Hawaiian day. • Ukulele Lessons (10/10): We attended the ukulele lesson on this trip, and I cannot recommend it highly enough! It was so much fun, incredibly engaging, and a wonderful way to connect with the local culture. The Elephant in the Room: The Pool We need to talk about the pool. For a resort of this magnitude, the pool is simply too small. It gets crowded quickly, and honestly, it is time for the property to look into building a second one. Equally pressing is the service at the pool deck. The hotel management desperately needs to train the pool team to deliver the same high level of customer service found throughout the rest of the resort. Right now, there is a massive, missed opportunity to provide guests with a seamless, luxury poolside experience. The Verdict Would I recommend the Moana Surfrider? Yes. It remains a stunning, historic gem with incredible activities and an unbeatable location.

We stayed here with our 16-year-old son for spring break. We were looking at the Royal Hawaiian, this property, and Halekulani. I am really glad I booked here. Pros - we stayed in the renovated tower. We were able to guarantee connecting rooms with our son and the floor we wanted when we made the reservation. We had ocean view rooms, and they both had an excellent view. The rooms were updated, clean and we didn't feel cramped. We didn't hear any hallway noise or any noise (we weren't street side though)h) and found the beds to be comfortable. We all slept great - excellent blackout curtains as well. We checked out the other two hotels I was looking at - the Halekulani would be great for just couples/adults if we didn't have our son. Our son is 16 and needed more excitement and beach access. The Royal Hawaiian was pretty, but too dated for our tastes. The Moana has a pretty and comfortable lobby, a good coffee shop in the lobby, and a great breakfast buffet on a beautiful porch. They have a fun and lively bar under this beautiful tree, which has great live music with good food and drinks. The pool is fine (not as nice as Halekulani ) but better than Royal Hawaiian. That is why I wouldn't stay here with little kids - I would stay somewhere with a better pool. The beach access is great, though. We also loved their cabana and beach chair/umbrella policy. You can reserve in advance, and there is a lot of flexibility. That was a big plus! The hotel is super central, and we could walk everywhere. Overall, we had a great stay here. The weather was another story!

Hawaii holds a special place in my heart. It is the only place on earth where, after just a couple of days, I feel all my stress disappear. Staying at the Moana Surfrider has played a significant role in making those experiences so extraordinary. This past March, we finally returned to Hawaii, and once again we chose the Moana Surfrider for our stay. We were truly blown away by the new lobby and front desk area, the newly renovated rooms, and the warm welcome and fantastic treatment we received from everyone working at the hotel throughout our stay. This trip was especially meaningful because it was our first visit to Hawaii with our three-year-old son. We were incredibly happy to bring him to Waikiki Beach, and the hotel fully met our expectations. In fact, it was one of the main reasons why this visit to Hawaii was once again such a fantastic experience. I would especially like to thank Roxanne for helping us with our requests and with a few issues we encountered. She did a fantastic job and handled everything very professionally, but what really stands out is the warmth and empathy she brings to her work. I would also like to thank Petar, who is now retired. Even after nine years, we still remember the fantastic cocktails he made, always with a smile and while sharing his wonderful positive energy with all the hotel’s guests. I would like to end this review by explaining why I have not written more about the amenities, the food, or the services. The reason is that I want to focus on what truly makes this hotel so special and different from others. Of course, all of those things are great — but they are great in many other hotels as well. What is truly unique about this hotel is the strong feeling and positive energy I experience from the very first moment I check in until the last moment I check out. It is the same feeling I had during my previous stays in 2016 and 2017, and now, in 2026, it is just as strong as before — if not even stronger — especially with the newly renovated rooms and lobby. Some people have retired, but the new team members are wonderful as well. I cannot wait to come back again, and I hope it happens this August. Thank you, Moana Surfrider, for everything you are and everything you do during my visits to Hawaii. You play a significant role in making Hawaii my favorite place on Earth.

We decided to break our trip to Japan up and stay a couple days in Hawaii on the way and the way back. This was our "on-the-way" choice. Our other hotel ended up being far superior for about the same price. Both were expensive in my opinion (we booked through Costco) The Platinum pick-up through Costco was perfection. Easy, very nice car and driver, so comfortable, just perfect. The hotel location is prime Waikiki, the lobby is beautiful and the view out the back really special. When we walked in to the check-in area, it was our first hint that this hotel wasn't what I expected for the reputation and price. There were stanchions like a value resort at Disney or the bank, separating us "regular" guests from those with more status. I get it, and that's typical, it was just the execution seems so not luxury. We unfortunately visited during the heavy rain period, but that exposed one of their weaknesses...lack of "regular" restaurants. For dinner there were very few choices, and the choices were either out in the rain or(not sprinkles folks, it was flooding the patio) or at a very high end restaurant. We ended up walking nearby to a restaurant. The pool is very small, very tight and not a lot of capacity for chairs, etc. This might upset some of you, but the feel of the services felt more like a Marriott than anything more luxurious. Nothing about our stay felt really beyond a good hotel. And we paid "great" prices. Part of the issue is Hawaii has gotten so expensive, that it made Japan feel cheap.