Overview
Built in 1927 on the former playground of Hawaiian Royalty, the iconic Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort, known as the “Pink Palace of the Pacific,” ushered in a new era of luxurious resort travel to Hawai‘i. A landmark on the world-renowned Waikīkī Beach, this resort stands on 14 acres of Waikīkī beachfront and maintains its original grandeur while offering a rejuvenated sense of place.
Contemporary updates blend effortlessly with its signature grand hallways and Spanish-Moorish cupolas, presenting a chic atmosphere that is elegant, yet sophisticated - where personalized services and singular experiences promise a vacation unlike any other.
Resort fees include
- Welcome bag of Royal Hawaiian Signature Banana Bread muffins.
- One Go Pro Hero 5 Rental per room, per stay, available at front desk.
- Enhanced high speed internet access (wifi).
- MiFI rental with unlimited high-speed internet access available at front desk.
- Morning yoga.
- Intro to Stand Up Paddleboarding – land demonstration.
- Daily cultural activities including ukulele lessons, beginner’s hula, lei making, lauhala weaving, haku bracelet making, Royal Hawaiian Historical tour, and Moana Surfrider Historical tour.
Check in
3 p.m.
Check out
12 p.m.
Rooms
528
Inclusions
- Round-trip airport transfers
- All taxes
Rooms
- 1 king bed
- No more than 2 guests in the room
- 1 king bed
- Minimum 1 adult, maximum 2 adults
- Maximum 1 child
- No more than 2 guests in the room
- Mini fridge
- A/C
- Bathrobes
- Coffee maker
- Hair dryer
- Housekeeping
- Iron/Ironing board
- Rollaway bed (on request, $)
- Safe
- TV
- Complimentary toiletries
- 2 double beds
- Views of the Coconut Grove or Gardens
- No more than 4 guests in the room
- 2 double beds
- Views of the Coconut Grove or Gardens
- Minimum 1 adult, maximum 2 adults
- Maximum 3 children
- No more than 4 guests in the room
- Mini fridge
- A/C
- Bathrobes
- Coffee maker
- Hair dryer
- Housekeeping
- Iron/Ironing board
- Rollaway bed (on request, $)
- Safe
- TV
- Complimentary toiletries
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- Oceanfront
- No more than 3 guests in the room
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- Oceanfront
- Minimum 1 adult, maximum 2 adults
- Maximum 2 children
- No more than 3 guests in the room
- Mini fridge
- A/C
- Bathrobes
- Coffee maker
- Hair dryer
- Housekeeping
- Iron/Ironing board
- Rollaway bed (on request, $)
- Safe
- TV
- Complimentary toiletries
Amenities
Aerial beach view
Aerial view
Azure bar
Azure restaurant
Beachfront
Breezeway
Cabanas
Coconut groove
Diamond head view
Front desk
Gym
Helumoa playground
Lower lobby
Lower lobby exit
Luau
Lurine lawn
Mai Tai bar
Mai Tai cabana
Mailani lounge
Malulani pool
Monarch room
Ocean lawn event
Ocean view
Pearly Shells
Porte cochere
Spa
Location
Reviews
Perfect family vacation at the Royal Hawaiian
K4976SJcharlottew on Apr 16, 2024
The Royal Hawaiian was the perfect spot for our family trip with two young kids (8 and 5), two elderly grandparents, and two parents doing the sandwich generation thing. We've historically stayed at cheaper, less central hotels with the kids, but when we decided to take the grandparents on this trip, we wanted to find a place that would be a bit easier for them to manage. We were thrilled at how well the Royal Hawaiian served our family's needs. Here are some of the highlights and some things you may find useful to know: - - Easy for seniors to navigate. - - Grandpa has memory and mobility challenges, so it was important to us to find a hotel where it was extremely easy for him to find his way to the beach and back to the room. Staying in the Mailani tower was perfect for this (I don't think the historic building would be as easy). Each floor is just one simple hallway, and you can see the ocean when you emerge from the elevator downstairs. All of the rooms have a lanai facing the ocean, too, so even if your loved one has trouble making it out of the room, they can still enjoy a beautiful view of the ocean. On our trip, Grandma and Grandpa were able to rest on the lanai and still enjoy watching their grandkids play in the pool or on the beach, which was priceless for us. - - Kid-friendly - - While the Royal Hawaiian may not be as kid-oriented as, say, Hilton Hawaiian Village, we found it met our kids' needs extremely well. Our room in the Mailani tower had a tub with a detachable showerhead along with a built-in clothesline for drying swimsuits and laundry. Housekeeping always set up our kids' stuffed animals in cute ways when they made up the room. Everyone on staff was really friendly and conversational with our kids in a way that actually surprised me; I'd expected a bit more stuffiness given the elegance of the place! - - Onsite food is easy but expensive; nearby food options are plentiful - - With two young kids and two seniors on this trip, the hangry threat was always looming. The hotel bakery opens at 6am and offers a rotating variety of amazing pastries for breakfast; we never encountered a line longer than 5 minutes. The onsite casual restaurant, Mai Tai Bar, was key to keeping the peace on a few occasions! It's walk-in only, but we never had to wait more than 10 minutes even during a spring break week. The food and drinks are actually quite good here, but beware: the kids pasta is somehow $24 and it's really just a bowl of buttered pasta!! (The lobster roll and the frozen mojito are worth their weight in gold, though, so don't despair). We went on a Thursday evening and got a glimpse of the fire dancers at the hotel's luau, which was extra special. Cheaper food options are abundant nearby, too. We enjoyed udon and onigiri at STIX Asia, the Asian food hall in the basement of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza, and ramen and acai bowls at the Kuhio Avenue Food Hall in the back of the International Marketplace. The Royal Hawaiian Center has a food court too, though we didn't go there. You can also easily walk to several ABC stores, Mitsuwa Marketplace in the International Marketplace, or the Waikiki Market for a week's worth of snacks and picnic supplies. - - Incredible beach - - I'll admit that I've always been a bit of a Waikiki Beach skeptic because it seems like it gets SO crowded... but that was before I had kids who wake up at 5am! We had the BEST time at the beach between 7am-12pm before it got crowded. The waves are gentle but still fun, and there's a bit of a protected cove on the Sheraton side that's even gentler (though honestly also dirtier - amazing if you're a beachcomber, but be prepared to see a fair number of hair ties in the water!) Two endangered Hawaiian monk seals actually hauled up in this cove during our visit and were there all day - a truly magical and unforgettable experience! PRO TIP: At least right now (April 2024), you can book a beach set (two lounge chairs and an umbrella) online in advance. This means you don't necessarily have to stand in the first-come first-served umbrella line at 7am. You can book the hotel's dedicated loungers for $70 a day - these are lined up right in front of the Mai Tai Bar rather than at the waterside, but you can select the exact placement of your chairs ahead of time. You can book the waterside loungers for $95 a day through Waikiki Beach Services, but placement is still first-come first-served, so if you want one in the front row, you still gotta be in that line starting around 6:30am. The Waikiki Beach Services team staff both areas, and they are the BEST. Extra thanks to Darryn for answering all my questions and helping the grandparents with their umbrella every time the sun shifted! (And if you're questioning my sanity spending $95 a day for two loungers and an umbrella, let me again remind you that I was traveling with two young children and two elderly people and it was like paying $9.50 an hour for a storage locker for everybody's snacks and bandaids and glasses AND insurance against whining about the sun and heat. It's some of the best money I've ever spent!) - - Incredible pools - - Some people do complain about the Royal Hawaiian's pool being small, but with the beach as close as it is, it seems like a reasonable size to me. What's more: it's heated, so it's honestly perfect for kids and for anyone who just doesn't want to freeze in a cold pool on a spring day. They also have a nice hot tub. When we booked, we didn't realize we'd also have access to the larger pool complex at the Sheraton next door. Those pools are very cool - they have a naturalistic lava rock design, and they have two waterslides! - but they are also very COLD! Probably amazing on the hottest days, but we spent most of our time in the (also very beautiful) hot tubs! - - No room service - - There's no room service at the Royal Hawaiian right now, but they do at least have in-room coffee makers and electric kettles! We would have loved room service, though; I hope they bring it back one day. - - Clean and well-maintained - - We did not observe any cleanliness or maintenance issues during our stay beyond the fact that they're constantly sweeping up sand in the colonnade between the pool and the main lobby, which is hardly surprising. We did not see any cockroaches or rats (and we looked! we have a kid who is fascinated by rats!). There are the usual curious finches and the occasional white pigeon who might stop by your lanai if you're eating something that leaves crumbs.
Understated elegance.
R SCOTT S on Apr 15, 2024
This place is an understated elegance. It is consistently top shelf. I think it is my favorite hotel in the world! The level of service and amenities are beyond reproach. The Mai Tai bar is wonderful. The restaurants are wonderful. The beach chairs and beach services are fabulous.
Ready to find your next getaway?
Select your dates to check availability and book your vacation package now. Looking for more accommodation options? Use the Vacation finder tab to explore more destinations and vacation experiences.
