TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

The Iliaki is an older hotel complex, for its age they have maintaned the property fairly well. We noticed painters which were painting the front exteriour areas. The main lobby area is lovely. There were some areas of the Hotel that could use sprucing up or an upgrade, but the building and our room were clean. Our room was spacious enough and had a fantastic view of the ocean and the Friday night fireworks. Sometimes, it was noisy when we sat on the balcony, however you did not hear the noise when the patio doors were closed. The pool and area was lovely and the several places we ate at in the hotel were very good. We did have a couple of small issues in our room, which were resolved quickly by speaking to the front desk staff. All staff we interacted with were very helpful and friendly. We would book there again.

Stayed here many times, always my favorite place to stay because of the location, facility, staff and value. The hotel is close to the beach, walking distance to downtown Honolulu's many restaurants, shopping and nightlife.

WARNING - DO NOT BOOK BOOK THE ILIKAI THROUGH WAIKIKI BEACH RENTALS! FALSE ADVERTISING OF APARTMENT 2110! THEY DID NOT RESOLVE ANY OF THE ISSUES WE HAD. THEY REFUSED TO MOVE US TO ANOTHER APARTMENT & THE OWNER REFUSED TO FIX ANY OF THE ISSUES WE HAD. THEY CONTINUED TO LIE TO ME AND THEY STOLE MY MONEY AND RUINED OUR FAMILY HOLIDAY I PLANNED 8 MONTHS IN ADVANCE. I HAVE PHOTOS & VIDEOS TO SHOW WHAT THE CONDO IS ACTUALLY LIKE, NOT WHAT IS ADVERTISED. PLEASE DO NOT BOOK THROUGH THEM - THERE ARE MANY OTHER OPTIONS TO BOOK AT THE ILLIKAI. I am from Sydney, Australia and this is my 4th trip to Hawaii. I planned this dream holiday of 3 weeks in Hawaii for my family of five over 8 months in advance. I paid Waikiki Beach Rentals over $19,000 AUD for condo 2110 for 18 nights and had issues from the day we arrived. Please note I tried every day to resole the multiple issues we had with this apartment with Waikiki Beach Rentals and NOTHING was done. We stayed at the Illikai in January 2025 for 2 weeks in another apartment and had an amazing experience with no issues, hence the reason we decided to stay their again for this trip from 29 December 2025 - 16 January 2026. I looked at every 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment available before deciding on apartment 2110 based on the extensive photos and description of the apartment, listed on the Waikiki Beach Rentals website. This was a very important holiday to us as my sons and I bought my parents who are in their 80's, knowing this would be the last overseas trip they come on with us due to their health issues. We were so excited and I planned everything in detail in the hope it would be an amazing holiday. From the moment we arrived at the apartment we had issues . Check in time is 3 pm and we let Waikiki Beach Rentals know we would arrive at 2.30 pm. At 4 pm, after waiting in the foyer for 1.5 hours, the apartment still wasn't ready. At 4.30 pm when we finally got into the apartment the stench of bleach was so strong, we had to sit on the balcony with both sliding doors open for the smell to dissapate. We noted other issues immediately. The flooring had many holes, scratches and cracks in it right through out the apartment. The floor under one of the beds in the second bedroom was filthy - dirt, dusk, hair. A water jug in the fridge with no water in it, ice trays in the freezer with no ice, the hinge on the back of the door to the second bathroom broken. To be able to hand clothes in the wardrobe in the second bedroom, you had to climb on the bed to access it as there was no space between the bed and the wardrobe. In the master bedroom, the owner had taken up half the wardrobe space with a large container in the wardrobe. Although disappointed, I decided to not make a big deal of it, I took photos of the issues and after a long flight from Australia and hours waiting in the foyer, I decided to just get on with our holiday. Litttle did I know this would be just the beginning of issue after issue in this apartment. That night, when turning on lights in the apartment, I noticed 4 lights were not working and there was no spare lightbulbs anywhere to be seen. When going to put pizzas in the oven, there were no oven trays anywhere to be seen, so we ordered in pizza instead. While having my first shower, the plastic handle to adjust temperature fell off onto the floor and I was left to have a cold shower. During the night I got up to get a drink of water and found the kitchen swarming with cockroaches! Apartment 2110 is advertised as "a luxury 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with top of the line appliances". This is not what I expected after paying over $19,000 AUD for this apartment. When preparing breakfast the day after arrival, I noted the cupboards and drawers had cockroach waste all over them. I removed everything to stack int he dishwasher and cockroaches rang out of the dishwasher. I looked under the sink to begin to wash everything and was horrified to see more cockroach waste, a dirty, damaged, disgusting washing rack and a small container of washing up liquid that was so watered down, it did not foam up to wash the dishes and utentils. I had to send one of my sons to the store downstairs to get washing up liquid so I could wash plates, cups and cutlery so we could eat breakfast. Honestly, I was so upset that this was the first day in this condo I burst into tears. I rang Waikiki Beach Rentals to advise of all these issues and was told to contact the maintenance team the owner employs and they would resolve any issues, which I did so immediately. The woman I spoke to was lovely and assured me she would have a cleaner and a plumber there as soon as possible. Regarding the cockroaches, I was told that the apartment had recently been sprayed and that unfortunatley, due to the humidity in Hawaii, there wasn't much they could do about the cockroaches. Soon after the plumber arrived to look at the tap in the shower and a lovely cleaning lady arrived to vacuum under the bed. Both staff members were lovely and couldn't be more helpful. I was told by the plumber that the plastic handle in the shower was $40 to replace, however he was not allowed to replace it unless he got consent from the owner. He noted that all other apartments in the Illikai had standard chrome handles, however this one had been replaced with a cheap plastic version. He put it back on for us and advised to leave the handle as it was and hopefully the owner would approve for it to be fixed. The cleaning lady offered to re-clean the whole apartment, which of course I never asked her to do, just under the bed where the dirt and dust was, which she did. the manager arrived as the plumber and cleaner were leaving with oven trays they bought from their office, however they needed to be cleaned! I could not believe this was all happening not even 24 hours into our holiday I planned and paid for months and months in advance. I told myself to be positive and get on with it. Is the view as described? absolutely, it is great - the beds and bathrooms are as described, however there was no shelves or racks in either bathroom, including in the shower, so you literally have to put your soap, body wash, shampoo and conditioner on the floor! When leaving to go out later that day, I went around the apartment to close the blinds and noted the backing blinds were all rotten and falling apart. Honestly, it was just getting worse. I took photos and notes of all the issues and planned to raise it with Waikiki Beach Rentals when I next spoke to them. For a few days, we made the most of our holiday and put up with having to wash any kitchen items we wanted to use before eating and drinking and wash up after every meal as we couldn't use the dishwaster. Every night the cockroaches swarmed the kitchen and every day we had cold showers. I could not imagine what would happen next. On monday 5 January 2026, 8 days into an 18 night rental, the split system airconditioner just stopped working! I assumed it must have been the batteries, contacted Waikiki Beach Rentals again and was told to called the maintenance team, which I did. We put our plans aside for the day as I was told someone would be up with batteries shortly. Two hours later I was still waiting, called again and was told someone would be there soon. One of the cleaners came up, swapped the batteries in the remote, which I note were rusted and NOTHING. The airconditioner did not turn on. I was told by the cleaner she would contact the owner to organise a technician to come and look at it. At first, though upset, I honestly thought this issue would be resolved and put the aircon on in the master bedroom to cool the rest of the apartment. It is important to note that by 2 pm in the afternoon, as the afternoon suns shines in, the temperature rises very quickly. We went out to enjoy the afternoon, only to come back and find that the other aircondiiton had stopped working! Seriously, this was now beyond a joke. Five of us in a 2.5 million dollar apartment that I paid over $19,000 for and now we can't even be comfortable due to both airconditioners not working. I am in no way exaggerating when I tell you I contacted Waikiki Beach Rentals via phone, via email at least once a day from this point on. When I remembered I had the owners email address on the final invoice, I contacted him as well and NOTHING. I was continually lied to, gas lighted and given one excuse after another. When a technician came I was told that the airconditoning unit on the master balcony was so dirty and congested that he would come back and clean it and go from there. When he came back later that day and cleaned it, NOTHING, neither unit worked. I was then told the owner had to be contacted to approve another technician to come to fix it. So once again I had to change my plans to wait for the technician to come. This is now 3 days without airconditioning where every day was between 26 - 28 degrees celcius with afternoon sun shining into the apartment with ripped, torn, disgusting blinds doing nothing to keep the heat out. Technician comes, spends 15 minutes and tell us "Well, sorry, the bad news is that the aircon system needs replacing. it has not coolant in it, it is rusted and old and should have been replaced years ago. Can you see how yellow the unit is on the wall, that shows me how old it is. I will have to contact the owner to see if he will approve it to be replaced, but to be honest, I don't like your changes as it will cost about $15,000". What! is this a joke! Again this apartment is worth 2.5 million dollars. It was listed on Waikiki Beach Rentals website as a luxury apartment with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, top of the line everything and after the late arrival, the bleach, the dirty floor, the broken shower handle, the cockroaches, the rotten blinds, my family and I have to endure no airconditioning and the owner has to be asked if he is willing to replace it after he has taken $19500.00 AUD of my money! I have never been so angry, disappointed and frustrated in my life. As a homeowner, a landlord and a business owner I was disgusted! I work 6 days a week and 4 nights a week to have the privellege of being able to take my family on an annual holiday every year and with intention, picking this apartment to rent based on what was advertised on Waikiki Beach Rental website, this is what I get!! I wish I could tell you that the issues were resolved, but they weren't. After emailing the owner several times, who i found out what holidaying in the apartment up until the day we arrived - no surprises why the apartment wasn't ready till after 4 pm for us to check in - he did not reply to me at all. Beyond RUDE and an absolute disgrace as a rental owner. Waikiki Beach Rentals continued to make up excuses, refused to move us to another 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment, even thought there were several available on their website and when I asked to be compensated for all of the above issues, I was again ignored. The only person who made an effort to help us was the manager of the maintenance team the owner employed Laena, who bought in 3 fans and a $100 gift card to walmart. While I very much appreciate her efforts, 3 fans that you can buy for $20 from Walmart and a $100 walmart voucher does not make up for what we had to endure. Honestly, I cannot believe this apartment was allowed to be listed, and knowing the owner was just there, it is impossible that he was not aware of all of these issues! He clearly just didn't care and wanted to rent his apartment out of greed, knowing full well it was not providing what was advertised. Again, I contacted the owner on at least 3 occasions and Waikiki Beach Rentals every day asking how this issue could be resolved and I was given no options - no to moving to another apartment and no offer of compensation. I was lied to again and again and again. Firstly I was told there were no technicians available on the whole island to fix the airconditioners, then I was told they were trying to get one, then I was just dismissed and dismissed and dismissed and ignored as it was clear the owner had no intention of trying to fix the units or replace them, which is what the technician that did come initially said needed to happen. I personally rang several rental companies in Waikiki who rent out apartments at the Illikai and none of them could believe what I was telling them. They all told me that it is the owners responsibility to fix any issues immediatley and if they cannot be fixed that I should have been moved to another apartment or been given money back for the amount of time I went without what was advertised. One agent told me that due to tourism being the number 1 money maker for Waikiki and with thousands of units in Waikiki that every building has tradies employed on site to fix these issues. It came down to the owner not approving it to be done and Waikiki Beach Rentals covering for them. I am absolutely disgusted in how my family and I were treated by the owner of condo 2110 and Waikiki Beach Rentals for the disrespect, lies and false advertising of condo 2110 on their website. In my rental agreement it clearly lists what the apartment has and provides, clearly stating "two split system airconditioners". It also states on Waikiki Beach Rentals website, that if apartments are found to not be up to standard, they will be removed from their website and they will not rent them. Just to top of this horrendous experience with the owner of condo 2110 and Waikiki Beach Rentals I received a message the day before we left on 18 January 2026, that "the owner has approved for the airconditioners to be regassed on 20 January 2026". How amazing for the next tennants, where we were leaving on 19 January 2026. So who lied? The technician that came and said the units could not be fixed and needed replacing or Waikiki Beach Rentals once again gaslighting me and saying that the units would be regassed. It still gets better, after I was home in Australia for 2 days, I received an email from Waikiki Beach Rentals asking for permission to enter the apartment so the technicians could re-gass the units! Did they not know we checked out on Friday 16 January? So here I am at home in Australia for over a week now. I have received no response from the owner re compensation for what we experienced and no offer of compensation from Waikiki Beach Rentals who clearly knew condo 2110 had all these issues and still chose to advertise condo 2110 for rent via their website. TO ANYONE CONSIDERING RENTING AN APARTMENT AT THE ILLIKAI, PLEASE DO NOT BOOK THROUGH WAIKIKI BEACH RENTALS. I HAVE NEVER IN MY 30 YEARS OF TRAVELLING EXPERIENCED SUCH HORRENDOUS CUSTOMER SERVICE. I made it clear to the owner of condo 2110 and to Waikiki Beach Rentals that if I was not provided compensation for what we had to endure during our long awaited, planned for 3 week family holiday of a lifetime, that I would be making a formal report to the City's Department of Planning and Permitting and would be seeking legal action. Of course, no reply from the owner and no reply from Waikiki Beach Rentals!

This was our fourth time staying at the Ilikai and I do not regret returning again. As long as you get a few fundamentals right, the place is a fantastic accomodation choice. It is a little out of the centre of Waikiki and this is a bonus as it has close access to the Ala Moana Centre. The main strip of Waikiki is about a 10 minute walk along the beach boardwalk. Having stayed here multiple times, these are the fundamentals we have learned. The building is a wonderful iconic 1960s development that oozes charm and ‘60s tropical modernism. The apartments are a mix of privately owned condos and hotel accomodation which adds to the authenticity of the experience. Because of the building’s age, it is imperative to check that the apartment has been renovated, as we have been stung once with one in almost original condition. The hotel condos are a mixture of privately owned and managed properties and those managed by the Ilikai itself. In my experience, the privately managed apartments are far superior. It is also imperative to check which view orientation the apartment has. Due to the development’s uniquely modern three wing design structure, some of the apartments face inland rather than the ocean. These do not take advantage of the amazing views and do not get the sea breeze. It is best to check - we got stung with the same apartment above once. Road noise and 1960s AC are not a good mix. Every other ocean facing apartment we have stayed at has been amazing. The complex has a host of amenities that make the experience even better including a cafe, grocery store and other retail. The grocery store is well stocked but ruinously expensive - but there is one of the ubiquitous ABC stores next door. The Ilikai is next door to the Hilton and shares an artificial lagoon which is great for small kids. I will definitely stay at the Ilikai when I am next in Honolulu. There are many high rise developments in Waikiki - but the Ilikai was the first and has a charm that can’t be replicated.

They carged us 650usd for a CEILING REPARATION. We stayed 4 nights and we just use the room to sleep. Be careful people they are thiefs!! The building is too old and we the guests need to pay that, crazy!!!