The Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort

I recently stayed at the Royal Hawaiian. The hotel and grounds are gorgeous and the historical significance is very impressive. I was upgraded to a one of their largest ocean front suite with a HUGE living room and bedroom in the historic building. Despite the size of the room, I greatly recommend the Mailani tower. The views from the tower are incredible, the balconies are huge (no balconies in the historical building), it is closer to the beach, and the lobby has a complimentary breakfast and an evening cocktail/appetizer buffet. The location of this hotel is not to beat and the private beach is probably the best on Waikiki. Stay here, but stay in the Mailani tower.

We stayed at the Royal Hawaiian for two nights at the end of June. I've wanted to stay at this hotel since our first visit to Oahu (this is our 3rd) and I'm so happy we finally did. I checked in on the app prior to arrival (we were at Turtle Bay for several days before), and saw we had been upgraded form the Garden View Jr. Suite to an Ocean Suite in the historic building. We (husband, 4-year-old and I) got to the hotel, and went to check in - it was a bit confusing because they kept telling me that we were in the Mailani tower - turns out we were! We somehow got an additional upgrade to the Oceanfront Corner Suite on the 16th floor! Needless to say, I was beyond surprised and thrilled. The suite was gorgeous, and the view incredible. Two balconies, one with a lounge chair. A little kitchenette area, and one and a half bathrooms with Toto toilets. The room was fantastic (and not that I am at all complaining here) the only surprise was that the bathroom was a little small considering the room (shower/tub combo). The hotel surprised us with a bottle of red and some cake for our birthday celebration. :) The hotel itself is so pretty, quiet and historic. We ate dinner off property (we love Doraku sushi) but ate lunch and dessert at the Mai Tai Bar. The service there was only okay, but the food quite good. They make my favorite mai tais, and I look forward to enjoying them on every trip to Oahu. We had breakfast included with our stay, and enjoyed that as well. We did reserve chairs at the beach, and it's slightly frustrating that you have to pay for them. For a luxury hotel, I do feel they should be included...also, service on the beach was pretty non-existent. The pool was small, but clean. Service at the pool was totally fine. We ventured over to the Sheraton pool with our daughter. Lots of slides (though she was only big enough for the tiny one). The Sheraton seemed nice, but not as luxurious as the Royal. It was a quick stay, but I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again. We had such a lovely time, and the service was great in the hotel itself (housekeeping, valet, etc.). From the app to check-out, everything went smoothly. Thanks for a wonderful visit!

We’ve stayed here three times now over the last 6 years and it seems like the service is getting worse each time. Just a few examples: no newspaper for the room: front desk always gets the details wrong even though our booking is clear: water jugs in lobby are empty: concierge is not great: lady cleaning up towels around pool looks and acts like she hates the world: breakfast is hit and miss with wait staff (except Standish, who is a rock star). I don’t know, maybe our expectations are too high but Marriott considers this a luxury hotel, and just don’t feel the love. The cleaners are great though and very friendly. May just be the Managment that needs a rev up or change.

We cannot count how many times we have stayed here. The location is on the best part of Waikiki Beach. If you are on the fence, location and culture are what make the RH worth the expense. The rooms are all getting a little tired. She is an old girl. We love her. She is far from flashy.

Starting off with the good, the location of the hotel is unbeatable. It is right at the start of a beautiful stretch of Waikiki and a guest can walk to a number of eateries and other establishments in the Waikiki area. The hotel also has a lot of small retail shops within the building and we were easily able to get coffees to go in the morning and shop for birthday cards etc. The property is also distinctly beautiful on the exterior. The bad. The check-in experience was sub-par. I realize guests show up generally at the same time on account of flights but we waited nearly 11 minutes until we were able to check in with one of three front desk agents working that day. The hotel, like most Waikiki hotels, is dated but I don't see that as a huge fault as long as the room product is nice but unfortunately there is only so much you can do to a bathroom to make it modern if it was simply built too small. The bathroom looked much worse in person than from the online pictures. My biggest gripe with this was that it just didn't feel like a luxury experience. The walls were thin and we heard our neighbors having a conversation as I am sure they heard us as well. And finally, on our last night, the sheets we slept on were ripped. I thought I had a bug bite from the scratchy feeling until I realized the sheets were just ripped. I'm surprised this was in a Luxury Collection hotel. We were too tired to call housekeeping so we just let it go. The standard I generally judge hotels is that I want a better experience at a hotel than what I get at home. While I certainly don't have amazing access to Waikiki and a beautifully landscaped exterior, I definitely have a better sleeping / bathroom experience than the Royal Hawaiian. It was certainly the most average Luxury Collection I have ever stayed in but i understand, Waikiki hotels are old and there is only so much you can do...