Aston Waikiki Beach Tower — Hotel in Honolulu

Good location (right near the Duke statue), nice condo layout with excellent views of the surfers in the water. I recommend this place but only gave it 4 stars because the AC doesn't fill the condo evenly. If you sit on the couch, a stream of AC cools you quickly but the table area misses it. The primary suite has its own AC controls but the secondary bedroom doesn't have controls and gets noticeably hotter. First night I woke up middle of the night due to the heat. Wife had to open window because of a slight mildew smell on her side. Upon examining AC controls/thermostat, they're old/yellow and don't look as modern as the rest of the unit. The AC isn't that bad, but its flaws are noticeable. A fan in the secondary bedroom worked well for me.

Valet service is prompt. I once tried to self park but it's hard with a large vehicle (e.g. minivan) due to the skinny towers. Had to wiggle my way into a spot on the 4th floor; after that, continued to use valet service. BTW, don't expect to park anywhere in downtown Waikiki area -- traffic is congested and parking, if available, costs $10+ for 2 hrs. Think of Waikiki like NYC in Hawaii. Bring small cash to tip your valet each time you want to retrieve your car.

One seemingly small detail really bothered us about this condo: they're skimpy on the soap and shampoo. They provide 1 tiny little bottle of soap, 1 tiny bottle of shampoo/conditioner, 1 tiny bottle of lotion, and 1 small round bar of soap -- for your whole stay. When they run out, they don't give you more. Mind you, these items probably cost a couple of dollars max, but they double down on not providing it because they say up front they only provide 1 of each of these bottles. Well, this detail knocked my review down at least a star. It's small details like these that make your stay feel less luxurious. By not providing a second travel size bottle of soap etc. for a 4-day stay, it makes the hotel feel like some kind of budget hotel (which it isn't). If you stay more than 2 days, double the quantity here.

One detail I liked is that there's always a staff member in the lobby, and always a valet available. In some other Hawaii hotels I've stayed at, the lobbies were often ghost towns.

Another plus here is the Toto wash let bidet toilets -- those rock!!

Overall, I liked my stay in Kauai much more than Waikiki. Waikiki feels like NYC, whereas Kauai felt like more of a rural beach paradise. Waikiki is full of young people who enjoy night-life and shopping and surfing and upscale restaurants, it seems. I guess I'm a bit too old...

This hotel was great. We bought through Costco which took care of resort fees. We had a 2 bedroom ocean room and stayed 5 nights. The service was phenomenal, upon check in we were offered oshibori and POG juice as well as leis. My toddler was so tickled by getting lei'd and was thrilled to receive beach toys. We noted we were celebrating an anniversary and retirements, and we got a mini champagne and box of chocolates as well as aluminum water bottles, a Coola reef safe sunscreen kit and a very nice beach bag. The cleaning service was also so great, they came every day and made sure we had clean towels and cleaned all areas. Valet service was also perfect, super quick, friendly and attentive. ||The room was very spacious and the view was mostly nice, we stayed on the 19th floor and had the ocean in front but the other condos blocked some of the view. The construction had been delayed and we had no access to the pools, the keiki pool, bbq grills, etc. There was also construction right above us that was very noisy on our last day so we were glad to be leaving. The Master bed was super comfortable and we had the other twin beds pushed together but our toddler kept falling in between and it wasn't that comfortable. The sofa bed was abysmal, and I'd not subject anyone to sleeping there, the mattress sagged severely in the middle and was very very loud. The AC worked, but it was uneven, the room was difficult to get right, mostly freezing cold or we just let it come to room temp. The kitchen is a full one but was mostly nice but every pan was scratched and they had salt/pepper upon request but no oil. I'd recommend buying a cheap pan to use only there if you come. Washer and dryer was very useful and worked well. ||The location is very convenient with the ocean just one street away, and a very nice gentle one at that. There are so many restaurants and stores and so much to do you'd never have to leave the area. Overall,...

We booked through expedia. It really does look like it's beach front, but it's not. The view we had was "ocean view" but it had a huge round hotel in front of our view, and for one night, we couldn't see the sun set at all. Bummer. I think the room was amazing. The internet for a gamer was great speed! But, we still weren't "on" the beach and the ocean view, to me, was just ok. For over $500 per night... I was a bit let down. I went to explain at the desk, and without paying more, there were no alternatives, bummer! I don't spoil myself often, so my partner was let down and he let me know it too. I could have paid an extra $150 and stayed at the Sheraton on the beachside. I guess the photos threw me off. The cold towels at check in awesome. My Tesla being left unlocked over night, not cool, it ran the battery down and we knew it wasn't locked properly. The pool, lovely, the hot tub super nice outside. A bit windy on that level. The street crossing not too bad. The outdoor view from balcony, bummer with that hotel in front, the staff, ok. No one did that above and beyond feel. Cleanliness of the room, found one hair on the bed sheet. The toilet, amazing auto toilet, loved it, the shower, needs a different shower head, can't move around, and the bathtub drain was broken we didn't complain, tolerated. The toilet, amazing auto toilet, like wow! The shower head doesn't aim down, just in your face. Found one hair on the sheets, a red one. The space is more like for long term. The room is huge, the space amazing for big families. The fridge, the complimentary drinks, awesome! The couch and...