Pagoda Hotel — Hotel in Honolulu

I want share the positives about this place first but keep in mind there is mainly negatives, and will also share things that were within and outside of the hotel’s control. First positives is pretty nice staff most of the time, the area is walkable and there is access to many things close by tourism-wise, there is a cute koi pond, and two restaurants connected to the hotel. They also give you breakfast coupons to use to purchase a meal from a $5 menu exclusive to Pagoda hotel customers, food is good and the servers in the breakfast place were especially kind. Pool area looked really pretty and clean. Now with the negatives. Our check in time was 4 PM. We arrived at 4:40 PM and were told the room still wasn’t ready, we waited another 15 minutes maybe? Then gave up and went to eat nearby and came back and it was ready. A lady in front of us in line was also complaining about waiting for her room. I do not blame the staff, I would like to assume it is the owner for either understaffing/underpaying or overworking employees, which in the end resulted in the room not being ready in time. Secondly, dirty bathroom! Shower was disgusting, specifically the curtain (I will include pictures) and I can’t tell if the faucet handles were kind of broken or just tricky to figure out, they will just turn infinitely and don’t have a threshold to stop rotating if that makes sense. Weird grainy stain on the mirror? Not sure if it is mold like the curtain or feces or mud, maybe it can’t be cleaned off but it was for sure gross. Toilet also wasn’t properly anchored to the floor so when you got up from using it, the imbalance would cause it to slam into the ground so loud haha. Not sure if the poorly anchored toilet caused a slightly strange smell eventually as well later in the day but I brushed it off. Oh and bathroom door wouldn’t close all the way, also broken, probably was the hinge. I stepped on something wet under the AC unit too so I think that started dripping after it rained the second night I stayed. Another thing was that the little keycards they give you for access into your room and the elevator are very finicky, even after learning how to use them properly from someone else the first time in the elevator because it was giving us trouble, they still were a very minor annoyance to deal with; sometimes it would work and sometimes they wouldn’t. Furthermore, even if this review doesn’t deter you, they are doing construction basically adjacent to the hotel right now, I think it is a new hotel, which is out of their control, but a warning to people wanting to book soon. One of the two nights I stayed, their large crane was moving/rotating and it made the loudest, creakiest squeaking noise ever for a little bit haha, it didn’t happen again but I would be aware of how loud the construction can be. My father and I didn’t demand anything of the hotel or bring up any of these problems because I was worried we would get changed into another room with the same or just as many various issues, and we sucked it up. The staff seem really nice and I don’t want to constantly change rooms and create more cleaning than necessary, I just plan on requesting compensation from the website/owner. The guy in the convenience store inside the hotel was very nice btw! Sorry for the long drone of a review, I just really felt the need to warn future tourists and the like, maybe our room was an isolated experience and was overlooked cleaning wise, but I wouldn’t take the risk again. Better hotels nearby for similar or barely higher prices, this hotel is probably under 4 stars rating...

My wife and I are Kamaʻāina, (Google it) and stayed at the Pagoda December 8th – 15th, 2024 so we may be easier to please than some who have never lived in Hawaii. Yes, the rooms are dated and are definitely showing their age, but we didn't come for the beautiful ocean views from our balcony, but to see our Ohana and friends. So, the most important factors to us are that the room is clean, (which it was) and the things in the room functioned, fridge, microwave etc., (and they did). we didn't need housekeeping, we just requested necessary towel changes and toiletries at the front desk which worked perfectly for us. The Pagoda is a hotel not a resort which wasn't what we we're looking for. We we're looking for a place to sleep, eat, (great breakfast by the way), shower and change, a homebase if you will for visiting on the Winward side, which is exactly what the Pagoda provided. if it's a resort you’re looking for go stay at Ko Olina and pay $700 a night, you'll get the resort experience along with the price tag. If you not happy with the fact that the Pagoda is dated and a little run down, just wait they will eventually remodel and the rooms will go for $400-$500 a night. For those who complained about the resort fees take it up with the County of Honolulu. Parking? Yes, it's expensive, compared to many places on the mainland ($31 a night), but there are others that are just as expensive or higher. For us it was a convenience to park just a short walk from the hotel lobby and worth the price, but we’ve lived there and have an understanding of what things cost in Hawaii. It certainly beats driving around and around and around in circles in Honolulu trying to find one of the free parking spots that are available, like near the Ala Wai Canal and then you have to hoof it to your hotel and that means carrying your purchases with you, trust me as someone who hauled a laptop case full of tech gear from my parking area to my office on Kuakini street and back, it gets old, fast, but my arms are two inches longer ;-) That $5.00 breakfast that isn’t a 100% included with your room? From our perspective, it was freaking fantastic, you can’t get a breakfast like that for $5.00 anywhere on Oahu. The staff we’re great, I spent time talking story with the security guard, the housekeeping staff we’re super helpful and the front desk staff went out of their way to show us the Aloha we’ve come to know and love from our home. If you’re looking for the resort experience where you never have to even leave the property and are satisfied with “fake” Hawaii, you can definitely find it on Island, it’s all a matter of perspective, for us the Pagoda exactly what we we’re looking for and we’d stay there again without...

UNSAFE! DO NOT STAY HERE! I would have given ZERO or NEGATIVE star If I could. On May 18, 2025, one of our large suitcases was stolen from right outside our hotel room at the Pagoda Hotel, a place where we expected to feel safe.

We had just checked in. My aunt and cousin helped my mom and me bring up two large suitcases, two carry-ons, and two big bags. About 20 minutes later, I realized that one of the large black Samsonite suitcases was missing. It wasn’t left in the car or the elevator, we were sure it had been left just outside the room as we were moving things in.

I informed hotel staff immediately. They said we had to call the police in order to access security footage. When the police arrived and reviewed the CCTV, it showed a man who was not a hotel guest entering the elevator just one minute after us, reaching our floor, and riding away on a bicycle with our suitcase.

The keycard security system had been disabled in one of the elevators due to maintenance meaning anyone could access guest floors. This is a serious security issue. What if we had still been in the hallway or our door had been open?

The police later found the suitcase abandoned near a playground, but nearly everything (valued around $2,000) was gone. Only five used clothing items remained.

What made things worse was how the hotel handled the situation. The security manager was dismissive and rude. When we asked (while clearly panicking) if there was any chance the thief could be connected to someone on staff, he snapped back that staff had worked there for over 40 years and would “never do such a thing.” Even after I apologized, he scolded us for leaving the suitcase outside and said he could’ve been enjoying his day off instead completely ignoring the much bigger issue of disabled security.

The hotel manager initially refunded our hotel charges, and I asked for $1,000 in compensation (just half the value of our loss). She said compensation wasn’t possible because the reservation was under my aunt’s name even though my name was also listed and included in the police report.

A few days later, the general manager sent us an email offering 30% off our next stay which felt completely inappropriate and honestly, absurd. After such a traumatic experience, who would ever want to return?

This was not just about lost property it was about the hotel’s failure to maintain basic security and the way they treated us afterward. We couldn’t sleep that night.

I’m writing this review to warn other travelers. The Pagoda Hotel has serious security flaws, poor communication, and little accountability. What happened to us should not happen to...