Sweetwater Waikiki — Hotel in Honolulu

I don't like leaving bad reviews. I don't do it much, but I have never in my life experienced anything quite like this. I booked with 2 friends for what was supposed to be a much needed break from our busy lives, and while the rest of this trip was awesome, that was no thanks to this place. We arrived around midnight on Monday, and upon walking in the door of the suite, we noticed we had unwanted roommates (cockroaches). While we understand that Oahu is an island, and bugs inside are inevitable, you would think for the thousands of dollars spent on this unit for a week, pest control would have been sorted BEFORE guests arrive. I did call the property manager's emergency line, left a voicemail, and never received a response. We ended up going out to purchase roach traps and Raid to take care of the issue ourselves the following day. In total, we killed 13 roaches. The room itself was also unclean. When we arrived, the room itself smelled musty, the showerhead had black mold on it, the caulking on the tub was mildewy with rust/hard water stains, and the grout was also gross. There were stains in the carpet and a mysterious smudge near the fridge on the carpet which we were hoping was jelly, but this was never made clear. Due to the uncleanliness and the roaches themselves, we were only able to utilize one bed for 3 tenants over the course of our stay, as one of the roaches that we were unable to kill went IN TO the murphy bed in the wall. The next office hours day, Wednesday, we went down first thing to check in with the property manager, Melissa. Up until this point, in all communications I had had with her she had been accommodating/cordial. I anticipated professionalism from her as had been my experience. We waited about 20 minutes for Melissa to return to her office, and there was a couple in front of us who had already been waiting 10 minutes before we arrived. By the time we were finally able to chat with her, we were met with (at first) patience, and then, hostility over our situation. Melissa said she received my phone call to the emergency line, and actively chose not to respond to it. There wasn't much she could do regarding the situation, which, in a way, I can understand. I work in leasing, cockroaches take 2-3 pest control visits, and those services get busy. I get it. She did offer to refund our entire stay should we be able to find somewhere else to stay for our trip, and gave some recommendations, but no discount nor any sort of retribution would otherwise be given. She offered to let us keep the parking pass through the end of our stay if we found availability at the condo tower we were staying in. She reimbursed us for the pest control supplies, which we are grateful for, and sent maintenance up to look at the fridge which had sprung a leak. My friends and I spent the next 3 hours of our vacation time contacting other hotels in the area, comparing costs and checking availabilities. As it would be a last minute booking and in Honolulu no less, our options were very limited, and we determined that our best bet would to just be tolerate our new "roommates" and clean the room ourselves. Skip ahead now to the end of our stay with Sweetwater at VRI Americas- I sent her an email early Sunday (which was a closed office day) requesting information on late checkout. Visited the office the next office hours day and waited 30 minutes for her to arrive, which she did not, and she did not end up responding at all. Come to find out, my email and phone number were blocked. We checked out at the normal time despite our circumstances. Barely 1 day later, there was an unauthorized charge for $150 on my bank account from them, despite our security deposit having been pre-paid and ZERO way to discuss this charge with Melissa given my contact was blocked. None of us had any luck with contacting her until 1 week later when she called me to condescendingly argue about our stay. Incredibly unprofessional, and to be frank, petty. Short-staffing is no excuse to be THIS unprofessional. Overall, 1/5 stars....

Let me see if I can paint a picture of this experience, in this current stay, not using too many words.

Day 1: We arrived and we were directed to go to an office on the 4th floor to register. We did as we were told, and got all registered; good news, there is no extra charge for daily parking! We walked into our unit, and proceeded to settle in. Kitchen looks clean, I opened the first drawer which is cutlery... Baby ROACH! I told myself that was the ONLY thing which was going to be disappointing... we proceeded to explore the rest. Bathroom old, but appeared semi-clean. There are cracks on the ceiling, and there is MOLD under the window treatment and around the window frame of the bedroom.

My son and I proceeded to pull down his bed to get it ready; I retrieved the two pillows, blanket, and flat sheet from the bedroom closet. I opened the flat sheet, and horrors... there were several yellowish stains around the sheet, which we could only assume were either URINE, or some other bodily fluid! Immediately we called housekeeping to ask for a replacement. We got it... AND WOW!!! This one had more STAINS than the previous! Should I keep calling? I don't know... I don't even want to check my bed in the bedroom... I figure, if I don't know what's there, it won't kill me... now the mold... that is a different story... MOLD is dangerous!

DAY 2: My son came to my bedroom with an announcement: Mom, would you like to see our new visitor? Right away I knew he was talking about a ROACH. Please get rid of it! He said he couldn't get it because it hid inside a crack.

DAY 3: After returning to the unit late in the afternoon, my son and I, thought we could each benefit from an extra pillow, and blanket. I called the office, but they were already closed. Then it occurred to me to just go to housekeeping and we would bring back the items we needed. Housekepping is by the elevators, I pass it every time we go out and return. I went inside and yelled 'Helloooo', I got a response right away from the employee; I asked him for the items and he said 'sure', then he asked for the room number, I told him. Then he changed his story. He told me to go back out to the garage, and to 'follow the yellow line down the garage and go to the other tower's housekeeping; when I got there, there was no one there and everything was locked up. We went back to the first housekeeping, and I explained what happened. Then the man, and the woman there said: You have to wait to tomorrow. Nope. No can do.

Customer service goes either out the window, or it just doesn't exist at the Sweetwater Waikiki.

We will see what tomorrow brings... more stained linens, smaller pillows than the ones we have?

I HATE IT HERE!!! Too bad... but in the end, we came with one purpose, and that is to attend the commemorative events of the 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor. I just REALLY, REALLY HOPE I don't take back any cockroaches with us!!! Or pick up any awful fungal infections!

DAY 4: When we checked in, we were told there would be a mid-week linen change and minimal clean-up. It is now 7:17 PM, no linen, no clean-up, no one...

Sweetwater Waikiki is a good choice for travelers seeking affordability and convenience without sacrificing cleanliness and essential amenities. It's less than a 5 minute walk to Kuhio Beach, it's a budget-friendly gem in an otherwise very pricey neighborhood.

When you arrive at the address provided, you won’t see a sign for Sweetwater Waikiki. Instead, you'll find a sign for Waikiki Banyan. Don’t worry; you’re at the right place. The property houses multiple hotel companies, which can be confusing so pay close attention to your check-in instructions. If you won’t be arriving between 3PM and 4PM, it's important to communicate your arrival time to simplify the process as Sweetwater's staff have limited hours. Also, despite what some reviews might say, the front desk staff are very helpful if you need assistance.

The rooms may be a bit outdated, but they are clean and well-equipped with everything you need for a comfortable stay. For families traveling with teens, the availability of additional roll-out beds was a lifesaver, allowing our teens to enjoy their space without having to share a bed.

The pool is small and shallow but who goes to Hawai'i to hang out at the pool anyway right? There are onsite laundry facilities on each floor, which added to the convenience and ease of our stay. Despite being incredibly short-staffed, the property's manager, Melissa, was incredibly kind and helpful, ensuring our experience was smooth and enjoyable. Her dedication truly made a difference!

Overall, if you manage your expectations and consider the price point, Sweetwater Waikiki delivers a worthwhile experience. For anyone looking for a clean, affordable, and well-situated accommodation in the heart of Waikiki, this is an excellent option that won’t disappoint. Again, be realistic and reasonable with your expectations... it's affordable for a reason. Don't walk in expecting high class luxury at Walmart prices and...