Waikiki Resort Hotel — Hotel in Honolulu

A Stay at Waikiki Resort Hotel – Pros and Cons

I recently stayed at the Waikiki Resort Hotel and, overall, had an enjoyable experience with a few notable frustrations. The hotel’s prime location, just one block from Waikiki Beach, is a major highlight.

The check-in process was an arduous start to the trip. A typo on my reservation caused a delay, and the front desk agent’s attitude made the situation feel unnecessarily tense. However, Derek, the manager, stepped in and resolved the issue efficiently, ensuring I could begin my stay on a better note.

The room, located on the 4th floor with a city view overlooking the pool, was clean and comfortable. There was a small, distant glimpse of the ocean from the lanai, which was pleasant, though the untinted windows made privacy challenging. Noise from the city radiated through the single-pane sliding glass doors, making it louder than average at night. The air conditioning kept the room cool, but the HVAC fan could use improvement.

The room included convenient amenities like a mini-fridge, hair dryer, iron, ironing board, modern TV, chest of drawers, and a small desk. There was no microwave inside the room. The bathroom was functional but compact, with a single-person shower and no bathtub, which was unexpected. On the first night, we requested extra towels and blankets since only sheets were provided on the twin beds. The front desk responded promptly, showing excellent service.

A downside was the unexpected parking fees and challenges. The hotel charges both a resort fee and a parking fee. The resort fee of $150 was disclosed during booking, but I was blissfully unaware of the $150 parking fee for our stay. Parking proved to be a recurring hassle. While the hotel offers two parking locations—a garage underneath the building and an adjoining lot—I was only informed about the garage initially. On the first night, both the garage and lot were full, leaving me no choice but to return to the front desk for guidance. Security eventually allowed us to park in the employee lot behind the hotel. On the second day, the garage was again full, but staff finally mentioned the adjoining parking lot, which became a more convenient option for the remainder of our stay.

Despite these inconveniences, there were many positives. The complimentary breakfast on Floor 2 was amazing, offering a great start to each day. The staff were kind and accommodating, and housekeeping kept the room spotless daily. The ice machine and vending machines are also located on Floor 2. Even though our room was next to the elevator and housekeeping closet, there was no disturbance from these areas.

One concern was the outdated fire alarm system, which only included a manual fire bell in the hallway. There were no visual or auditory alarms inside the rooms, causing confusion during a fire alarm incident. International travelers, in particular, didn’t seem to understand the situation, highlighting the need for modernized systems and clearer signage.

In total, our three-night stay cost about $600 for the room, $150 for parking, and $150 for resort fees. While the location, cleanliness, and amenities make this hotel a good choice for visiting Waikiki, the parking challenges, noise levels, and outdated fire safety features leave room for...

I recently stayed at the Waikiki Resort Hotel and, overall, had an enjoyable experience with a few notable frustrations. The hotel’s prime location, just one block from Waikiki Beach, is a major highlight.||||The check-in process was an arduous start to the trip. A typo on my reservation caused a delay, and the front desk agent’s attitude made the situation feel unnecessarily tense. However, Derek, the manager, stepped in and resolved the issue efficiently, ensuring I could begin my stay on a better note.||||The room, located on the 4th floor with a city view overlooking the pool, was clean and comfortable. There was a small, distant glimpse of the ocean from the lanai, which was pleasant, though the untinted windows made privacy challenging. Noise from the city radiated through the single-pane sliding glass doors, making it louder than average at night. The air conditioning kept the room cool, but the HVAC fan could use improvement.||||The room included convenient amenities like a mini-fridge, hair dryer, iron, ironing board, modern TV, chest of drawers, and a small desk. The bathroom was functional but compact, with a single-person shower and no bathtub, which was unexpected. On the first night, we requested extra towels and blankets since only sheets were provided on the twin beds. The front desk responded promptly, showing excellent service.||||A downside was the unexpected parking fees and challenges. The hotel charges both a resort fee and a parking fee. The resort fee of $150 was disclosed during booking, but I was blissfully unaware of the $150 parking fee for our stay. Parking proved to be a recurring hassle. While the hotel offers two parking locations—a garage underneath the building and an adjoining lot—I was only informed about the garage initially. On the first night, both the garage and lot were full, leaving me no choice but to return to the front desk for guidance. Security eventually allowed us to park in the employee lot behind the hotel. On the second day, the garage was again full, but staff finally mentioned the adjoining parking lot, which became a more convenient option for the remainder of our stay.||||Despite these inconveniences, there were many positives. The complimentary breakfast was amazing, offering a great start to each day. The staff were kind and accommodating, and housekeeping kept the room spotless daily. Even though our room was next to the elevator and housekeeping closet, there was no disturbance from these areas.||||One concern was the outdated fire alarm system, which only included a manual fire bell in the hallway. There were no visual or auditory alarms inside the rooms, causing confusion during a fire alarm incident. International travelers, in particular, didn’t seem to understand the situation, highlighting the need for modernized systems and clearer signage.||||While the location, cleanliness, and amenities make this hotel a good choice for visiting Waikiki, the parking challenges, noise levels, and outdated fire safety features leave room for...

Let me start with the location of the hotel; the beach and Friday night fireworks this was a great location. The walk to shopping, restaurants and tour pickups this was a perfect place. Even a nice location for city bus stops.

The room was okay, the shower is very small, the water backed up in the sink, which is not great when waiting for the hot water. There is only one microwave, water station and ice machine located on the second floor. The pool was not anywhere close to the picture that was advertised on the website. It could have had some furnishings in place, plants something to invite people to chill at the pool. Sometimes people like to hang at the pool.

The Restaurant shown on the website is only for breakfast and closes at 10am. The breakfast that is included in the price is located on the second floor, nothing to write home about. We ate here twice of our six night stay.

Hotel fees: we were not informed that there were additional hotel fees when booking, all the hotels fees paid during booking did not include all fees, there was an additional charge 65 dollars a night. We are totally aware of fees in vacation destination locations, but we were told that was included in the price we paid. Just be aware.

Service was not very accommodating and neither was the rental car company located in the hotel. We picked the hotel because it looked nice in the pictures and the car rental located onsite; on Saturday we rented a car for a wedding on the opposite side of the island, we were advised that the car rental closed at 9pm, which was fine. The only thing they forgot to inform us is if we did not return before 9, there might not be enough space for parking in the hotel parking lot. So to our surprise upon returning to the hotel the parking lot was full, and we had no idea where to park the car. I approached the hotel front desk for assistance and was told that they had no knowledge what to do, that the rental company was not apart of the hotel. We went around in circles for close to an hour before they allowed me to park in the hotel employee parking lot.

I hope this helps just make sure you get good information before making...