Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach

Overall, my stay at the Alohilani was good. However, upon my arrival, given beauty of the lobby and attention to detail of holiday decorations, and complimentary eggnog, I expected a slightly better experience. Ultimately, I think the hotel may have been understaffed for the holiday. I visited the Swell pool bar a few times for breakfast and there seemed to only be only server at times. The common areas on the floors did not match the cleanliness of the hotel lobby as I would have expected to see someone vacuuming the hallways. On my second night, I saw a dead palmetto bug in the hallway but I did not stress too much given we were on an island. However, the following day I saw a cockroach in my bathroom which left me quite disappointed given the cost of our hotel stay. A highlight is that my masseuse, Shuo, was amazing. All in all, I had a good time, but there is definitely room for improvement.

We stayed at Alohilani Resort Waikīkī Beach from 12/31–1/5, and this was one of the worst customer service experiences we have ever had at a hotel. This property advertises itself as a 5-star hotel, but based on our stay, it is nowhere near that standard and we don’t know how they even qualified for 5 stars. There was constant and extremely loud mechanical noise coming from the roof. It sounded like rapid fireworks mixed with a heavy industrial dryer tumbling objects. This noise went on overnight for 2 consecutive nights without stopping, making it very difficult for our family to rest. On the second night, I called the front desk to report the issue, and this is where things completely fell apart. The front desk staff member I spoke with was a female employee named Brandon, and her behavior was immediately condescending, dismissive, and unprofessional. From the beginning of the call, she spoke to me as if I were a child and made it clear she had no intention of helping. When I explained the noise issue and mentioned that we were traveling with a baby and paying for a suite, her attitude worsened. When I told her that her tone was inappropriate and that I would escalate the issue, her exact response was: “Go ahead, report me.” She said this in a mocking and unapologetic way, as if she did not care about her job, the guests, or the hotel’s reputation. I have never experienced behavior like this at any hotel, luxury or otherwise. For a hotel claiming to be 5-star, this interaction was shocking and unacceptable. Management dishonesty and lack of accountability I asked to speak with the general manager. The person I spoke with claimed he was the general manager, which I later confirmed was not true. After further research and follow up, we learned that the hotel’s manager is Panniga Wakefield. Despite multiple requests, we never received a call or follow up from her. While the individual I spoke with was polite, misrepresenting one’s role to a guest is unethical. An apology for Brandon’s behavior was not offered until I explicitly expressed my disappointment. A $100 credit was offered, which I accepted at the time but later regretted. A credit does not replace accountability or genuine concern. Serious guest safety concern and lack of communication On the morning of checkout, while my husband was briefly out getting coffee with our daughter, I was alone in the room. A very large security guard, approximately 6’6”, around 350 pounds or more with full facial tattoos, knocked urgently on the door regarding a fire alarm issue. Instead of calling us ahead of time or coordinating with us first, he came unannounced, demanded entry and rushed to come into the room rather than waiting 10 to 15 minutes or calmly explaining the situation. There was no advance phone call, no warning, and no attempt to communicate before showing up at the door. I had just exited the bathroom and was startled and frightened. His size, demanding demeanor, and urgency made me feel extremely uncomfortable and unsafe. He then abruptly asked, “What time are you checking out? When?” in a demanding tone. This interaction was completely inappropriate. Guest safety includes emotional safety, and this situation was handled very poorly. No follow up from management After this incident, I contacted the front desk and requested a call from management. We were told Panniga Wakefield, the hotel manager, would call within 20 to 30 minutes, and we provided my personal phone number. No one ever called. There was no voicemail and no follow up. This lack of response after a safety related concern shows a complete lack of care and accountability. Additional issues Requests for towels and toilet paper routinely took 30 to 60 minutes and required multiple calls, sometimes they never showed up.
Valet drivers were observed driving very fast and recklessly in the parking garage.
The breakfast buffet was extremely limited, around 5 options.

Great Staff! Wonderful location right across the street from the beach and plenty of food and shops all within a block or 2 walking distance. Check in was smooth. Easton was patient and hospitable provided get customer service. The hotel was clean, welcoming, great amenities- the pool, bar and restaurant was amazing - bar staff is welcoming and funny! They def make you feel like it’s your local watering hole. Food and drink moderately priced and so good. Food Portions and quality is great and delicious. Def worth it! Housekeeping staff made sure the room was pristine. After a long day of sun and beach and running around the island, coming back to a room that felt like the first day’s check it made the vacation so much better. Will def be booking a future stay!

Sometimes, one has to admit it is a mistake to book a restaurant without knowing what it’s all about… and this was one of them. Though the interior with its amazing two-story glass aquariums teeming with all kinds of tropical fish is just spectacular.. We were not able to stay and enjoy eating with all those googly eyes on us. We made a reservation for lunch at the Chinese restaurant that sits on the mezzanine overlooking the lobby and these lively, hypnotic, blue tanks, and walked in to find that they are only an “All You Can Eat” establishment – no regular menu at all !! But here we were – two seniors with limited appetites. Can’t really eat enough at lunchtime to do justice to the basic meal price. So we were in a quandary. Either stuff ourselves sick, or bow out and get charged for the price of at least one meal – because we had made the reservation through one of the reservation systems that charges for last minute cancellations – like opentable ?? I seriously try to avoid using these platforms, but this was the only availability for lunch that day. But we spoke with the ladies who run the restaurant and they were understanding and gracious enough to cancel our request while marking it as “used” so we did not get charged the cancellation fee - Really grateful. Thank you, Ladies.. you’re wonderful.

We stayed in one of the full ocean view rooms, and the view was absolutely beautiful. Location is hard to beat, right by lots of shops and restaurants, and directly across the street from the beach. However, due to the room facing a major street, people and cars got pretty noisy through the night (definitely bring earplugs). Service was a tad bit questionable, perhaps a bit understaffed or disorganized? We had to make various requests throughout our stay requesting an extra blanket, bathrobe, towels, and slippers (the room was equipped for 2 and we had 3), and most of the times the items either wouldn't show up at all until we called another 1-2 times, and they would be delivered over an hour later. All the workers were very kind though! The room was pretty clean and comfortable, and fairly spacious in my opinion. I agree with some other reviews saying that the bathroom was tiny, but it didn't bother me personally. This also only applied to our first ocean view room - we switched rooms partway through the week due to us booking too last minute, and that partial ocean view room had a larger bathroom.