The Kahala Hotel & Resort

Friend referred me at this hotel and everything was great experience with Kahala hotel. Easy to communicate with staff members and I felt so welcoming staying at this hotel for my honeymoon. Thank you Kahala!

We've been staying at this resort at least twice a year for the past six years. The customer service has been superb until our visit last week. Sooooo disappointing! Going from having a beyond outstanding experience to mediocre was not what we were expecting. This hotel always stood out because of its prestige and unique clientele, who catered to presidents, royalty, movie stars, etc. The service was exceptional and was nice because it was away from the busy Waikiki crowd. I'm not sure what's happening with management, but then we were there last week it was nothing like what we've experienced in the past. There were all elements of people (not to be discriminating), ton of kids, and the break point was when we were in the water, in front of the hotel, and a nice piece of human poop went floating by. Thank god the wind was blowing and it kept going towards the condo beach next door. Someone needs to get a hold of what the "Kahala Resort" used to be......the quality has really taken a turn for the worst. I believe it definitely has to do with management. The front desk was accommodating, the Valet were awesome, the service at the Plumeria was great, it was just the overall feeling of being on the property that left a bad taste in out mouths....no pun intended 💩 But when that piece of poop went floating by, that kinda told us that things have definitely changed. Don't think we'll be back anytime soon....unfortunately. Sadly, this was our "go to" place to unwind.....not anymore. Time to move on. Disappointing.

This is the most beautiful resort on the island! The rooms, the hotel, spa, the service, restaurant, food, everything was fabulous! All of the staff were fantastic! They provided excellent service and went above and beyond! The rooms were super clean and housekeeping did an amazing job! The service at the restaurants were top notch! Our son loved the dolphin experience! We had a great time on the sailboat ride! The spa and massage was perfect! The pool is a little smaller than most resorts this size, but we enjoyed the sandy beach and comfortable lounge chairs. The overall experience was absolutely amazing! We hope to go back again soon!

After only being here for one day I can report that I made the right choice in this hotel. There are so many choices in this area and I researched them all. This hotel has met all my requirements for the perfect family vacation spot: Beyond beautiful beach and scenery throughout hotel and grounds. Swimmable beach just steps away from our room, calm enough for blow ups for kids and it even has a floating platform for the older kids to venture out to. Really large beautiful rooms with enormous bathrooms (his and her side each with a closet, stand alone shower, separate tub, and potty room). Large deck off room with comfy chairs for watching the dolphins (we had 2 dolphin lanai rooms for our family with 2 adults and 4 kids). Calm and peaceful oasis. It does not feel crowded at all. It is everything you dream about when you think of Hawaii. Excellent concierge team. Communicated easily and often before arrival. They secured an all day ocean cabana ($165/day) and a private tour of Pearl Harbor for my son and husband. And of course all the activities we planned: shark cage diving for my teenagers (snorkel gear used and less expensive and easier than you would think, THANKS A LOT SHARK WEEK), dolphin swimming, Pearl Harbor tour, etc. how are we going to fit in Hanauma Bay snorkeling, hiking Diamond Head (both near Hotel), shopping in Waikiki, Chinatown food tour, haunted Honolulu tour my teen wanted, spa, Dole plantation, etc? Clearly, I should have planned much more time at this oasis in this really fun island. All my kids are asking why we have to leave after 2 days to go to Maui! Not sure about why there would be negative reviews. It is not sparkling new, but very classic and well maintained. And those fancy toilets were the cause of hours of giggling by my 7 year old daughter who is now the expert at all the functions. Only regret is not staying for a week or at the very least 5 days here. Final tip: booked our stay through Costco travel website. Better prices than any web deal or travel agent I spoke with, and it included a free car as well as free hotel valet parking. Think I saved about $800 at this hotel and about $1500 at our hotel in Maui.

The last leg of our 2 week Hawaiian Island trip was staying at the Kahala. We wanted to get away from the Waikiki buzz and selected this hotel to be at the beach and not too far away from Honololu. The architecture is beautiful, with an open air lobby, stylish and well decorated, indeed it has 2 big buildings with 10 levels and some lower level rooms around the dolphin laguna or at the beach front. The reception was efficient but not overly friendly. We were staying at an Ocean Front Lanai room (8th fl), spacious, nicely decorated but with wall to wall carpet that should not be there in a tropical environment (why not wooden floors for a 5 star hotel: healthier and more style). Must admit the bathroom, however not the latest design, was big and efficient for 2 people. The room had a great view on the ocean with a nicely spaced balcony. The breakfast area had an inside an luckilly also an outside terrace which was the area for evening dinners (Plumeria) aswell. The hotel was at full capacity so you had to wait for breakfast, but the way the breakfast buffet was organized did remember me of some 3 star level hotels where masses of people where looking for food, absolutely not the level of a top hotel (the teams however did their very best to serve you well !). The absolute disaster and reason for rating this hotel only with 3 stars was the beach service or rather the lack of organizing a clean well kept beach: in the early morning you would find beach chairs all over the place with sand and old towels still on from the day before. If you want some shade at the beach you will have to pay which is unforgivable at this resort price level, I would suggest for management to take a trip to Asia or beach clubs in Europe and copy the beach service. So all in all what a shame as the hotel has really potential, the staff are trying their upmost, it has maybe the best location in Oahu but is falling short on a number of important elements justifying its 5 star rating.