The Kahala Hotel & Resort

The staff inside and ouside were excellent. The rooms are beautiful and the hotel had everything we needed on the property. Check-in and out was seamless. I refuse to stay in hotels or chains that do not prioritize cleanliness. Kahala exceeded my expectations! Love that this resort was away from the chaos of Waikiki. Will definitely stay again and again.

Very nice hotel resort on the other side of Diamond Head. found a great rate to come with the kiddos for a little Summer Vacay. nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle in Waikiki. The Kahala bills itself as a 5 star luxury stay. while there are definitely some 5 star attributes to this resort, it falls short of a full 5 star rating. we booked using the Chase Reserve promo which included some great benefits such as hotel credits, room upgrade on availability and early check-in/out opportunities. we arrived a little early, 1pm, but a room wasn't available. they were able to get us an upgrade, however. for a 3pm standard check-in we were only able to get a room at 220p. we booked a room for 4 people, but, they got us a King bed. we were offered 2 rollaways, or move to a double room the next day. we chose the prior. luckily, the room itself was pretty large and well appointed. the bathroom was also big, with dual sinks on opposite ends, a separate shower and tub and a MAGIC toilet! yes, a toilet with a warming seat, senses your rear approaching and lights up and rinses the inside of the bowl, all prior to being used! oh, and it's also got a bidet built in. i think that was the highlight of our room. the tv was conveniently on a retractable mount so could be adjusted as necessary. there was a good sized fridge as well as a Nespresso machine and complimentary water. The resort grounds were immaculate and aesthetically pleasing. the lobby/patio area gave off plantation vibes, similar to the Moana Surfrider. there are in-house dolphins that swim around the pond that guests can interact directly with in the water. there are multiple restaurants on property that range from casual, to buffet to fine dining. THE best part of the Kahala is it's pristine beach front location. just steps from the resort pool, Kahala beach was our favorite of this entire trip. as i mentioned, this was a nice break from Waikiki and this beach is the epitome of non-Waikiki. although it is a public beach, it was relatively peaceful and quiet. the surrounding neighborhood provides an element that is conducive to relaxation and calm. mama and i were able to sit on our complimentary beach loungers and just chill while the kiddos frolicked in and out of both the surf and the pool. the dudes attending to the beach/pool guests were awesome and always ready to help. while The Kahala provided us a great stay, there were a couple points of contention that kept it short of a 5 star resort. the wrought iron balcony railing's white paint didn't quite cover up the rusting going on underneath it. and the balcony dividers that provided perfect privacy from our neighbors, also had rust smattering it. i realize we're in a tropical climate and this is common, but, perhaps a 5 star resort would pay more attention to those details. another issue was trying to communicate with the front desk. we had a 50% success rate with trying to get ahold of someone on the phone. it should not be that difficult. the pool had the ubiquitous sludge that develops when sunblock and water and mass of humanity meet, but, the filtration system should be managing that a lot better. overall, we had a wonderful time at The Kahala. it's definitely worthy of a return visit, regardless of the 5 star shortcomings. we highly recommend this place.

This resort style hotel is perfectly positioned in a private, quiet, peaceful and charming beachside setting conveniently located close to but just far away enough from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki. We stayed for four nights in a spacious suite overlooking the magnificent golf course and mountain views with the added bonus of sea views from the side of the large balcony. The room was very well furnished and equipped and cleaned to a meticulous standard. The hotel very kindly and efficiently accommodated our request for early access to the room as we had arrived very early from a cruise that disembarked in Honolulu. The establishment exudes a charm and quality from yesteryear and has real historical aspects to it. For the most part the staff are very friendly, polite and helpful. There is a very useful courtesy shuttle bus available for guests use but one of the drivers is not so friendly and is rude and very disinterested in the customer experience. The complex has everything you would need including shops and a small convenience store, but we felt that the range of dining to be limited and geared towards local patrons use rather than prioritising hotel guests. For three of our four nights stay our preferred dining establishments were either fully booked or given over to expensive 'theme dinners' which appeared to be for the general public benefit and enjoyment, at the expense of in-house guests. This was a frustrating and disappointing aspect of our stay and spoilt our experience. Whilst we enjoyed the overall ambiance and relaxing aspect of our stay, there were a couple of other niggling issues that could have been addressed: the rather antiquated and noisy air conditioning unit in the bedroom (which became an annoying disturbance to sleep quality with its loud on/off action) and, the limited availability of shaded areas for sunbathing around the pool and 'beach garden' areas (which for a hotel of this size was sadly lacking). If the aforementioned issues (including those of dining prioritisation to in-house guests and the grumpy shuttle bus driver) were improved upon, this would elevate the hotel to a much higher standard. On a final point, and it is something that always leaves an impression: it does not take anything from a staff member to ask you 'how was your stay' when you settle up your room account and leave the keys. In this instance, no such question was asked of us!

Beautiful setting. Rooms are large and private. Service was wonderful. Yuki got to the spots I needed work on. Face mask so hydrating, will buy for home. Mahalo

Firstly I will start by saying we have genuinely loved The Kahala over many years, however with approx 1,000 contributions on Trip Advisor I like to hopefully provide constructive feedback, vs the resort favourites with 3 contributions. It's great to highlight the good but as a leader surely you want to hear the areas of improvement? Having staying here many many times over the last 10+yrs it is a shame my feedback on the terrible buffet breakfast is always met with "thanks for the feedback, we will look into it and review to do better". Hands down the worst buffet breakfast globally for a 5 start resort at these prices for accommodation. Simply ridiculous how poor it is including how limited the selection is but again, this will fall on deaf ears. *the service staff as always are a 10 and this isn't on the staff. Prices here in general keep going up, and that's fine, yet it is at the cost of guest's experiences. So the staff (below senior management) are truly special and world class, doing their best whilst clearly under staffed. Prime example is the seaside grill/pool bar and restaurant. Historically you would have pool side service including a buzzer similar as you'd find in many Tokyo restaurants where you select to order food, or drinks, or get the cheque. This is all gone, as are the more comfortable pool side chairs with cushioned seats which now are only via a paid price. I heard another couple arrive and say "let's sit by the pool as I want the service", they later said "let's go I'm not waiting an hour". I asked one of the pool staff "do you no longer do pool side service" to be told he was so sorry (not his fault one bit) as they are so busy servicing the seaside grill but would try to come by - they never were able to. Food by the pool took a ridiculous amount of time inc a side of fries took 80mins. *this was same every day, not a one off. So prices have increased, while clearly staff have been cut back on which is sadly typical and sure that's a business decisiom but at the cost of your guests experience will show soon enough. I hate to say, after so many visits, I now doubt we will return. Again this will fa of deaf ears as history proves. *Huge shout out to the day to day staff who are exceptional and are keeping The Kahala alive - for now......