The Kahala Hotel & Resort

We got married at the beach adjacent to Kahala hotel and just celebrated our 20th year anniversary here for 5 nights. I am happy to share that overall we had an amazing experience and will definitely consider returning again for our future trips! The 4.25/5 rating is driven by spectacular grounds with dolphin (5/5 for Dolphin Quest highly recommend to spend $300/person; also great for free sighting of dolphin), the serene beach that I loved walking by and swimming inside daily (5/5, much better than Waikiki; not as great as Lani Kai or Turtle Bay but as good as it gets in South Oahu), highly consistent service (4/5; everyone is polite and professional; although no one really went out of their ways to do anything extra from daily valet, multiple spa, daily breakfast, Alan Wong’s brunch), high quality food (5/5, amazing Breakfast Buffet, Alan Wong’s brunch worth $100+ although the selection could use a bit more variety), and generally pleasant rooms (3/5; slightly dated rom decor for its price. Uninvited Milipedes in my mom’s room but we are at Dolphin Lagoon room next to garden so it’s understandable. Would prob appreciate if a housekeeping or front desk manager could follow up vs the agent treating it as normal as this is the first I have experienced and it happened twice in the stay; we also tip $10 daily for housekeeping and didn’t ask for anything for the incidents as we understand tropical grounds is out of hotel’s control). We are very glad to have chosen Kahala for our 20th anniversary and would recommend this beautiful property to any one who likes to experience a serene Hawaii with steps away from Waikiki in a beautiful property.

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