Turtle Bay Resort

We were so excited to return to O'ahu and Turtle Bay as we have been lifelong Turtle Bay fans since 2008! Sadly, what a change it has been since the property became part of the Ritz-Carlton family. Don't get me wrong, the property itself is beautiful and the Ritz did a phenomenal job updating the interior but along with the changes to its physical appearance, what made Turtle Bay so special has also changed, losing its Hawaii charm we loved so much. As an example, the property was impacted by Lala on 8/16 and yes, given the circumstances, the staff did what they could and with the limited resources they had available. HOWEVER, my family of 3 and I stood at the reception of Alaia for 15 minutes waiting for someone to acknowledge us and at the very least let us know that the restaurant was closed for seating. AT LEAST 8 team members walked by us without saying one word, and a manager stood at the bar and made eye contact but did not bother walking over to let us know that the restaurant was closed. Additionally, there were at least 7 other tables with diners still enjoying their meals and still being served. I'm from NYC and even in NYC, folks have the common decency to let someone know they are no longer serving and not make a paying customer wait for 15 minutes. Additionally, the pool side service was abysmal. We waited 30 minutes to flag someone down and then they abruptly left and did not return. There were at least 6 team members in the area and not a single one cared to ask us if we wanted to order anything - and this was on the first beautiful weather day so I was definitely in the mood to spend! I expected more from a Ritz-Carlton - this was piss poor customer service! However, I am giving the resort 3 stars solely because of the following: 1) there was a concierge team member named Seya who went above and beyond to make my daughter's birthday special and really tried her best to make the rest of our stay memorable (in a good way), 2) Leah and Claire - 2 team members in the boutique shops were super helpful and great to chat with, and 3) horseback riding and the team members who took us out on the excursion were PHENOMENAL and made our experience out of this world! Overall, if this is your first time at Turtle Bay and love Miami SLS vibes, you will LOVE this resort! However, for folks who have been spoiled by when Turtle Bay was still full of Hawaiian Aloha spirit, this will be a bittersweet stay with mediocre customer service at the restaurants and pool.

As you might have guessed by the title, this is a Ritz-Carlton by name only. It’s more accurately categorized as a high end Sheraton or mid-tier Westin. First, a disclaimer: I was there for 5 nights and one of them was a passing hurricane. Just want to be clear that none of my review is affected or influenced by this hurricane, as obviously this is out of their control. The good: This property is geographically blessed. The bay, the sunset, its placement on the peninsula is amazing. The beach house by Roy. Great food. Great staff. Highlight of the trip. Jim OB surf school staff and experience was awesome! If you’ve never surfed or it’s just been a while, highly recommend. That’s it… The bad: 1. The resort smells like dirty carpet / mold. Such high potential for piping in tropical aromas, to really set the scene. When you look at this resort online, you can smell the coconut, the flowers, think again 2. The service just feels off. Like they need a proper RC re-training. Not sure if RC is focusing more on their ever expanding list of “Reserves” but it feels like the original RC brand is faltering. At $600+ / night it needs to be top notch. Why do you ask me if I’m celebrating anything if you’re not going to do anything about it. 3. Staff isn’t informed. No one knows operating hours, servers don’t know ingredients on menus, housekeeping just misses requested turn down service 3 times. I can go on and on. 4. That $250 million dollar renovation? The last $10k remaining in the budget is when someone remembered they needed to cover the walls with something. So they all went out to IKEA and they found the lowest quality wallpaper and said “that’ll do”. The back wallpaper of the room has some surfing/wave wallpaper that I could’ve sworn I’ve seen at a Courtyard in Fort Lauderdale. All the wallpaper near the elevators are peeling. Holes on the ground of the elevator tile that lasts days. 5. I’m a Bonvoy Elite Platinum, not the highest level, but it’s something. I stay with Marriott on business whenever I can. Not a single strawberry, fruit plate, welcome gift, nothing. That hurricane that passed by? Knocked out power for almost a day and a half. Not their fault, but at the very least try to exceed my expectations and offer me some Bonvoy points to come back. I could go on and on, but who reads this much in a review anyways. Save your money, there are so many true 5 star resorts in Oahu, some even at a lower price point. Don’t spend $950/night for a Sheraton with a fancy name and a roaring Lion on a crown pretending to be something it’s not.

I am still here, leaving tomorrow and this trip was just not worth the money. The hotel is nice, but not Ritz Carlton nice. The rooms are tiny and bland. Everything is so overpriced for what you get. The poolside cabanas are $500 for stained cushions, dirty floors and zero amenities. The website says the cabanas come with a complimentary carafe of water—well this is our second day of a cabana and there’s no complimentary water. This hotel is just NOT worth the price. I’m going home disappointed as we could have likely had a better vacation at a much cheaper resort. Save your money and go elsewhere as there is NOTHING special about this hotel except the beautiful views.

We stayed over New Year's with two rooms and three children. My family travels frequently and we regularly stay at Four Seasons, Rosewood, and Aman. This property is not in that category. It is not in the Ritz-Carlton category either. The physical property. Rooms, bathrooms, restaurants, pool areas, and public spaces show poor finishes, visible wear, and inconsistent maintenance. This is deferred upkeep, not a design aesthetic. We were not alone in noticing — we had multiple conversations with other guests during our stay who said the same thing, several of them openly surprised this property carries the Ritz-Carlton flag. The service. Within the first 24 hours: Concierge reservations and activities confirmed months in advance had vanished. Neither the front desk nor the restaurants had any record of them. Both rooms had water pressure too weak to shower properly. Management told us it was resolved. It was not. Two rooms, three children, and each room was stocked with two towels. We had to ask. Luggage was never delivered after check-in, despite a long window while we were at dinner. Laundry pickup never happened, despite prior notice to housekeeping. Front desk phones rang unanswered from the room, repeatedly. No water at turndown. After several calls before anyone picked up, staff said they were "unsure" whether guests receive it. It never came. Beach towels were unavailable for an extended stretch, leaving our children cold coming out of the water. Two apples for our kids took extraordinary effort to obtain and arrived with a charge of over $30. My wife called the operator four times, ten-plus rings each, to cancel spa appointments. She was routed to a spa voicemail that announced its mailbox was full. Staff repeatedly blamed "high occupancy." Being fully booked is a good outcome for a hotel. It is not the guest's problem, and it should never be said out loud to one. My wife checked out early. Management. Resort Manager Joey Woofter handled service recovery. Problems he told us were fixed were not fixed, and his written communication to us was casual to the point of unprofessional — replies that opened with "yeah." Whatever the standard is for running a five-star resort, this was not it. The part that made me write this review. Marriott offered to return the Bonvoy points from our stay. They never did. We had transferred those points from American Express Membership Rewards specifically for this trip, absorbing a loss in value on the transfer, and they cannot be transferred back. Jon Kimball, Market Vice President for Hawaii and French Polynesia, emailed me directly, introduced himself, gave me his mobile number, and wrote that he wanted me to have his contact details "should you need anything additional." When I found out the points had never been returned, I emailed him twice. He has not responded to either. An apology you don't follow through on isn't service recovery. It's a way to end the conversation. The location is genuinely exceptional and the potential here is real. But until Marriott invests seriously in both the asset and the operation, this property is trading on a brand it has not earned. One star.

I think about this trip ALL the time! From start to finish, it was truly amazing. The resort is beautiful. The grounds are very well kept. We never had an issue finding spots on the beach. It really was such a relaxing vacation. My husband lived on the North Shore for a few years, so he knew where to go off the resort. You definitely need a car if you plan on staying here. I hope to come back soon!!!