Turtle Bay Resort

This was our fifth stay at Turtle Bay, and our first since Ritz-Carlton took over. We have always loved this resort, which made this experience especially shocking. The setting is still spectacular, and the pricing is unquestionably Ritz-Carlton, but the service felt much more like a standard Marriott. Our room had a persistent bad odor that ultimately resulted in the hotel replacing our mattress. During our stay, I developed approximately 40 unexplained insect bites and my five-year-old had around 30. Whatever the source, dealing with that many bites during a luxury family vacation was extremely upsetting. They did move us and all our belongings to another room and when we got there the room was left unlocked - we found out that the door lock was broken and they had to move us again Dining and pool service were also surprisingly disappointing. We sent back multiple meals, including poke that didn’t seem fresh, and on three separate occasions asked for water at the pool that simply never came. The polished, anticipatory Ritz-Carlton service we had experienced in the past was noticeably absent. We never once heard the signature “with pleasure” that we had experienced so consistently before. We also booked the resort’s catamaran excursion, which was billed as a luxury experience but was anything but. The trip felt uncomfortable and unsafe. Despite being told we didn’t need to bring anything, there were no towels or water onboard. Lunch was a plastic-wrapped grocery-store-style sandwich, and the only beverage offered was Spindrift. It was nowhere near the luxury experience we were expecting. The pricing throughout, however, is unquestionably luxury. An 80-minute massage was $395, plus an $85 service charge, tax and gratuity. At that level of pricing, expecting an exceptional level of service doesn’t seem unreasonable. Any one of these issues could have been overlooked. It was the accumulation of them—and the stark difference from our four previous stays—that made this visit so disappointing. Turtle Bay remains an extraordinarily beautiful property, but at Ritz-Carlton prices, guests should receive Ritz-Carlton service. Based on this stay, we cannot recommend it at the current price point. There are simply too many exceptional luxury resorts in Hawaii delivering the level of service these rates should command. After five visits to a resort we genuinely loved, we won’t return unless there is a meaningful improvement in service and quality.

This is a short story with a happy ending, and which epitomizes the Ritz Carlton Turtle Bay. We are old and have been going to Turtle Bay since it opened. We first visited during its second week of opening in 1972. For many years up through 2015 when we left Oahu we often visited on weekends driving up from Honolulu to enjoy the beautiful North Shore and the comforts of Turtle Bay. We had a special place that we walked to and spent many weekends in the sand and water – that place is the keiki pool about a mile down the beach towards Kahuku. We realized on this visit that our disabilities would not allow us to walk to our most favorite spot. Upon check in, we must’ve mentioned that we’d like to do that but because we can’t walk too well, we would not be able to visit our most favorite spot. Well, the receptionist must’ve heard us express that and must’ve passed it on someone in management. The next day we were contacted and told that someone was available to take us in a golf cart to the keiki pool. We were delighted to hear this and we loaded up for the pool. Our driver was none other than Gui Campos. He must be a manager of some sort. What a wonderful human being he is. We’ve never met such a compassionate individual intense on making our dream come true. He loaded us into his cart and wound his way down to the pool where we were able to enjoy a few minutes. It was not easy for him, but he was determined to make our wish come true. It’s not an easy drive and the last 20 yards he practically carried us. There are others like him in the club and elsewhere. We have used many hotel clubs before, but this one at Turtle Bay tops them all. A selection of foods three times a day was extraordinary, and the help was outstanding. The building has been updated many times, but the most recent one was very good. We had three rooms, and all were different and comfortable. We enjoyed horseback riding and the pool. The food at Roy Yamaguchi and elsewhere was fantastic. We hope the developers lose their battle to further build around Turtle Bay. It’s a marvelous place made only better by the staff and particularly Gui Campos. Mahalo for making our dream trip come true.

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.