Turtle Bay Resort (DNU)

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!!!

We arrived at the resort just after sunset. From the moment we arrived, the service was over-the-top friendly and warm. We were checked in quickly and shown to our room which overlooked the pools and ocean. The view was spectacular! In fact, I don't think there's a room in this hotel without a view from what I could tell. You either face the property's beach on one side, or the pools and ocean on the other side of the resort. Either view is fantastic, but I noticed the rooms facing the front of the resort and pools had much larger balconies with comfortable lounging furniture. While the balconies were smaller on the other side of the hotel, the views would still be incredible. I don't think you could go wrong with either selection. The Room: The room was large, but not excessively so. We didn't have any sort of upgraded or premium room as far as I know. There was a comfortable bed, large TV with the ability to link your personal streaming services (Prime, Netflix, YouTube) and a small table for two. They also included an espresso machine that we used daily. It made terrific coffee. The bathroom area layout appears to be have been retrofitted to a previous design but it still functioned well. You walked into a large closet area that had a sink/vanity and plenty of storage space for your things. There were some nice touches like a professional (and very expensive) hair dryer available for use while you stay. They also had not only an iron and ironing board for your clothes, but a very good quality garment steamer to get the wrinkles out of your aloha shirts. The bath products were of good quality and robes/slippers were provided for two. The shower was a bit of a miss for me personally. It was large and nicely tiled but was otherwise just an ordinary shower with a standard showerhead. I would have really liked to see a shower wand and/or a rainfall showerhead. The shower also had the modern style half-glass partition that meant water frequently splashed all over outside of the shower and on to the floor. Not a massive deal, but for a 5 star property, I found it underwhelming and something that could easily be upgraded with little expense or difficulty. It seemed like an odd choice that they didn't put much thought into. There wasn't even a raised ledge for shaving legs or anything. Maybe they could add small teak benches to help with this aspect? The Resort: The resort was spectacularly beautiful and very well maintained. You could walk around the grounds for hours and still not have explored it entirely. The pools never felt over-crowded, even at peak times and the pool staff was incredibly friendly and helpful (Shout out to McKenna! She was awesome!). Included with the resort fee were towels, beach chairs/umbrellas if you want to visit the beach-side of the property and other activities like spin classes and yoga. You could also get bicycles, play tennis or pickle ball. It was truly a destination property and you could spend your entire trip on-site and never feel the need to leave. There were also horse stables at the far side of the property, about 1/2 mile walk from the main hotel. We did not go horseback riding (fee activity) but we did walk over and meet the horses. It was a really great experience; all of the employees were incredibly kind and they allowed us to approach and pet several of the horses. It would be a real treat if you have kids traveling with you. Food: There were restaurants on site and the food was generally very good. Be prepared to pay resort prices but there are great options if you're hungry. The Roy Yamaguchi restaurant was great and their prices were actually slightly lower than what you could order poolside. If you want to get lunch, I'd recommend visiting Roy's on the beach side of the resort. Additionally there was an on-site coffee shop and convenience/gift shop. In the giftshop were grab-and-go food options that were actually pretty good and priced well. You could get a very high quality fresh sushi roll for around $10 from there as well as other snack and food items. It's a great option if you want something quick and inexpensive while you're on property. Nearby: There's not a lot close by, but if you make a left out of the resort on Kamehameha Highway, you will run into a village of food trucks and a few small restaurants that are great to grab lunch at if you feel like leaving the property. "Da Bald Guy" and "Seven Brothers" were both exceptional quality and value. I would definitely recommend checking them out if you leave the property. If you head out to the right on Kamehameha Highway, you can visit places like Ted's Bakery and there's a Foodland grocery store not too far away. They are famous for having great quality Poké at a reasonable price. If you continue down Kamehameha Highway, you will run into Haliewa which has some great restaurants and shops. The famous Matsumoto Shave Ice is located there, just beware you will be waiting in line when you go. Final thoughts: With the exception of being a little let down by the room's shower, this resort was truly great. My wife and I have been to many places around the world and this one stands out as an exceptional experience. The price is high, but so is the experience. If you are looking for a honeymoon destination or a place to spend a milestone wedding anniversary, this is absolutely a place you should consider. My only real disappointment is that I didn't see even one turtle! Isn't this place turtle bay!? 🐢🐢🐢

We booked a 3-night, 4-day stay at The Ritz-Carlton O‘ahu, Turtle Bay expecting the exceptional service, attention to detail, and memorable experience that comes with the Ritz-Carlton name. Unfortunately, our experience fell far short of those expectations. When we booked our stay, the photos shown with our reservation clearly featured a room with a bathtub. When we arrived, our room did not have one. I brought this to the attention of management, only to be told that not all rooms have bathtubs. I understand that not every room may have a bathtub, but when the booking photos prominently show one, this is misleading and should be clearly disclosed during the reservation process. Then, on the day of our arrival, we discovered that our room had no hot water and had to take a cold shower. We contacted management and were told that maintenance would come to investigate. We then spent approximately an hour and a half waiting for maintenance to arrive. When maintenance finally came, they agreed there was a problem and explained that they needed to open the valve and replace a part. We waited another 30 minutes, only to still have no warm water. We ultimately had to pack up all of our belongings and move to another room. I completely understand that unexpected maintenance issues can happen. What I find most disappointing is how the situation was handled afterward. We paid a premium price for a 3-night stay expecting a special and relaxing experience. Instead, a significant portion of our arrival was spent dealing with room issues, waiting for maintenance, and ultimately packing and moving to another room. After all of this, the only response we received was an apology. There was no discount, compensation, or meaningful gesture to acknowledge the considerable inconvenience and disruption to our stay. For a hotel charging Ritz-Carlton prices, I expected much more. Mistakes and maintenance problems can happen at any property, but what truly defines a luxury hotel is how it takes care of its guests when things go wrong. Unfortunately, we did not feel valued or taken care of. This was supposed to be a magical Hawaiian experience and a special stay, but instead, we left feeling frustrated and disappointed. The lack of meaningful guest recovery was, in my opinion, particularly unprofessional and completely inconsistent with the level of service I expected from the Ritz-Carlton brand. I sincerely hope management reviews how this situation was handled and considers how to better support and compensate guests when their stay is significantly disrupted. We paid for a luxury experience, and unfortunately, that is not what we received.

It was nice but definitely not worth the money. At $2000/night I expect a large room with all the amenities. This was a 4 star at best and not even close to the Weston I spent 4 wonderful nights on the Big Island. The room was small, clean, and just ok. The property was great but again not worth the price.