Turtle Bay Resort (DNU)

Went during the recent power outage during the storm. The staff was AMAZING and resourceful, doing EVERYTHING possible to help guests. They provided meals (much appreciated given during the storm most things were shut down and the whole side of the island was without power. Stayed in a standard room, and even though the hotel underwent a renovation and the common areas are immaculate, the rooms themselves are a little dated. Probably the bungalows are the way to go, when we come back will try those instead!

Thought this would be a great way to end our holiday and it was good, not great. Definitely over-priced. Stayed at a 4 star on the big island which was 5 x better than this facility. It was beautiful but what you got was nothing compared to others. Valet and self parking is the same fee. The ocean view rooms could potentially be partial ocean view. The bed was comfy and the bathrooms roomy. Our room had a daybed outside which was nice. But if you wanted to do anything else at the hotel, get ready to pay. There are 2 daily complimentary activities. Everything else is a la carte....$100-$300/activity. The beach has comfy day beds in the roped area for $300/day. Daybeds outside the roped areas are $45/day. The rest are complimentary...it wasn't a super sunny day for us so we didn't have to fight for chairs but I didn't enjoy this part. Will say however, the snorkelling in the bay was fantastic. The closes eating options outside the resort are a 10-15 min. drive so be prepared to pay.....though the cafe was very reasonably priced as was their convenience store. The gym was beautiful and the best we have seen. The resort was lovely but not worth the thousands/night when everything else also has a price. It was good, not great.

Ritz Carlton Turtle Bay Review. Just wrapped a four night stay. Loved the location on the North Shore and the Jamie O’brian surf school. Everything else was meh to bad and not worth the price. The only thing that saved the trip was staying in a bungalow so we had access to the private bungalow pool and staffing. Do not even bother with the main pool, too crowded and some child’s puke was left on the deck for 20 minutes and no one cleaned it up. It was also insanely rowdy (I have three kids, so I have a pretty high threshold for loud pools, noise, etc) Food was blah and expensive. We quickly realized eating on property was not an option. It was probably a blessing as we had some great meals at local places. Main beach was crowded and the hotel did nothing to keep non-hotel patrons off the beach chairs. We booked the Kawela Bay beach experience through the hotel one day and it was 100% worth it. If I would have known earlier, I would have spent the $300 each day and just done that. (On the flip side, you can just walk the mile to this beach from the hotel yourself, but the golf cart ride, chairs, umbrellas, and snacks were great with the kids). The bench outside our room crumbled when my husband sat on it (he is not a small guy, but at 185 lbs, 6’2”, he isn’t huge either). They did nothing to clean it up during our entire stay. Room was not cleaned other than making beds and providing additional towels. I could tell because there were my little bits of hair in the shower daily from the day before and the sand tromped in by my toddler. At one point, I had to leave our dirty towels outside our door so they would take them. We moved from this hotel to Rosewood Kona Village. The difference was night and day. You could say, sure, it was a Rosewood, but the price difference per night between the Ritz bungalow and a room at the Rosewood was not that far off. So unless you have a great desire to be on the north shore of Oahu, which was very fun and cute, skip the Ritz. If you go, book a bungalow, rent a car to eat in town, go to the Kawela Bay beach, and lower your expectations. I mean, it’s Hawaii, we still had a wonderful time, I just felt ripped off.

We stayed at Turtle Bay about two weeks ago and had the best experience! The resort was packed with people, and the pool crowded of course. During our stay we had the pleasure of being served by TWO extraordinary servers and I feel the need to give them recognition in hopes that the Ritz Carlton will do the same. At the pool Puaena (not sure I’m spelling that correctly) was so busy taking and filling drink/food orders, however, she spent time with each guest and was funny and efficient. Her professional and positive attitude was memorable, and we were fortunate enough to have her again at the lobby bar our last night. She made us feel special with her humor and professionalism. We also felt lucky to have Kalena (not sure I’m getting that exactly right either!) as our server in the lobby bar one night. She provided amazing customer service and spent time with us discussing wine and just talking when she had the time. These two servers made our stay better by representing the Ritz Carlton perfectly with a human touch. I would recommend Turtle Bay for the beauty of the property but also for the service we received.

Everything youd expect from a ritz. Beautiful property, excellent food, excellent service, plenty to do. Good for familes or couples. Only nit is that there are few good restaurants close to property, recommend renting a car if staying more than a couple nights