The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort, Waikiki

We spent five nights at The Royal Hawaiian. It is stunning. We were warmly greeted upon arrival and received a beautiful fragant lei that was unexpected. Every staff member greeted us with "Aloha" throughout our stay. As we were departing, staff members who saw our suitcases wished us a safe journey home. It was lovely. Housekeeping was always observant as we left for the day (so they could clean our room while we were out) and even greeted me by name. The room was spotless every day. When our hot water kettle wouldn't work a new one was delivered within minutes. The hotel has a great location right on Waikiki, but there is a relaxed and quiet ambience as soon as you step onto the grounds. The historic character of the building is beautifully preserved. We enjoyed the free history tour by hotel staff. We stopped at the bakery on site and the Mai Tai Bar. They were convenient and we especially enjoyed the pink theme of the Mai Tai Bar.

I love everything about this hotel. The greeting when we arrived, the view, the restaurant Azure. The room is the perfect size for my husband and I. I love the history of this place and the smell. Easy access to the beach and all the shops around. Just perfect.

This is NOT a luxury property or hotel. While I understand that they want to keep the historic Hawaiian vibes, that can be done with clean rooms that don’t have stains on the curtains, carpets, and walls. The bathrooms in this “luxury” hotel had black mold and sludge in multiple areas and the entire room smelled like mold. The air conditioning blows directly at the bed, so good luck at night trying to sleep. I felt like I was in a motel rather than a 5 star hotel. The only pool on the property is tiny and the shared pool with the Sheraton is absolutely filthy and disgusting. The water was murky and you couldn’t see the bottom of the pool that was only 3 feet deep. In the areas that you could see the bottom of the pool, there was garbage. Being in that area made my skin crawl. Also beware that the beach is a public beach. You have to pay an outside vendor to rent the umbrellas on the public beach… this is not how the property was advertised on the website. The BBB should really take a look at how this hotel is being advertised.

It was so exquisite and worth the cost to the core. I enjoyed the experience a lot and there was also so many activities to do indoor and outdoors and I loved the pool a lot! The buffet breakfast deserves a million chef's kisses! It's a must visit place at least once in a lifetime.

This beautiful hotel is in the prize position on the best part of Waikiki beach. It is a stunning setting and the hotel is a beautiful old building. The service is relaxed and casual but friendly more than professional five star. We arrived early on a long haul flight and were given access to a room to freshen up while waiting for our room which was greatly appreciated. We had a King sea view room on the top floor of the historic building with a magnificent view to the beach and Diamond Head. The daily maid service was very friendly and efficient. The hallways show some wear and tear with the carpet threadbare in places, but the building is so beautiful you don’t notice and everything smells clean and of frangipani. Our room was fairly spacious but the bathroom was extremely cramped and dominated by a swing door when they should save space by installing a sliding door. It really was too small for a five star experience - of course it’s an old building but you need to update and modernise and a sliding door would make a huge difference. The pool area is quite small and prone to the dreaded sun lounger reservation issues which staff do nothing about (of course that is difficult to do, but if a towel is on a lounger for more than an hour - remove it). One of the best things about the hotel that is no secret is the Mai Tai bar on the beach which makes amazing cocktails and serves decent beach grub too. Sometimes there is live music on the lawn - we heard the Royal Hawaiian band which was a great experience. The setting is just so peaceful and beautiful and the hotel is especially gorgeous when lit up at night. We would definitely stay again for a treat.