The Royal Hawaiian Waikiki, Honolulu

My husband and I took our two children ages 17 and 13 on vacation to Hawaii. On most of our vacations, we stay at 5 star hotels like The Four Seasons, Ritz-Carltons, and Fairmonts. On our Hawaii vacation, we first went to Maui and staid at the Fairmont Kea Lani. It was an amazing hotel and we did not wan't to leave. But, we had something we were told to look foward to: our stay at The Royal Hawaiian. It is advertised as a five star hotel, so when we were told it was the premiere hotel in Waikiki we decided to stay there. We had a horrible experience. First off, when we arrived there was only one person at the check in counter and we had to wait in line for 15 minutes! During check in, we were given leis and juice. The man who put the leis around our neck did not say anything like "Welcome to Hawaii!" or "Welcome to the Royal Hawaiian!" He didn't even smile when he gave them to us! Then we made our way up to the room. The room was awfully small. My family of four was practically bumping into eachother left and right. There was no closet space and the bathroom was horrible! But, to make up for that we did have a wonderful view in the tower. On another bad note, most of the staff were snooty and greedy, especially the waitress at the beach grill. On a postitive note, the hotel has wonderful beach service. The beach boys were nothing but nice to my kids. They took surf lessons and the family did an outrigger canoe which was so much fun for the whole family. Also, the hotel is beautifully decorated and very pretty. As you can see, the positives DO NOT out weigh the negatives. We're used to staying at REAL luxury five star hotels like the Four Seasons. After you have stayed there, there is no way The Royal Hawaiian can even compare to The Four seasons. The Fairmont Kea Lani is only a 4.5 star hotel and had much better rooms and service. I'm sorry but when I pay for a five star hotel, I expect to to get be waited on hand foot, with five star service. That did not happen. We wil not be staying here ever again!

I have stayed at this hotel on several previous occasions and found my room in "the tower" to be ordinary and overpriced. When I asked if I could upgrade and pay the difference I was treated very poorly and told it was impossible. I was extremely disappointed and will not be booking this hotel through Yahoo again.

it is the most magnificent places on this earth

I like the birds in the gardens and in the balcony, the silence, the beach, is a other time hotel a real royal hotel. Excelent service, nices shops

The location was perfect and the staff went out of their way to assist us with information on ski packages, tours and shopping. The service was great! The complimentary breakfast was a real treat and a money saver. We met other guests from all over the United States and enjoyed visiting with them.

I liked the people because they were nice and I liked the swimming pool but I disliked the roaches in the bed, because I think for $200.00 a night that it should have been more cleaner....

We had a room in the classic part of the hotel with "garden view" (aka parking structure). The room seemed dingy. The carpet seemed to be very old and not very clean. I made sure my bare feet never touched the floor. Light switch panels were dirty (with some brown stuff I had to wipe off - maybe old ice cream?), handles to the refrigerator and the doorknobs had sticky residue. The bathrooms looked like a dated 60's remodel - the towel bars are very cheap, and the faucets were drippy and old. The window over the bathtub had peeling mildewy paint, and a very dirty screen. The shutter like apparatus to allow ventilation but preserve privacy was also very dirty. We could see a thick layer of dust in the air conditioning duct system. Paint on the doorway mouldings was scuffed. Lighting was quite poor in the room and really contributed to a feeling of dinginess. When we checked in, we noticed there was an empty coffee cup in the elevator waiting area on our floor. It took a full day before that was removed. I have not seen the rooms in the new high rise portion of the hotel - perhaps those would be cleaner and updated. I live in a 1902-built condominium and have stayed in B&B's in buildings older than this. Old does not have to mean dirty or dingy. After just having stayed at the newly renovated Ritz Carlton in Kapalua, this experience was downright traumatic. As we were only here two nights, we did not bother to change rooms. Like someone else mentioned in a previous review, I also had a bug bite shortly after staying in the room. The front desk people did not really seem to know much about their own services or facilities. A call to the front desk inquiring about the location of the business center was immediately transferred elsewhere. There was confusion about what newspapers they have available. On our previous visits to Waikiki, we always thought it would be fun to stay at the Royal Hawaiian because of its location (which is wonderful) and its beautiful grounds. We had also enjoyed the Mai Tai bar in the past. Next time, we'll definitely be staying elsewhere.

This place costs an arm and a leg, but it's a requirement for anyone who wants to see what it's like to stay in one of the oldest and most beautiful hotels in Hawaii. The entire hotel is decorated in pink, which is surprisingly elegant and not in the least bit garish. The theme is carried out onto the bar, which overlooks the beach. The hotel is right in Waikiki but somehow feels tucked away and tranquil. A must! If you can afford it!

We loved that the second you walked in, the sea breeze gently wafts by and your eyes become entranced with the spectacular oceanview directly down the hallway. It was breathtaking. We could have lived there, if they would have let us. The service is wonderful and everyone is so helpful and kind. The breakfast buffet is wonderfully scrumptous. The fruits were so yummy and don't miss the coconut syrup on the freshly prepared waffles. Wow!

I see the birdseye picture and I see my friend and I on the beach about to go in for the sunday brunch.(Almost) In 1968 we were a couple of musicians in Honolulu and we were really short on money so we would park at the Elks Club up the beach and stroll down on the beach side to the Royal Haiwaiin,go in the back side and enjoy a great brunch.Seeing that picture brought back a lot of great memories. We played country music at all the Service clubs for a year and a half. really enjoyed it. Sincerely Tooter