Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa, Waikiki Beach

“Espectacular!”

Beautiful hotel with outstanding service. The location is great, ocean front with a wonderful mangrove tree that hosts plenty of birds. Rooms are great.

“Good Option for Central Waikiki”

We stayed here with our 16-year-old son for spring break. We were looking at the Royal Hawaiian, this property, and Halekulani. I am really glad I booked here. Pros - we stayed in the renovated tower. We were able to guarantee connecting rooms with our son and the floor we wanted when we made the … more

We stayed here with our 16-year-old son for spring break. We were looking at the Royal Hawaiian, this property, and Halekulani. I am really glad I booked here. Pros - we stayed in the renovated tower. We were able to guarantee connecting rooms with our son and the floor we wanted when we made the reservation. We had ocean view rooms, and they both had an excellent view. The rooms were updated, clean and we didn't feel cramped. We didn't hear any hallway noise or any noise (we weren't street side though)h) and found the beds to be comfortable. We all slept great - excellent blackout curtains as well. We checked out the other two hotels I was looking at - the Halekulani would be great for just couples/adults if we didn't have our son. Our son is 16 and needed more excitement and beach access. The Royal Hawaiian was pretty, but too dated for our tastes. The Moana has a pretty and comfortable lobby, a good coffee shop in the lobby, and a great breakfast buffet on a beautiful porch. They have a fun and lively bar under this beautiful tree, which has great live music with good food and drinks. The pool is fine (not as nice as Halekulani ) but better than Royal Hawaiian. That is why I wouldn't stay here with little kids - I would stay somewhere with a better pool. The beach access is great, though. We also loved their cabana and beach chair/umbrella policy. You can reserve in advance, and there is a lot of flexibility. That was a big plus! The hotel is super central, and we could walk everywhere. Overall, we had a great stay here. The weather was another story!

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“A Tale of Two Wings: Iconic Charm, Unbeatable Location, but Choose Your Room Wisely”

The Moana Surfrider is undeniably one of Hawaii’s most iconic and breathtaking buildings. With its rich history and stunning architecture, it truly is a "must-stay" for anyone visiting Waikiki. Location-wise, you simply cannot beat it, a solid 10/10. However, after experiencing this property multip… more

The Moana Surfrider is undeniably one of Hawaii’s most iconic and breathtaking buildings. With its rich history and stunning architecture, it truly is a "must-stay" for anyone visiting Waikiki. Location-wise, you simply cannot beat it, a solid 10/10. However, after experiencing this property multiple times, I’ve found that your experience here will heavily depend on where you sleep and where you swim. Here is a breakdown of my most recent stay: The Rooms: A Game of Roulette During my previous visit, I booked the Tower Wing. It was exactly what you expect from a luxury Hawaiian resort: beautiful, modern, and wonderfully spacious. This time as the Tower Wing was full occupied, I booked the historic Banyan Wing. Unfortunately, I was incredibly disappointed. The room itself was small, and the bathroom was tiny. Given the premium nightly rate, the price point simply did not match the quality or comfort of the Banyan Wing room. That being said, I have to give a massive shoutout to the housekeeping team. Both previously and during this recent stay, the rooms were impeccably clean. Thank you for your hard work! (Cleanliness: 10/10) Resort Activities: The Heart of the Hotel The hotel’s daily cultural and wellness offerings are truly where this property shines. • Morning Yoga (10/10): The morning yoga offering is absolutely beautiful. Each instructor brings their own unique flavor and energy to the practice, making it the absolute perfect start to a beautiful Hawaiian day. • Ukulele Lessons (10/10): We attended the ukulele lesson on this trip, and I cannot recommend it highly enough! It was so much fun, incredibly engaging, and a wonderful way to connect with the local culture. The Elephant in the Room: The Pool We need to talk about the pool. For a resort of this magnitude, the pool is simply too small. It gets crowded quickly, and honestly, it is time for the property to look into building a second one. Equally pressing is the service at the pool deck. The hotel management desperately needs to train the pool team to deliver the same high level of customer service found throughout the rest of the resort. Right now, there is a massive, missed opportunity to provide guests with a seamless, luxury poolside experience. The Verdict Would I recommend the Moana Surfrider? Yes. It remains a stunning, historic gem with incredible activities and an unbeatable location.

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“Good Hotel - far from "great"”

We decided to break our trip to Japan up and stay a couple days in Hawaii on the way and the way back. This was our "on-the-way" choice. Our other hotel ended up being far superior for about the same price. Both were expensive in my opinion (we booked through Costco) The Platinum pick-up through… more

We decided to break our trip to Japan up and stay a couple days in Hawaii on the way and the way back. This was our "on-the-way" choice. Our other hotel ended up being far superior for about the same price. Both were expensive in my opinion (we booked through Costco) The Platinum pick-up through Costco was perfection. Easy, very nice car and driver, so comfortable, just perfect. The hotel location is prime Waikiki, the lobby is beautiful and the view out the back really special. When we walked in to the check-in area, it was our first hint that this hotel wasn't what I expected for the reputation and price. There were stanchions like a value resort at Disney or the bank, separating us "regular" guests from those with more status. I get it, and that's typical, it was just the execution seems so not luxury. We unfortunately visited during the heavy rain period, but that exposed one of their weaknesses...lack of "regular" restaurants. For dinner there were very few choices, and the choices were either out in the rain or(not sprinkles folks, it was flooding the patio) or at a very high end restaurant. We ended up walking nearby to a restaurant. The pool is very small, very tight and not a lot of capacity for chairs, etc. This might upset some of you, but the feel of the services felt more like a Marriott than anything more luxurious. Nothing about our stay felt really beyond a good hotel. And we paid "great" prices. Part of the issue is Hawaii has gotten so expensive, that it made Japan feel cheap.

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