The Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort, Waikiki

“Stands out above the rest”

Did not stay here this visit but will FOR SURE next time. Best Mai Tai in Waikiki. Pink pancakes are worth it! Classy, beautiful hotel with excellent sitting areas and vibe

“Historic Wing Good, Tower Bad”

We picked this resort specifically so we could stay in the historic wing. The ocean view historic room we booked wasn’t available at check in, so they upgraded us to the tower instead. At the time I didn’t really care because I was tired and thought ok maybe the balcony and higher floor will be nic… more

We picked this resort specifically so we could stay in the historic wing. The ocean view historic room we booked wasn’t available at check in, so they upgraded us to the tower instead. At the time I didn’t really care because I was tired and thought ok maybe the balcony and higher floor will be nice. But omg room 1706 was not an upgrade at all. Yes, the views were amazing. But the room itself felt pretty dated, the mattress had a huge dip in it, and despite being on the top floor it didn’t even have a real balcony — just sliding doors. Later when I was at the pool looking up at the tower, I realized this must be one of the few tower rooms without an actual balcony. The real issue though was the noise. There was this insanely loud vibrating/drilling sound that came and went intermittently throughout the day and night. It was SO loud. Was it the AC? Construction? A ghost? I honestly don’t know and neither did the engineer. Eventually they explained that the winds can cause vibrations on the upper floors. Whatever it was, by day three I genuinely couldn’t take it anymore. We finally moved to a historic wing ocean view room and omg it was better in every single way. The room actually felt special and like the reason you stay at the Royal Hawaiian in the first place. The windows overlooking the beach looked like a literal postcard. I just wish we had spent the whole trip there instead. I honestly do not understand staying in a tower room at this resort. There are so many other hotels in Waikiki in the same price range that are towers but with nicer rooms and actual balconies. The entire point of staying here is the historic room!! Other than that though, the resort itself is beautiful. It’s on the nicest beach, the location is great, and everything is super walkable. The drinks were delicious and the food was actually pretty good (for Hawaii). The pink pancakes at breakfast were cute but also like… $30. We had dinner at another resort nearby that looked much nicer but the food was terrible in comparison. It is expensive though. Even coming from San Francisco, I had sticker shock a few times. The service ranged from super friendly to kind of surly. I honestly don’t care if staff are overly warm as long as I’m getting what I paid for, which is why it annoyed me that nobody really offered much of a solution when we kept asking about the noise issue (not even earplugs.) To be fair though, our server at Azure was sooo nice and the pool drink service was really fast. Also, I have no idea what other reviewers are talking about with waiting forever for umbrellas or breakfast. We asked for a beach umbrella around 9:30am and got one immediately. And the pool is small, but that’s very obvious from the website photos. I prefer Maui or Kauai overall, but if I ever end up staying in Waikiki again I’d probably stay here again — but historic wing only.

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“Just stay somewhere else”

Would definitely stay somewhere else. Absolutely beautiful property and lobby and wonderful location but the rooms seem to have been forgotten. The only upside are the beds, as those are comfortable. I have stayed in hotels ranging from a motel 6 to the Ritz Carlton and Fairmont hotels. The roo… more

Would definitely stay somewhere else. Absolutely beautiful property and lobby and wonderful location but the rooms seem to have been forgotten. The only upside are the beds, as those are comfortable. I have stayed in hotels ranging from a motel 6 to the Ritz Carlton and Fairmont hotels. The rooms here are definitely at a best western/two star hotel standard. There wasn’t a single towel when we arrived and the towels they gave us are super thin and scratchy. Very outdated, small, and cheaply designed. The number one reason I wouldn’t stay here again though is because THE WALLS ARE EXTREMELY THIN. We can hear everything our neighbors are saying and we were woken at 6 am to the screaming kids next door. They continued to scream and bang on things for the next hour. Really, we can hear everything they are doing. For reference, we are staying in the tower with an ocean view room with lanai.

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