sziv50

Stayed in March and was upgraded to a suite as a Plat. Was away on vacation so called the hotel directly a few days in advance to request the suite.

craz

Heading here in a couple of weeks, is Ocean View the best Up I can hope for? If OV isnt available is there a Diamond Head view room? are there more then 1 building and if yes which is the best to say in?

As of now I have simply the City View.

JeepGuyDE

I always book "City View" - and I've always received a "Partial Ocean View". It's always been in the north hotel tower. I'm not sure what room type booking gets you in the south hotel tower.

Pretty much any "Partial Ocean View" room on a high floor looking east will have a view of Diamond Head.

Going to be there in a couple weeks also.

mgreg

This hotel is decent enough, though it has a history of adverts with photos showing the hotel appearing it's on the beach, when it's across a very busy thoroughfare from the beach.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...-_-4-_-Waikiki

DenverBrian

Then there's the people who describe a narrow, well crosswalked and stoplighted two-lane road as a "busy thoroughfare."

All hotel properties take marketing pictures that emphasize the best parts of themselves. You don't see many pictures of dark hallways, dated furniture, or small bathrooms, even though many hotels have these "features" somewhere on their grounds.

This particular pic is shot from the water. News flash: You probably can't actually stand on that spot, you know.

Delta3MM

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...esort-and-spa/

Second bullet under hotel highlights: The resort is located across the street from world-famous Waikiki Beach.

I've stayed there many times - easy to cross and get to the beach. No problems.

True, Costco's advertisment does not say this - but Marriott's web site does. Perhaps you should post in a Costso forum...

Billy

PS. This view:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/photo...WGRD&imageID=6

on the marriott web site shows the road. But the photo on the costco advertisment is exactly what it would look like if you were standing 100 ft into the water at that spot. The road would be there - just not visable from that angle with the trees and such.

I've seen photos in brochures for hotels where some of the photos were not of the property at all. Now that's deceptive. I've been at marriotts (mostly Phuket and Bangkok) while they were taking photos for the property. I think they do a good job with the pictures of their properties, but of course, they want them to look as good as possible and they're not going to take unflatering photos.

Costco's advert says that the property is only "steps away" from the ... beach. True, but I live "steps away" from both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It's a lot of steps both ways.... Reminds me of things my mom always says - "Is it far?", "Will it be hot?", etc. It depends on your defination of far. To me - this hotel is located near the beach, across a 4 lane road with ample crosswalks etc. It is not on the beach. It is not "far" from the beach - you could even describe it as steps away...

It would matter to me more which tower I stayed in. There is a far tower (fuirther from the beach) and the near tower (much closer). I've always been put up in the near tower, but someone probably has to stay in that far tower. That probably doubles your ground distance to the water ....

boggs

This is only on the Marriott's website - probably after 200,000 complaints. Nothing like this is mentioned on the flyer the OP referred to - I think this point is irrelevant for a Costco buyer who just purchased a package at costco without first going home to research the hotel (which I would have done).

Second, it is not only about crossing the street - it is also about traffic and not being able to sit on the balcony and enjoy the sunset & the breeze without hundreds of cars driving by.

I agree with the above two posters - seem like a small omission, but at the same time this will actually add up to wrong expectations when you think of a beach, you don't really envision a busy street. Yes, it may be a couple lanes, but it is busy. If this had happened to me, I would have felt that I was taken for a ride - not a long one, but still a ride.

Bottom Line - I think the add that was brought up by the OP is doing more damage than good.

locanmures

But is this really Marriott's fault, or Costco's since it is their ad?

boggs

It may have been an inadvertent print by either Marriott or Costco, trying to showcase the property - whoever did the ad, will probably hear back about it from the buyers.

gardener

Anyone with the vaguest familiarity with Waikiki knows there are no hotels on the ocean side of Kalakaua avenue in the vicinity of the Marriott. If crossing Kalakaua avenue is such a big deal, stay at the Sheraton Waikiki or the Royal Hawaiian.

Why anyone would buy the Costco package baffles me anyway - I bet you get a voucher for the hotel, and don't get any stay credit or Marriott Rewards points - worth way more to me than the measly 2% rebate I get as an Executive Member at Costco - assuming vacation packages even get the 2%....

Cargojon

...or the ability to use Mapquest....

mrblueeyes

Personally, the Marriott in Waikiki is sub-par compared to quite a few other hotels in the area. Plus the restaurants in the Marriott are below average to poor. My suggestion would be to stay at a different hotel.

You do know that some people who have never been to Waikiki and do not research everything to the nth degree actually go on vacation to places they have never been before.

Actually, it is either 3 or 4 lanes but who is counting?

DenverBrian

Yes, three one-way lanes. No cross traffic. As verified by maps.google.com.

The point is: Hotels always "pretty up" their marketing pics to show them in the absolute best light. Power lines are airbrushed out, extra lighting is brought in to eliminate shadows, extra room accessories catch the eye that are completely missing in any real room. Every single brand does this.

The OP's post just sounds like whining.

MikeBU

You wanna talk deceptive Waikiki hotel pictures? I just checked out the Starwood site for the Princess Kaiulani, and they clearly chased away all of the hookers that are always hanging around the hotel before taking the pictures. To me, that's the defining characteristic of that property, and they're nowhere to be seen on the website...

In all seriousness, though, I would venture to say that the rooms at the Marriott are on average closer to the beach than the rooms at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. So it's really just the road that's got you worried. Buyer beware, as always.

sophiegirl

Quote:

The ...post just sounds like whining

Whining? On Flyer Talk? Surely you jest..................