TxTrav

]

We have stayed there many times, once since the renovation. We always choose the original building because we like the historical aspect. My photos of our ocean front room are in my tripadvisor review (it was a standard room, not a suite).
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...hu_Hawaii.html

Many people prefer the tower since those rooms have lanais (balconies). But those rooms have not been renovated to the standard of the original building rooms. We thought they did a great job with the bathroom in the reno of the historic rooms. Yes it is very small but now it is very pretty with lots or granite and glass. If you choose this type room ask for a bathroom with a window, it will seem brighter and bigger.

AndDee

TxTrav - Thanks, yes the bathroom in your photos is the one that I am after!

Lanai - Hmmm nice for about 10 minutes, as we'd spend more time in the bathroom.

Thanks!

spgplat21

This place looks great and the reviews are generally positive except for some complaints of smallish bathrooms, lack of platinum upgrades compared to the neighboring properties, and supposed preferential treatment of Japanese patrons.

But has anyone been here and the SR Princeville post-renovations to both. I looked for a thread comparing them both post-renos but didn't see anything. I'm going to Hawaii this summer and was originally planning on only staying at the SR, but I noticed the flights cost the same if I do a 2-3 night stop in HNL.

For a 5 night stay, does anyone think it's worth it to try both properties on the same trip or is there so much to do at both of them that a longer stay is a must. My SO and I pack pretty light, so I'm not worried about the hassle of the airports other than I've read traffic can be terrible going between the properties and the two airports.

alanslegal

If anyone has some spare time, I have blogged (reviewed) my stay at the RH August last year:-

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...1586/tpod.html

AndDee

Have you been to Hawaii before ? If so then just do one Island. If you have been before do both.

I have 3 nights at the St Regis Princeville
Then 4 nights at the Four Seasons Manele Bay (Sorry but no SPG hotel/resort on Lanai)
Then 3 nights at either the RH or Westin Moanna... Still deciding on which one to choose here....

AndDee

Thanks - You have nearly sold me on changing my Westin Moana booking to the RH....

spgplat21

That's kind of what I was thinking. I've never been before and likely won't return for a while so that's why I was thinking I might as well try to see both islands just in case its a while before I make it back. I was also worried about how much time I'd have at each property, but with the 4pm checkout and evening flights between the islands and back the US, I should be able to get two full days in at each and a partial day upon arrival.

sink

Just finished a two night stay at RH this past weekend. Checked in close to midnight (had to stop by Shokudo ^ next to Ala Moana for late dinner). Anyhow, did the self parking (which is $25 per night now ). Walked by the valet attendant; did not even say hi nor offer assistance with bags (no big deal, but odd for a 5 star hotel). A lady ambassador checked us in and informed that we were upgraded to a very nice suite (after reading this board, I knew it was garden view). The room was spacious, but the bathroom was tiny (I hit the sink a few times, and I'm not a big person).

The next morning, we went to the beach at 8:45AM (on Sunday) and all the first row lounge chairs were occupied by beach towels nicely set up by the pool boys. The second row was mostly empty, but we opted for the third row for more shade. The pool boys came by and set up an umbella for us which was nice, but did not set up our lounge chairs with beach towels. We observed that most occupied lounge chairs were not occupied (more than the 90 minute grace period). I was very tempted to tell the pool boys to remove the magazines used to hold those lounge chairs.

We've dined at Azure for dinner (6:15PM seating). We were setted in the outside patio area (which was just ok). Food was good (but was not fantastic). Service was decent as well, but was not excellent.

Overall, was not blown away by what people have raved about the aloha spirit. Did we feel welcomed? Not at all. I get better greeting in New York city. Will we stay here again, sure. They have the best location for our needs; easy access to the beach, nice beach lounge chairs, and Royal Hawaiian shopping complex.

clover

We just returned from 5 nights at the RH and absolutely loved our stay. I guess we were luckier than the previous poster because we felt the aloha spirit all week. Staff was terrific and greeted us by name after a day or 2. We had reserved a garden jr. suite and used points for part of the stay and an SPG50 for the rest. Upon arrival we were upgraded to a fantastic full garden suite in the Historic building.

I'm normally a big fan of getting ocean views and lanais in Hawaii, but I didn't miss those amenities at the RH. The Historic building is amazing. Every morning when walking down to the beach through the main lobby we felt transported back to "old" Hawaii.

We spoke to the beach staff the first day and never had a problem with beach lounge availability. Some modest tips went a long way. IMO, if you are staying at a property like this...tipping for such service is to be expected. We made sure our gear was on the chairs by 8:30 or so each morning. We are early risers in Hawaii so this wasn't a problem.

Meals were excellent and the entrees at Azure were very reasonable ($21 swordfish!). BTW, the ABC store in the RH center has an excellent wine selection at pretty reasonable prices. We bought wine there for several dinners, including the one at Azure (which charged only a $10 corkage fee). Some restaurants did not permti corkage, so call ahead.

All in all...my grade is "A". Can't wait to go back.

chrisdeaner

Just got back from a long weekend (Fri-Mon) at the Royal Hawaiian (FWN stay) and wanted to share my experience. Apologize for the long post but wanted to include as much info as possible! Some Cliffnotes for anyone looking for some quick tips/info:

- The RH no longer has the Tower Lounge that has been discussed previously in this thread.
- The food at the Mai Tai bar is good, not great and pricey. The drinks are very good and more reasonable.
- There is an ABC store as well as a Starbucks and other such places right across the street in the Royal Hawaiian Center.
- Doraku in the RH Center has very good sushi and a great happy hour
- Kaiwa has very good sushi and a decent, but short happy hour, afterwhich the prices skyrocket
- Morio's Sushi sounded like my idea of the perfect sushi restaurant the best possible place to go in the area but we couldn't get in. Check it out and call in advance to get a reservation.
- Duke's at the Outrigger next door has good lunch (including a buffet) and is very reasonably priced.
- Hula Grill, also in the Outrigger, has amazing breakfast and is also very reasonably priced.
- The Mai Tai Catamaran Sunset Cruise that leaves from the beach at the Sheraton next door is worth every penny of the $34 (includes all drinks). Bring a camera and plenty of room for drinks. Book in advance as it fills up.
- Rumfire at the Sheraton has good food, good drinks and what appeared to be a good happy hour. It's also right over the water
- RH guests can use the Sheraton Waikiki Pool and Waterslide, just get a wristband from the hut near the pool.
- Stake out beach chairs early (read: before 8) if you want to be sure you have one. We didn't try the beach boy (as the beach staff are called) tip method as mentioned above but I'm sure it would be worth your while to talk to them if you definitely want a front row seat.
- No alcohol is served on the beach but you can grab plastic cups from the Mai Tai bar and make your own concoctions in your room
- Cab fare to/from the airport is ~$40 each way. Few cabs take credit so be prepared to wait a bit if you don't have cash.


Friday: Arrived into HNL around 11AM after a nice flight from SFO in AA F. Grabbed a cab out front after being advised by the hotel (via my SPG Ambassador) that the various shuttle services can take a very long time to get you to the hotel since they service many hotels in the Waikiki area. Since we wanted to get settled and to the beach ASAP we opted for the faster route. Be advised if you're paying with credit card it can take awhile longer as a lot of cabs in the area are cash only. I think the cost to the hotel with tip was ~$40. The drive in is through a more industrial part of Honolulu which is a bit depressing if you haven't been there before and are expecting white sandy beaches and green mountains, but it quickly changes as you get closer to Waikiki. Check-in area at the hotel is very nice and open air like many of the hotels in Hawaii. There are 4 separate check-in desks directly across from the 2 concierge and the line can get quite long depending on when you arrive, however we were able to sit down right away and were treated to a Lei and glass of Pink Drink (lemonade?) that was tasty. We were informed that we had been upgraded to a "Spa Suite" on the first floor of the tower but it wouldn't be ready until 3pm since the previous guest was just leaving. They also had nothing else available if we didn't want to downgrade as they had people staying from a cruise (?) that weekend that had arrived a day early. We decided to wait it out and the agent got the rest of the check-in process completed and took down my phone number to call me once the room was available. We also selected a bottle of champagne as our amenity (it was either that or the standard 500 points). Found a bathroom, changed into beach clothes and dropped our bags off with the bellman. Walked around the interior of the property and was impressed by the gardens and the overall layout. Lot's of little areas to sit and hangout and a good amount of walking area. I was getting hungry so we hit up the Mai Tai bar right next to the beach. Mahi Mahi sandwich with Sweet Potato fries was $20 and it was decent, not great. The scratch Mai Tai from the drink list was very good however and ~$11. Afterwards I realized I didn't have sunscreen so we walked across the street to the Royal Hawaiian Center, right across the street once you walk out of the shared RH/Sheraton Waikiki entrance area and found an ABC store. Bought a few things and decided to see if the room was ready yet (it was around 2pm at this point). Waited in a short line to speak with an agent (after asking a manager type that was walking around if she could check to see if it was ready and being told to wait in the line...odd) who called the room and found out they had literally just finished cleaning. I asked him about the Tower Lounge (After reading about it on here) and was told, to my surprise, that they had ended that earlier in the year. He didn't give a reason, just indicated it was part of the remodel. Disappointed, we took our room keys, handed him the luggage ticket and went to our room (Spa Suite #3, the Molokai suite). The room was a two level arrangement with a small bathroom, living room and Lanai on the ground floor and the bedroom and large bathroom on the top floor. From the top floor, with the curtains open you had a decent view of the ocean through the window and from the ground floor it was a slightly interrupted view over the pool.
Pics:

Ground Floor (excuse the mess), small bathroom on the left)


Another view of the room from the sliding glass door


View from the Lanai (overexposure was my fault but the Ocean is visible through and above the umbrellas)


Bedroom Upstairs


Master Bathroom


Extra Large Shower with "Rain" showerhead


Crazy Toilet with built in bidet and dryer!

We were concerned about noise from the pool as it's literally right outside of the Lanai, but with the door closed we could only hear the occasional yell from a child but none of the chatter, even with people right in front of the room. Our champagne amenity and welcome banana bread arrived shortly after and we asked the employee about where we should eat and he recommended Doraku for sushi in the RH center, as well as Azure at the hotel (while noting it was pretty pricey). Our bags arrived shortly thereafter along with a nice treat from my SPG Ambassador wishing us a happy engagement We changed and went down to the beach, easily finding two open chairs (seemed like it wasn't a problem except in the early morning to lunch hours). Checked out Doraku and found out they had a happy hour from 5-7 Mon-Fri so went over about 6ish. It only applies if you're seated at the bar or the large community table which can fill up quickly but people also come and go so worth waiting around a few min until something opens up. We had 3 or 4 drinks and 4 items and with tip it was ~$40 for some very fresh fish. The Ahi Poke was excellent as was the Spicy Tuna Sushi. We then moved to a regular table and had a few more rolls, all of which were good. The happy hour prices are worth it though as our two rolls and one or two additional beers was slightly more expensive than our HH order! Went back to the room exhuasted and got to sleep early.

Saturday: Woke up fairly early and got to the beach around 8-8:30 to find all but one beach chair already accounted for, either by bodies or by towels and magazines. We took the one and had one of us on the sand until a nice couple behind us gave us the two seats they were holding for their friends who decided not to come down, complete with an umbrella. We used the champagne amenity plus a $8 (!!!) glass of OJ from the bar (hot tip: buy anything like this from the "Amenities" store in the hotel or the ABC store across the street) to make some Mimosas in our coffee cups (they won't serve you alcohol on the beach but I overheard several of the waiters offering to leave a drink in a plastic cup on a table within easy reach of the sand... ) to enjoy on the beach. The water was warm and fairly shallow, allowing you to walk out quite a ways. The beach got crowded but never to the point where it felt cramped. Went over to Duke's at the Outrigger (next hotel down the shore, away from the Sheraton) for lunch and we both had the lunch buffet for ~$14 which was pretty good. Went back to tanning at the beach and went over and checked out the pool and waterslide at the Sheraton next door. As RH guests we had access to it, but you have to "check-in" and get a wristband at the hut near the pool. Then you can use the waterslide and the much larger (and much, much more crowded) pools to your heart's desire. Went back to the RH to relax some more before heading in to decide on dinner. We decided to keep the Sushi theme going as it had been so good the night before and tried to get a table at Morio's Sushi after reading outstanding reviews on Yelp (think extra small place, awesome owner, amazing fish, cheap prices and, get this, BYOB!) but unfortunately they were booked up until later that night and we couldn't wait. Definitely call in advance if you want to go, all of the reviews are amazing. So we read that the happy hour at Kaiwa Sushi was good (5-6PM nightly) and went over there. No wait, got right to a table and had some good sushi and a lot of $3 draft Sapporos and ended up with an $80 bill (15% tip automatically added in during HH, which was fine as the service was great) because we had ordered so much; although it makes me wonder what we would have spent with normal prices... Didn't like anything on the dessert menu so jumped over to Yard House (I know, I know, we were in Hawaii, why go there, but we knew they had decent desserts and a lot of amazing beers) and had a brownie sundae of some sorts and a few local pints and then headed back for another early night.

Sunday: Decided if we can't beat the chair game, we'll join them. I woke up around 7ish and found the entire first row of chairs were taken, but easily snagged two in the 2nd row and had one of the beach boys set up an umbrella. Set out our towels and put a few magazines and newspapers on them and went for a quick workout at the gym (decent setup with good cardio equipment, full set of free weights up to 50lbs with one dedicated bench, a few swiss balls and a small "multi-machine" for your various pulley exercises). Afterwards we went down and caught some sun for a bit and then went over to Hula Cafe, also at the Outrigger on the 2nd floor right above Duke's and got a nice table right over the pool with a great oceanview. The food was really good (we both had omelettes and split a shortstack of banana/macadamia nut pancakes) and they had half price mimosas til 2pm on Sunday so put a few of those down as well. Total bill was ~$40 for everything so very reasonably priced, especially given the location. Went back to the beach and did the sun thing for awhile until we got hungry again and went back to Duke's. This time I had a Mahi sandwich and she had the Mahi tacos, all of which was good (not great as the Mahi was frozen so "they could provide it year round" ) but once again, very reasonably priced. Went back to the beach and then got ready for the one real "activity" of our trip. I had read stellar reviews of the Mai Tai Catamaran Sunset Cruise on several other sites and decided to check it out. We booked it through the concierge for $34 (total, with taxes which was the base price they charge anyway. It's higher if you book it through an agency) which also was inclusive of all drinks (except champagne apparently as someone else asked). It leaves right from the beach by the Sheraton, so ~5min walk from the room and you board barefoot and grab a seat. Once on the water the 2 man crew got everyone a mai tai (on tap and pretty good!) and set sail. We cruised around the ocean for ~90min until the sun went down while enjoying many tasty adult beverages and having fun laughing at the birthday group on board dance to the music. The crew was great as they kept the drinks flowing, seemed genuinely interested in talking to you if you asked them questions and didn't spend the whole time making lame jokes like on some of the other cruises. Had a blast and only regret was not bringing a camera as we were worried it would get wet. FYI if you do go and come back again, they'll give you $5 off as a return guest which is an even more of a killer deal. Definitely try to book this in advance as it does fill up. Afterwards we walked right into Rumfire while trying to decide where to eat and had an amazing meal there. I don't remember exactly what we ordered but I think we had Kaula Pork Quesadillas, Ribs, Ahi Poke Chips (basically tortilla chips with poke on them) and something else, all of which was awesome. With a few drinks it came to ~$80 before tip which wasn't terrible given that we were seated about 5' from the ocean and the service was great. The happy hour prices looked really good as well (we had heard it was good from a few places) but I think it ends at 6 or 7 so we missed it unfortunately. Finished up there and headed back to get some rest.

Monday: Slept in and woke up to a light rain shower (only time it rained while we were there and it was the only day we didn't have beach plans!). Decided it was a good day for breakfast in bed so I called in an order to Hula Grill (exactly the same thing from the day before, it was so good!) and we enjoyed that before getting packed up to head to the airport for our 1PM flight home. Sad to leave but it was a really nice short trip and a ton of fun!

Hopefully that all helped some fellow FTers out. Definitely a nice property and we'll be back (especially if we can get the killer airfare again ). Forgot to add that we definitely felt the aforementioned "Aloha Spirit" from all of the staff we encountered. Everyone was very welcoming and made us feel like they weren't just saying hi because they had to.

philemer

Nice report chrisdeaner. We may have to try this place on our Jan. trip. Mahalo!

Hyperacusis

Great report Chris. Got a few more questions, but that's what lunch tomorrow is for.

clover

Just a note on Chris' excellent report: The spa suites are great, but there are only 6 or 8 of them I think (all in a row on ground floor of the Tower) and you shouldn't count on an upgrade, even if Platinum. We've been repeat guests there and while my wife and daughter were upgraded last year to that suite (after considerable cajoling on my part) that was when the hotel was half full in the summer of 2009. I tried to be equally persuasive this year and was unsuccessful. The hotel was sold out for our week. I suspect Chris' short stay improved his chances considerably.

As I said above, we loved our room and the hotel, but most of the hotel's rooms are completely different from Chris' pictures. Aloha!

Hyperacusis

Yeah, I was pretty surprised by the upgrade in Chris' report, given that their policy is apparently not to upgrade anybody beyond the regular garden view suites.

Do non-suite ocean view rooms at the RH have balconies, like the Westin does? We stayed at the Westin earlier this year, and didn't get a suite, but got a pretty great ocean view room with a balcony.

clover

Sounded like Chris told them it was their "engagement" vacation so that probably helped. They do upgrade to ocean view suites sometimes, but I think there are many more garden jr. and full suites.

I don't think there are many, if any, rooms in the Historic building that have balconies. All the rooms in the Tower have balconies. I like the Westin as well, but imo, the property, food, and overall ambience of the RH is far superior. I agree that Plats have much better chance of suite u/g in the Westin.