Underwhelmed Experience
I just completed a 3 night stay at the Royal Hawaiian.
The hotel’s location couldn’t be better. It’s one of the few hotels that has its own section on the beach. Unfortunately, the hotel is not “Waikiki’s finest luxury resort.” I met a person who was having a business conference at the hotel and she agreed. She didn’t get the welcome banana bread. She said some of the attendees felt that service was hit or miss. My main issues were the beach umbrellas and the reserving of beach chairs.
They do not have enough beach umbrellas for the number of lounge chairs. There was such a shortage that each day on the beach, the beach attendants were asking guests if they were using their umbrellas. Additionally, it was clear that the beach attendants were reserving many of the first row chairs and umbrellas for guests that clearly were not there within the 90 minute time period. If reserving in advance is going to be allowed, then it should be made available to all guests and not just a certain few who know about it.
Considering the money I paid for my stay, being asked if I was using my umbrella is not what I would expect from a luxury resort. I was underwhelmed on my visit.