ElevatorEnthusiast

Very grateful and happy that my Kai Suite upgrade that appeared a few days prior to check-in (no SNAs) has held - checked in - great room!

bocastephen

Just a FYI, those suites are not suites, they are just larger rooms with additional beds for Japanese tour groups - they are a major downgrade unless, as the OP's case above, they need the extra beds. For everyone else, they are not a desirable option by any stretch. Assigning these rooms to an Elite guest through a SNA request is a scam and a trick.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Yes, luckily, those Large Luxury rooms are only described as larger guest rooms on the website. The fact that they are currently the highest room category in the SNA pool is another issue but one that many properties face (SNAs really should be called Room Upgrade Awards). I'm glad to hear that the Sheraton made good on upgrading OP to a full suite despite the SNA pool changes that happened a little bit ago. I'm assuming that OP would have been able to get their SNAs back through Customer Service had they received a confirmation of an Ohana Suite that was then changed to a Large Luxury after SNA confirmation of that Ohana Suite.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Now, this is a welcome gift - I found it in my room as I returned from enjoying shaved ice on the lanai! 20 cookies - didn't get this last time!

TerryK

Congrats! Let's hope this signifies a policy change back to upgrade elites to all three suites when available.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Agreed! Perhaps, a previous poster was correct in assuming that larger tourist numbers would incentivize SW to pre-upgrade Elites to open up standard rooms. Regardless, it's a win for me on my final 2-night leg of my Hawaii trip! I'm glad others are experiencing the same!

ElevatorEnthusiast

Shooting off fireworks off my lanai as an Ambassador welcome gift! Wow!

Just kidding on the welcome gift, but this was really amazing and unexpected to watch from the lanai!

margarita girl

Hilton does fireworks every Friday night. I think the usual time is at 7:45.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Leahi Lounge is currently being used as an events space - a red carpet is leading to the external scenic elevator and a sign mentions a wedding up there tonight in the "Leahi Club Lounge."

glnsf

It seems our last experience here was an outlier, but I am only Titanium. Although we've had great luck at this property in the past, we returned last week from a four night stay that was disappointing in terms of the room. Booked oceanfront, was also in that pool of people where the suites appeared and then disappeared from SNA options. I replied to the pre-arrival email and also called at checkin minus three days when I saw that my SNA's weren't granted. When I called I was told not to worry - that we had been blocked into a very nice room. When we arrived, we were given a room that was technically Diamondhead view but actually closer to the street side and lower, mostly overlooking the RH roof, so we called down and they moved us to a different room. We ended up in a room that was lower floor over the Edge pool/Rumfire, with TWO (sometimes noisy due to kids) connecting doors and right by the elevator lobby, which became defacto playground for people's kids on that Mother's Day weekend.

We were kind of disappointed that we didn't get a quieter room since it was a thirty year anniv celebration, but the real problem besides all the noise was the HVAC. First night the room wouldn't warm beyond 64 degrees. Called next AM and they sent someone to fix it, but when we got in that afternoon it was hot in the room, so they sent up a nice guy who said he had adjusted it in the unit and it just would take time to cool down, showed me that the air coming from the unit was 68 degrees. He also said that they were having a massive fail on the new thermostats, that is why they had to adjust the temp in the unit, and that he had been pushing them to replace the thermostats with the old ones because he was frequently having to explain the problem to guests. Unfortunatley, that night it never got colder that 75 degrees. So I called again the third day and a new guy came and finally fixed the issue while we were gone. I suspect he just replaced the thermostat because suddenly the thermostat controlled the temp.

During the call that led to the final repair, the front desk clerk told me that they now hold all suites for Ambassador status guests. But that was only after she had first told me that there were none available when I checked in and I asked why it was that I could have booked three Ohana or Kai suites for cash while standing in line to checkin. Not sure if ours was an isolated experience, but not really inclined keep going there. At this stage in life, I'd just as soon spend a little more for Halekulani and not risk it again.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Very interesting that suites are being held for Ambassadors - this would explain my experiences.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Here is my trip report from this weekend at the Sheraton Waikiki - still a big winner in my book with several improvements from my last stay.

As mentioned previously, I was auto-upgraded to a Kai Suite a few days before arrival after also noticing a Deluxe Oceanfront upgrade about a week before. No SNAs were used. My upgrade held, and I was placed in a Kai Suite on the 7th floor (low floor, but still really nice views and little noise issues). The room was great with the major difference between this and the Malia Suite being that windows are in the bedroom rather than the bathroom. Lots of fun hallways in the room help with noise isolation. Large living room with multiple couches, chairs, and a large dining table for 6. The bedroom had a nice bed - covers seemed less thick than last time, but it still slept well and was plush enough in the right areas. The bedroom faced the RH, and the living room faced Diamond Head and the ocean - great views all around. Some noise leaked through the connecting door in the bedroom when my neighbor coughed. Two TVs as expected with Internet TV OS. I didn't have issues with climate control - super strong AC but motion-operated thermostat. The bathroom had dual vanities, Toto washlet, and large shower with bathtub inside. Pressure was good.

One minor issue - partially clogged shower drain - was resolved quickly by a friendly engineer.

Breakfast is still the same - continental or paid upgrade at Kai Market. I continue to enjoy their pancakes with included bacon. Their brown sugar peppered bacon is really good for pancake tacos.

Service is also still a hit - friendly front desk (though a bit hard to hear with all of the noise and plastic barriers). I didn't deal with late checkout as my flight leaves at 1:30 PM. You still get the bag to fill with souvenirs in the gift shop. The standout, of course, was the absolutely delicious $27 box of Honolulu Cookie Company shortbread (20 cookies of different flavors) left in my room with an Ambassador-branded handwritten card from the GM. What a great gift, which I made known at checkout!

The elevators remain so fun - it's also fun watching in the lobby to see which open car guests choose.
Overall, I continue to recommend this property - make sure to leave room in your luggage for all of the gifts you get for staying here!

ElevatorEnthusiast

Some more assorted photos:

spgplatfromchitown

We are Titanium and were upgraded to the Ohana Suites. No cookies for us, though. We were just grateful for the room upgrade.

Pro-tip: After years of experience, for the Elite "gift bag fill," I squeeze out all the air in the ground coffee bags for more room. It usually happens on the plane ride home anyway!

ElevatorEnthusiast

Very interesting - guess the Ambassador theory is quashed! It's also fun to hear that the gift bag has been going on for a while - guess that's why they have a whole room for it!