happymommy

I used to live on Oahu, and have spent many nights at the Moana. I am guessing that you have two rooms booked for your family. The room that you have described will probably have only one queen bed, a small bathroom and an armoire (at least when we've stayed in that room type it had no closet, but an armoire). There is no room for a rollaway, so it can only sleep two people. They can be noisy, but they are very cute rooms. They don't connect either.

Last time we stayed there with our children, who were 9 and 11 at the time, we reserved two rooms in the tower, and talked to the hotel ahead of time about having them be connecting. We were offered guaranteed connecting rooms for an additional fee, so I took that. The rooms weren't as charming as the original building, but they were newly renovated, spotless, and huge. We each had king beds, so they brought in a rollaway (my kids don't do well sharing a bed!).

I really wouldn't count on any upgrade being gold. I'd book the type of rooms that you need. I would call the hotel directly and talk to someone there about what type of space and bedding you want.

We also liked the tower as it had a lanai - only a very few rooms in the historic wing have balconies (we were lucky enough once to get a huge room with the shared one overlooking the banyan tree).

cawhite99

Thanks happymommy,

No...we only have 1 room with 2 doubles. I know it will be small but we won't be in the room too much.

We can get a room at the Sheraton that is over 600 sq. ft. for 14,500 points per night but we prefer the area where the Moana is located and think we'd prefer the charm of that hotel better than the Sheraton.

Carole

cawhite99

Oh.... and I wasn't hoping for an upgrade as a gold SPG member... I was hoping for an upgrade thinking the hotel might not be sold out upon arrival (continuing economic conditions).

Tak

Hotel might not be sold out, but at the end of July, it is getting busier in waikiki.

If you take a standard room with points, award room is basically for two people unless you notify the hotel you have 4 people in the room.
You might get a room with one queen bed as the previous poster said.
I had the room with one queen bed in summer before even though I was the platinum member and frequent visitor of the hotel.

If you stay one or two nights, you could take a risk and save points.
But you stay 5 nights, I recommend to spend more points to reduce your risk since their small room is too small for 4 people not only to sleep but also walking around in the room.

Especially, if you use points, bedding preference is not quaranteed.

By the way, sheraton made a renovation and their lobby, pool area are much nicer than before.

cawhite99

Thanks Tak,

I guess we'll stay with the higher point room. We plan to tell them it's our 25th anniversary trip... maybe that will help with an upgrade. The SPG rep. did note in the reservation that there would be 4 people in the room. I will call the hotel directly a week before we arrive and confirm that over the phone. By the way, since our room description says "newly renovated" is that likely to be larger also?

I have read about the renovations at the Sheraton, including the pool which is shared with the Royal Hawaiian (but not the Moana Surfrider)... so the pool was of interest for our kids. Still, we prefer the location of the MS and I believe the beach / amount of sand is better there too? We stayed next door at the Outrigger Waikiki during our last visit... the kids really liked it there.

Carole

SanDiego1K

I'm afraid that whether a room is renovated or not, it says nothing about the size of the room. And if you end up in a room at the smaller end of the range given in your confirmation, you'll not have much room for the four of you to move around your beds.

I would make sure that the hotel knows in advance that it is your 25th anniversary. It's really a special event. In my experience, the hotel staff does its best to accommodate those with special occasions.

cawhite99

Thanks SanDiego1K,

I was planning to call a week or so in advance. Is that sufficient notice or should I call now (for our last week in July reservation)?

Tak

If the hotel upgrades you, it is safer to have the room in the Tower section.
Tower has nice ocean view rooms facing Diamond Head or partial ocean view rooms(you see ocean from lanai) facing Outrigger.
Those rooms have much more space for you unless you get a suite in the main building.

Also, there are a lot of Honeymooners at Moana who make reservations of higher category rooms including suites.
If the hotel gives you partial ocean with two double beds at Tower, you should take it.

As the platinum member, I stayed there 10 times.
Out of 10, 2 times I got a suite, 4 times I got a ocean view tower facing diamond head, 2 times I got a partial ocean tower facing Outrigger and 2 times no upgrade in the main building with small room.
Both no upgrade and partial ocean were during summer vacation time.

I have never sent e-mail in advance to the hotel so I hope the hotel can give you better upgrade for your special anniversary.

Sheraton is sharing a new pool with Royal Hawaiian and the front beach of Royal Hawaiian is almost same as Moana.
There is nothing in front of Sheraton but easily access to the beach of Royal Hawaiian.
For adult, Sheraton has nice infinity pool(new) that is the good spot for photo.
I do not think small kids are allowed in the infinity pool, though.

cawhite99

Thanks, Tak. I booked the higher point room at the MS thinking we'd be more likely to get a request granted for a tower room (Diamond Head view) upon arrival. I heard the partial OV rooms facing the Outrigger aren't that great (they primarily face just a building?).

I have also booked this at the Sheraton as a backup until we decide for sure:

Room Description 2 Double Beds
High-speed Internet For A Fee, Refrigerator, Oceanfront, Private Lanai W/tbl/chairs, Murphy Bed, Lge Room Sitting Area W/sofa.diamond Head Side Of The Hotel.640 Sq Ft/no Seperate Bedroom. Ocean View

The kids will be 19 and 15 upon arrival... not sure if they would be allowed in the infinity pool or not... I would imagine not for the 15 year-old.

Staying at the Sheraton and visiting the Moana is an option. I always wanted to stay at the Moana, however. When I was a kid, my parents used to listen to "Hawaii Calls" which was recorded in the Banyan Courtyard there. I thought it would be nice to stay there one day.

Carole

tenmoc

Just stayed here in the Diamond Wing in an ocean front with a balcony for what turned out to be one night.

I was surprised at the run down feel of the room. The rest of the hotel was wonderful but the rooms were far from it. Older building, run down rooms I can live with. But what really set me aside was the little things. This room although not the most expensive is certainly not the cheapest in the hotel. I had always wanted to stay here since the first time I saw it on my first trip to Hawaii. But the small things like the sheets and the towels were just garbage. There is no reason for such small threadbare rags to be used when they are collecting so much per night.

The staff around the entire hotel was great with the exception of a housekeeper. Rude beyond belief, but definitely a one off of the service here.

The good service started 24 hours before our arrival when I called to say I would not be checking in tonight because of mechanical issues and being stranded in Dallas. Although I did not get her name, the woman who answered the front desk modified my reservation without penalty even though there is a 72 hour cancel window on it. Really went a long way to making a bad situation much better.

We did eat breakfast on the Veranda which I would recommend people do once. It is not something we will be doing again, but it was good and worked for us the once.

All in all, I enjoyed the stay and the service and wish the details in the room could have been better.

Probably will stay again although no time soon as there are other hotels nearby to check out.

cawhite99

Thanks tenmoc,

I'm surprised that a Westin would have such poor quality linens! I hope we don't run into that circumstance.

Carole

Tak

There is a plan that the diamondhead wing will be totally demolished, and build a new tower(maybe 25 floors high or so) there as time share units.
Another time share units will be rebuilt at Princess Kaiulani site where the original building is located.

HNLbasedFlyer

So, no haters please. I live in Honolulu, I love all that Hawaii has to offer - still 80 degrees and pleasant at 10:20 pm tonight - but if you are looking for a Hawaii experience, nice pool, beaches, and great for kids - think about Maui at the Sheraton or Westin, Waikiki is a crowded beach in essentially a big city - with traffic - and not a real Hawaii experience.

clublounger

wrong. "a real Hawaii experience"? what the heck is that? Overpriced food and beverage on a remote beach? Sure, it can be nice, but that's not my preferred experience. A big city w/ a bustling beach and a gorgeous ocean, and LOTS of eating options is my preferred "Hawaii experience".

not a hater.

Aloha, after all....

cawhite99

Tak - That's interesting about their changing units to timeshare units. I wasn't aware of that.

billxmeredith - We have been to Hawaii a number of times (1st time I went was in 1973). Since my kids are getting older and we may not have a lot of "annual family vacations" left (one is college aged now), we chose the 2 islands they enjoy most. My kids love Waikiki / Honolulu... they love the ocean there, they like being able to go back and forth between pool and ocean, they like the eateries, walking around, and my daughter loves the shopping. Many of the places we will eat will be local places (Side Street Inn, Ono's, the Willows). So we think of Honolulu as a Hawaiian experience... just a different Hawaiian from some of the other options.

We chose Maui for our 2nd island, staying at the Westin Maui... again for the kids.

The next time we visit Hawaii without the kids my husband and I will likely stay on the North Shore of Kauai. We love it there too, although it is a different experience now than it was in 1973.

clublounger - Thanks for your input... I concur.

Carole