AmericanMontrealer

I'm very pleased to have spent the last five nights at the Royal Hawaiian, my 6th visit to the property. Every aspect of my stay at the RHH was as expected -- a lovely and tropical room (i was upgraded to a small suite) in the historic building, excellent service in the restaurant and Mai-Tai Bar, and the sense of welcome from all the staff members with whom I came in contact.

For me, the Royal Hawaiian is about the little gestures that are kind and thoughtful -- extra banana nut muffins, which I look forward to with every visit, smiles at Surf Lanai at breakfast, and the team of beach boys assisting with umbrellas and chaises. Evening turn-down service was welcome, with fresh bottles of water supplied every night.

On Wednesday, I attended a Platinum SPG reception hosted by the General Manager. I found the GM to be thoughful and excited about her new position with the Royal Hawaiian. She mentioned to me that she has worked for Starwood for 25 years in Hawaii!

I plan on returning in November and February next year!

margarita girl

I can confirm that Platinums will not be given lounge access unless they are booked into a Mailani Beach Tower room. This tower is being marketed as a separate hotel.

Land-of-Miles

I suspected as much

I am tempted to book the Mailani Tower on an upcoming Amex FHR Rate, what is the upgrade from a Tower Room? Even if there is no Plat upgrade beyond then FHR should give me at least a 1 category bump.

CIAO LAX

There are apparently different categories within the tower that cost more than the standard ocean front room, such as high level/better view rooms, wrap around balconies on the corner rooms, and then loft suites.

I'll be staying in the Mailani tower early June so if no one posts about the service and amenities by then I can provide a review.

bdemaria

Just finishing up a weekend stay in the Mailani tower so I can offer some insights. Nothing has changed with the rooms in the building, it is only the lounge/concierge.

Breakfast is served from 6:30 - 9:30 precisely - and includes basically the same options every day. Three types of bread (croissant, chocolate croissant, apple + nut strudel) + an add'l "special pastry" item (donuts, a very odd fruit & cheese pizza). There is an oatmeal station and a greek yogurt station w/toppings (honey, nuts, fruit) that vary from day to day and whole pieces of fresh fruit (banana, oranges, apples). That's it - no meat, eggs, etc... THe quality is quite good - but the variety is limited. There are also some juices available.

There is a large coffee maker that makes single serving of cappucino, caffe latte, etc.. - but its quite slow and at 6:30 in the am, there's a pretty lengthy line for coffee.

There are no snacks, sodas, etc.. between breakfast and 5:00 pm. The coffee machine is operating, and you can make yourself tea.

The evening food is snack based - bread, dips (hummus, etc..) cheese, chips and hot flatbread - which changes daily (sausage one day, tomato the next). There are no desserts.

The big issue in the evening: cocktails - wine is self serve and people hit it pretty hard, in addition there is a bartender who makes a specialty cocktail each evening (e.g., mai tai) and these do nor require add'l $$.

The seating area fills up pretty quickly - esp. at cocktail hour - as it only accommodates about 60 people.

Would I book it again: its a tough call. The tower rooms are my preferred location in this property and you cant book them w/o lounge access. At the same time I dont drink so three hours of free alcohol is pretty much lost on me and seems to be the most "valuable" element of the lounge.

Also there are some changes at the Surf Lanai. They no longer have a buffet except on special occasions (e.g., Mothers day) so if you book a rate w/breakfast you are given one menu and get a choice from group (a) hot beverage (b) fruit juice or fresh fruit and (c) entrees. The entrees are most of the things from the normal menu but not all (no steak and eggs for example).

The regular menu has continental breakfast as an option. I'm not sure what, if any, "buy up" options they offer to platinums who choose the breakfast as their amenity.

CIAO LAX

Thanks for the detailed review, bdemaria! Looking forward to my stay there in a few weeks... while the lounge sounds like it could have a few more substantial offerings, it still sounds nice overall and I'm hoping the quality of service makes up for any shortcomings in offerings.

SacTownGuy

We have an upcoming trip to this hotel. Any great little "secrets" or anything to make the stay better?

LovetoTravel83

Don't spend your time at the hotel's pool, spend it at the Sheraton's next door. Also, The pizza place at the Sheraton is top-notch.

mikeyyz

I dunno, I preferred the quite calm of the hotel's pool vs. the packed chaos of the Sheraton (but S has the better/larger pool for sure). Depends if you want calm or busy action!

LovetoTravel83

That's the problem I had, it was very difficult to find a vacant place at the RH. Where the Sheraton you had both the infinity pool plus the kids pool.

Land-of-Miles

I agree with this the RH pool is also very well shaded with a huge number of parasols. Another tip is to check Amex FHR, I had a recent stay with FHR which included a full choice of breakfast for 2 as outlined above from the breakfast inclusive menu and $100 dining credit for less per night than any other SW Waikiki beachside property.

I thought the Mailani Tower was a bit meh but the room was reasonably spacious and much more acceptable than a standard room at the Sheraton Waikiki. I booked a standard garden view room and despite Oceanview Junior Suites being available for sale was initially offered just an Oceanfront room in the main building, I pushed for the Mailani Tower on a high floor just for more quiet and convenient location.

I thought service standards throughout the property were pretty high for Waikiki.

Land-of-Miles

I have seen exactly the reverse. Even at peak times there was always space with shade available at the RH. You had much less chance of this at the SW Infinity pool, which is very badly managed.

LovetoTravel83

AFAIR, the infinity pool had a section for platinum members. Maybe it was because I went during Christmas period that I didn't find a space at the Royal Hawaiian. Plus, I did not like their pool at all. It was so small and did not appeal.

Land-of-Miles

The pool at the RH is small.

The section for plat members has to be reserved in advance or you can't use it (unless some Palm grease was applied to the staff). It is very short of shade too which was a big problem for me. Finally the pool area is very tightly packed with loungers. It is very busy and crowded and a wholly different and more unpleasant vibe to the RH. The views and pool itself are better but the pool gets packed (perhaps due to the lack of shade).

The infinity pool at the SW could be much better than the pool at the RH but it simply isn't currently for anything beyond the pool itself. Hence the RH pool area being a great place to spend time in a civilised environment and walk over to the SW infinity pool for a dip.

USCTrojan83

Stayed here a few times in the last three months. Staff is friendly and welcoming.

The Mailani Tower is a nice change and the private check-in desk located there is a nice feature, but it is not marketed very well, as most people don't even know about it. The bellmen/valet should ask the guests which tower they're staying in and provide directions to the appropriate check in desk. With the rebranding of this tower, the public areas were refurbished including making the bottom level a really nice lounge with free food/drinks and finally making the elevators look nicer than service lifts.

I found very little to fault-service wise, with the exception of the beach attendants. Unlike many on here, I have no problem with them charging for the beach chairs. There are only so many of them and I like the fact you can reserve them for your entire stay online. No more wondering if there are any available, getting the worst chairs if you arrive late from a morning activity, etc. You pay per day and they are yours, whether you show up or not. It is nice knowing they're waiting for me. However, the fact they are charging should then allow them to hire at least 1-2 more servers for this area. You can often wait 30-40 minutes just to see a server. Very frustrating.

Unlike many here, I find the Royal Hawaiian's Mai Tai Bar to be a more enjoyable experience than Halekulani's House Without a Key. You don't get the hula dancers, but they have great musicians and it's not nearly as busy/crowded. Also the fact you're literally on the beach is quite nice, rather than separated by a boardwalk. Also I find HWAK's seating to be uncomfortable and their appetizers pretty lacking.

My other big complaint is there is never any mention of Platinum room upgrades. This last trip I had three rooms booked under my SPG Platinum and never once did they offer to do anything with my room. These were all FHR reservations, too. I know these aren't guaranteed but in the 7+ stays there over the last few years, I've never once been upgraded to anything.