lehms

i am sitting on the lanai, using the free internet at the moana, day 2 of a six day stay with points, and the 50% thanks william

fine property, decent rooms, upgraded to the tower section, lei greeting and juice upon arrival

very kind helpful staff, made reservations and got us on a decent private golf course later int he week

breakfast is a nice selection of fruit and muffins and juice and coffee in a penthouse corner room

very little that is spectacular but all the important things are here

free internet
decent breakfast and light apps and beer and wine for evening snack
champagne in fridge on arrival for our 20yr anniversary along with free cookies

across the street is abc(a 7/11) type place
plenty of decent restaurants within walking distance

any question pm me, i am here til friday

AZ Travels the World

I was in HNL last month and was in the Moana Surfrider a couple of times over the course of the week. They have changed all the furnishings in the lobby and on the rear veranda.

They've replaced all the Hawaiian-inspired furniture and much of the 'Aloha' furnishings with the standard-issue Westin stuff. It's the new 'modern luxury' furniture that looks great in a contemporary property, or a 60s-era property that they're trying to make look contemporary. BUT, it does nothing for a space with the history and specific period-style of the Moana.

I stood for several minutes, on two occasions, trying to make sense of it all. It only got worse, the longer I looked. It's really unfortunate.

If you had never been there, or don't have a particular affinity for Hawaiian style, you might not give it a second thought, as it looks like the furniture in every other new or recently remodeled Westin. But for the 'First Lady of Waikiki,' it's no way to celebrate her 107-year heritage. It's really a shame.

poindexter740

Not that I want to spend time in Hawaii with the laundry, but...... will be at the Moana Surfrider in the middle of a long trip and might need some clean clothes. Have seen on their website a listing for "24-hour guest laundry." Has anyone had any experience (or details) with the guest laundry (i.e. am I doing the laundry, do I give it to the hotel (for a price)?

THANKS!

sapguy

When I stayed at the Westin Moana Surfrider in July 2007, there were coin-operated washing machines and dryers in the basement of the old wing (I think it's called the Banyan wing or something like that).

All the Japanese tourists use it a lot.

Don't know if those machines are still there or not.

This fact is not advertized at all and you have to ask to Front Desk for it once you arrive onsite (a friend of mine called in advance and was told that coin ops laundry was not available on premises).

Let us know if you still find those machines there.

socalplat

Just call Guest Services if you would like your laundry picked up. They will send someone up to collect the laundry and will return it the next day. I believe they charge by the pound for regular laundry and of course per piece for drycleaning.

I believe they still have coin op laundry in the basement if you would like to do it yourself. One of the lesser known secrets of most HI properties. Just in case they don't have coin op laundry, the Princess K across the street has it. There are 6 washers and 6 dryers available for guest use.

poindexter740

Thanks sapguy and socalplat. I'll let you know what we find.

jpdx

Is the renovation of the Banyan wing complete? Thanks!

allenwales

...and it was awesome!!!

The Historic Banyan renovation is most certainly complete - we did see some paintwork touch-ups being done to the baseboards on one level so completion must have been recent. This was the first resort hotel in Waikiki back in 1901 and in my view the renovation brings it right up to date.

btw, its worth noting this was a reward points stay (4 nights + 1 free) and as a Platinum member (no prompting upon check in, I can assure you) we were given a Junior Suite overlooking Waikiki beach with excellent views of Diamond Head and the beach to the left and the surfers to the front. Our companions (also Platinum on a reward stay) were given ocean view room in the Banyan wing also.

I would very much recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Honolulu and having done flybys on the three nearby Sheraton properties ... it looked by far the best Starwood property in Waikiki for location / quality of experience. This hotel has both history and class. The only negative I could have said was the pool is not a great resort pool, its a very traditional size I guess you could say. The beach is literally 10 feet away but at times can become a little too popular in front of the hotel property, but then again Oahu is not Maui is it ?

We rated the "First Lady of Waikiki" as "the best" hotel experiences we have ever had in 30 years of traveling, but accept that could have been, in part, influenced by that suite with the world class views.

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PHX_SOUS

Thanks for the review allenwales! I am heading there on Saturday so I am glad to hear you had a great stay.

Was your suite in the Banyan Wing? I didn't realize there were any...I see there are a lot in the Tower and some in the Diamond.

Did anything from the trip really jump out at you as a can't miss?

ranchogal

We spent two wonderful nights at this hotel in late March. We used points and I called and requested a complimentary upgrade from city view to partial ocean view five days prior. I was told that the hotel was booked solid (Easter weekend) but upon arrival we were delighted to open the door to our room and walk out onto our ocean view balcony.

I found every staff person to be exceptionally helpful, going out of their way to assist us in our minor requests. We are early risers so enjoyed getting coffee at the coffee shop at the front of the hotel and then watching the clouds turn pink and the sun come up from our beachside lounge chairs on Waikiki.

Waikiki would be way too busy for us for an extended period and we were happy to move on to Kauai after the weekend. However, I would highly recommend this hotel and would return there again in a flash if I were in Honolulu.

P.S. We returned to SoCal on ATA just in the nick of time!

allenwales

For PHX_SOUS ... yes it was the Banyan Wing which is pretty big actually (6 floors) and we were given a "Junior" suite on the other side to the Courtyard + Banyan Tree, so overlooking Diamond Head's peak. Some of the photos that I saw on Flickr.com from the upper floors in the Tower looked like really impressive views as well but I didn't see the inside of those rooms, sorry. If you don't get the room you like (i.e. city view) I would recommend going to the desk and just asking, they upgraded the room our friends were in without much ado, regardless of the fact they were on a points stay.

I would say don't chicken out on the surfing lessons in Waikiki as it is so shallow and safe for beginners, much better than Maui. The coastal drive (east side of Oahu) from the North Shore back down to the hotel was pretty cool I thought, lots of quiet beaches + nice viewpoints.

My wife would undoubtedly say a) don't miss the Cold Stone Creamery (of which there are 2 on the same avenue, each about 3 blocks left/right from the hotel) ; b) don't miss the Cheesecake Factory ; and c) avoid Señor Frogs at all costs. None of these chains are in Canada so they were a novelty to us, I guess.

Enjoy your vacation!

SanDiego1K

We just had a wonderful one night stay. Hotel staff knew that we were celebrating my husband's birthday, and upgraded us to a suite in the tower building overlooking the beach and ocean. There appeared to be two suites on our floor, xx95 and xx96. These are at the end of the floor closest to the ocean. We had two balconies which was great as we always had one in the shade and one in the sun. My husband received a tiny birthday cake, which was really special.

thebutlerdidit

May we safely assume you are a Plat??

SanDiego1K

Yes, I am a platinum.

thebutlerdidit

I'm hoping for a similar upgrade during a scheduled trip next month. There are several couples travelling with us, as we celebrate my wife's 50th birthday and our 20th wedding anniversary.

But we're staying 7 days so I'm not sure it's realistic to expect an upgrade for the entire stay....