Hawaii Honeymoon Help- Moana or Royal
 

Hi!

I was really hoping someone could help me with deciding what hotel to stay in at Oahu for 4 nights. Staying there for my honeymoon, and then moving on to Maui & BI

I am an SPG Platinum member- paying for 2 nights cash and 2 nights points at the Royal Hawaiian. I was able to snag a good rate at RH, but only for the Historic Grove Room. I am hoping for a plat or suite night upgrade at the RH, but I am not sure if I will get one, since it's hard as I have heard. I see suites are available for now, but the trip is at the end of August (23-27), so we have some time.

Just saw a great rate for the Moana Surfrider- $25 more a night for a tower partial ocean view. Upgrade chances are good as all room types are available for my dates, and rumor has it MS usually gives better upgrades to plat members. Plus the club lounge is a nice perk

So I am wondering, should I keep my current reservation and stay in the traditional rooms at the RH (I am not anticipating an upgrade... may get lucky though), or split my stay between MS & RH. I wouldn't mind experiencing both hotels (especially tower room at MS!), but I don't know if moving will be a huge hassle. I don't think it will...

And I would rather not stay the entire time at MS. Since I am paying with points the last two days, I will only be guaranteed a traditional room, which is way smaller than the traditional room at the RH- or so I've heard!

Also, the ocean view rooms at the RH are pretty expensive for my stay, so I think that won't work either.

Thank you in advance!

Welcome and congratulations!

Hopefully the thread below will help. If not please use the The SPG Forum FAQ & Hotel Master Thread List sticky on the first page for individual threads on the properties you are interested in.

Royal Hawaiin vs. Moana Surfrider

Thanks for the ref. I think I checked out that link, but I'll check again. Mainly I want to know if it's worth the inconvenience of switching hotels for a nicer tower room at MS. Assuming the tower room is nicer than the historic room

Thats is something that only you can decide. There are folks who may switch simply to get 2 500pts Plat welcome bonuses. Others who would rather sample both places.Others who when on a HM dont want to deal with having to check out at 11am and then be told by the new hotel , they cant get a room till 4pm lets say,as they arent cleaned yet. Others would only book The Halekulani for a HM in Waikiki, the top hotel according to many

The RH and MS are 2 different hotels drawing 2 different types of people

Makes sense. Do you have any experience on how a tower partial ocean room (or similar) at MS compares to a historic room at RH? Space (particularly in the bathroom), decor,amenities wise?

Thank you :)

Its been yrs since I was @ a *W in Waikiki, once they insituted the fake resort fee(no *W is a resort on Oahu,IMO) I stopped going to them.

Basically as a Plat we are entitled to most everything they say they are supplying for it, the exception is it includes free parking,only in Waikiki I never have a car overnight so Im being charged for parking a car that I dont have, no Thank You. There are too many other places I can stay w/o being hit with that fake fee and I do stay there

That said I usually do end up inside both of them whenever Im in town. My take on the crowds the RH is usually an older crowd then the MSs. But neither really gets the young crowd, they will either not be on Oahu or want a much cooler place. Both hotels have very small pools and I believe no hot tubs. Best pool is the Sher Waikiki, young couples and singles (Ok familys as well) its alive unlike the RH & MS. The Sher has a # of bars that are poping while its much more sedate at the RH & MS, Ive walked thru at nights and it sounded like a disco was happening, youd never find that at the RH or MS

RH gets access to the Sheraton pool. I loved the tranquility and uniqueness of the RH garden areas/pool vs. much bigger feelings of the Sheraton/Westin. As a Plat I had a choice of either JS upgrade or smaller tower room. I picked the tower room because I wanted the balcony - historic building suites in the RH have no balcony.

The Sheraton Waikiki refunds the resort fee for Plats on request.

Skip Oahu and go to Kauai

My one and only experience at the Moana had me pre-upgraded (prior to SNAs) into a suite, showing in the reservation that same day, only to be denied that it ever existed when I arrived.

But my biggest beef with that hotel was the atrocious elevator waits. I don't know if things have improved. I also once stayed at the RH. I was wholly unimpressed with my room.

The grounds of both are lovely. The simple fact is that Starwood (and really hardly anyone) has a true luxury property in Honolulu. The closest thing that Starwood ever had to luxury in Honolulu was the Prince (when it was managed by Westin), which I enjoyed immensely.

Did you stay in a standard historic room at the RH? What was so unimpressive? Was it too small, or just not worth the money?

How was your room at MS?

Also- anyone, how much time do you think we would waste switching hotels? I know the hotels aren't far, but I've not been there, so I don't know...

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I'd suggest the RH. We had a great time, enjoyed a great upgrade (without SNA) and especially enjoyed the breakfast (with buy up).

Being your honeymoon, I believe the RH has better ambiance and location. While there's nothing wrong with the location of the Westin, it gets traffic from the PK (across the street) and might have more noise with the street performers (often great) and the market across the street. The RH is connected to a nice mall and the street looks quite nice with all the lit torches.

The RH was a room in their "tower" and was just about as spartan a room as I've ever stayed in. Perhaps they have re-decorated. The Moana room was nicer. I used points at the RH. I don't recall if I paid or used points at the Moana.

You will not waste much time changing hotels. Driving could take longer than walking. But if you have a lot of luggage and you can't borrow a luggage cart (which would be a hoot down Kalakaua Ave.) YHRMSMV.

Thanks for the suggestions. I know the RH grounds are just far superior. But I am not really banking on an upgrade right now, those dates look packed.

YHRMSMV?

Yes, I am thinking I probably won't be pushing a luggage cart down the street. May be a little weird. Perhaps just call the RH hotel shuttle lol. Thanks for the help :)