onedog

I stayed with the family at the RH a few years ago for a 12 night award stay and my experience was a bit different.

The stated policy was that all the chairs were first come first served, no reservations, and empty chairs would be cleared after 90 minutes.

Ok, so the first morning we casually go down and were able to have our pick of any chair (this was around 9 a.m. so it wasn't as if we were there at the crack of dawn, and this was in late August prime season).

The second morning, we get down a bit early to get a seat. Later on, Mrs. Onedog starts chatting with the chair attendant about waking up early for the chairs, busy hotel, the Pupster liking playing in the sand, etc. Basically just small talk with no mention or intent about "reserving" the chairs.

The chair attendant says that hotel guests can call downto the pool/chair attendants the night before on a first come first serve basis if we want to reserve a chair. No mention about 20 year returning VIP's or tipping whatsoever.

For the rest of our stay, we were pretty much able to reserve chairs except for evenings when we called too late and all the chairs were already reserved. Even then, we were able to come down in the morning and get chairs (often in the front row) with no problem.

Perhaps the situation has changed? I'd agree that a shakedown for tips is highly unacceptable.

FlyerJ

Any resort or beach hotel - regardless of the number of stars or their spg category or anything else - where the guests have to endure any amount stress or anxiety to get a beach or pool chair is, IMO, a low quality tour-bus calibre property.

If there's any chance of:
- having to endure the BS listed above like at the Royal Hawaiian
- or equally bad, witness the ridiculous game of zero-class travelers strategically placing towels/novels/etc on chairs at the crack of dawn (i.e. in order to block off chairs for use later in the day and prevent others from having access)
--- I'm simply not going to stay at that property.

IMO a vacation would be spoiled by having to deal with sleazebags (either hotel staff or hotel guests) who play such ridiculous games with lounge chairs.

anamaniac

Given the accounts by some people, I dont think I would ever stay at this property. Sounds pretty bad...

ajnaro

In my experience, chairs are readily available at the pool, only a few steps from the beach. The beach itself is not very nice anyway -- crowded, hard sand, hot and shallow water, no drinks available due to local law, etc. In short, the beach at Waikiki, with or without a RH beach chair, is not the ideal spot for a calm rest.

wintermom

I too got very frustrated with the RH, we stayed their June 25-29th and
I have made the reservations back in March and requested a corner room
or a room with a nice balcony.
Our room was what I paid for Ocean Front in the tower but no corner and
clearly not one of the floors with a larger balcony. When I asked at the
front desk I got the same exact line "Those rooms are for guest who have
been vacationing here for years" Maybe a tip was needed but I didn't offer
one. The hotel was not full and the guests I saw didn't look like they had
been vacationing there for "years".
There was also no upgrade, the first two nights was for a paid room and
last two nights on points. In order to stay in our Ocean front room we had
to pay extra. I am only gold but the hotel was not full.
We are returning to Hawaiian next summer but not to the RH. We had
a great trip at the Sheraton Maui and thats were we will stay next time.

DawgmanOH

I know there's a lot of disagreement on this, but the above comments are part of why I enjoy the Sheraton Waikiki much more than the RH or MS. Maybe I've just had good luck in the stays there, or maybe it's the lower expectations of it not being considered a "Classic" Resort, but I have had nothing but fantastic treatment and service as well as a decent room.

Especially with the renovated rooms, and the short walk to the same beach at the RH, and a balcony in every room, it just has a better feel to me than the other resorts.

Also, I can go to ABC store and buy a beach chair for way less than a tip for one day. Heck, I could buy a different beach chair each day and still come out ahead.

dujvari

Please tell me where this DOESN'T happen! I'll book it immediately.

trekkie

when a hotel enters into spg participation, there is a level of expectations as to the perception, receivership and consumption of services within the property.

Its unfortunate that the royal hawaiian turns out to be a disappointment. i hope spg will remove royal hawaiian from spg participation.

singletraveler

I was there in July. No problem getting 2 chairs and umbrella on first row - didn't have to pay to sit there.

If you want to sit on the first row, SIT and if the beach attendant asks you to move, tell him "NO" and ask him to have the Hotel Manager come out to the beach to talk with you about it. It would die at that point.

If I'm paying to stay at the RH and I get to the beach in the a.m. and chairs are available, I'm sitting. The beach attendants may seem a bit intimidating - but I can play that game as well.

sdix

I did send an EMail to customer service on Friday.

Today (Sunday) I received a phone call from an Assistant Manager (not the one we spoke with on site.) This manager was distrurbed about my experience and wanted me to know that the hotel was taking my complaint seriously. He agreed that the "policy" truly is 1st come 1st served and that the facilities are supposed to be open until dusk. He explained that there is a new GM there and he is uncovering a lot of issues that he is quicky cleaning up.

I also received a call from catering regarding another issue I had while I was there. They also handled my comments professionally and offered an acceptable resolution.

I was pleased with the hotels response especially the speed in which they responded.

linsj

sdix, I'm glad to know the hotel management responded like this since I'm headed there for three free nights in October. Thanks for following through with your e-mail.

Fly4SCUBA

Just my opinion, but I also think this is a cop-out response. You should have at a minimum responded that the hotel should follow its policies and that you would pass this along to the appropriate person Corporate Customer Service.

srsaz

I'm Platinum as a result of a courtesy upgrade because of my HHonors Diamond status. I was encouraged to try Starwood properties because my daughter has worked at several Westin resorts and feels the service is better than Hilton.

After reading this post about the shakedown at RH, I'm not sure if I want to even try shifting some of my travel stays to Starwood.

I travel to HI several times a year, (& even gratudated from High School on Maui too many decades ago...) so I'm more than casually familiar with the islands. It's sad to read about the way this portion of Waikiki has apparently turned into Las Vegas.

FWIW, I think that that Starwook Lurker response is the ultimate cop-out (...it's not my job) and the fact that he hasn't made any effort to resolve it suggests that uncaring attitudes aren't reserved for local properties' management team and policies!

Hilton's aren't perfect and I've had my share of issues -- but nothing as blatently disturbing as rdix's experience.

srsaz

Starwood Lurker

So, you think I should have contacted the hotel or the proper Starwood authorities on sdix's behalf? The first question from either entity would have been, "Who the hell is sdix?"

You are more than welcomed to your opinion, but sdix very capably got his/her concerns addressed by doing exactly what I suggested, so I'm going to sleep pretty well regarding how I handled this one.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

srsaz

I think it's your apparent lack of any effort that is the issue. You might not know who "sdix" is, but you surely can get in touch the the RH General Manager and post their reply.

Also, isn't it possible to email poster's (like sdix) directly?

Sweet dreams,

srsaz