Waikiki beach hotels

[cccole]

I believe Mokulele Airlines is now owned by Southern Airways Express.  I have also enjoyed Mokulele.  Hopefully the Molokai Ranch and Lodge will sell to someone who can bring the property back to a great destination.  Cherie

[40-LOVE]

2 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

We use Mokulele Airlines for these short hops but agree they are a fun way to get an aerial tour while you head somewhere. You certainly see a lot more out the window of a low flying Cessna Caravan than you do cruising on one of Hawaiians interisland 717 jets. The flight from Kapalua back to Honolulu in particular usually passes on the North side of Molokai and you are eyelevel with the spectacular cliffs. 

 

Thanks.  So on our way home, if we take any inter island flight, do we have to grab our bags again at HNL and go through security again? I am trying to gauge how much time we would need to make flight out of HNL.  Thanks

[KeepCalmBearOn]

4 hours ago, 40-LOVE said:

Thanks.  So on our way home, if we take any inter island flight, do we have to grab our bags again at HNL and go through security again? I am trying to gauge how much time we would need to make flight out of HNL.  Thanks

 

Interisland flight on what airline? How many tickets?

 

Some of the interisland carriers have agreements with mainstream airlines and if you book on one ticket, they will transfer bags. If it is two tickets, they will not transfer.

[princeton123211]

17 hours ago, cccole said:

I believe Mokulele Airlines is now owned by Southern Airways Express.

Mokulele is owned by Surf Air Mobility, the small plane charter operator on the mainland West Coast. Southern is also a separate subsidiary of Surf Air. 

[princeton123211]

15 hours ago, 40-LOVE said:

So on our way home, if we take any inter island flight, do we have to grab our bags again at HNL and go through security again? I am trying to gauge how much time we would need to make flight out of HNL.  Thanks

As Bear said, it depends. Mokulele as an example has an interline agreement with Hawaiian and I believe Alaska. If you have a connecting ticket your bags will be checked through to your final destination. You can also have them link 2 separate ticket at the airport check in but give yourself a little time for that in case. Ideally book one connecting ticket. 

[philv]

Hi Folks, I just finished 2 nights precruise stay at the Royal Hawaiian and thought I’d report. We had a king garden view in historic building top floor. Turned out to be a corner room with 2 windows facing 90 degrees from each other. One window faced city view over top of garden, other looked across other wing with view of Diamond head and ocean. Could not be happier. Room was spacious and bathroom modern and not too small given old standards. We were very pleased and enjoyed stay enormously. Spent Friday with beach chair set up and walked beach and swam with our own special spot to return to. Waikiki beach is crowded but fun and we really enjoyed. Expensive but great vibe and we are very happy with stay. Boarded POA today and getting ready for sail away. Life is good.

Edited August 25 by philv

[STLCARDS82]

2 hours ago, philv said:

Hi Folks, I just finished 2 nights precruise stay at the Royal Hawaiian and thought I’d report. We had a king garden view in historic building top floor. Turned out to be a corner room with 2 windows facing 90 degrees from each other. One window faced city view over top of garden, other looked across other wing with view of Diamond head and ocean. Could not be happier. Room was spacious and bathroom modern and not too small given old standards. We were very pleased and enjoyed stay enormously. Spent Friday with beach chair set up and walked beach and swam with our own special spot to return to. Waikiki beach is crowded but fun and we really enjoyed. Expensive but great vibe and we are very happy with stay. Boarded POA today and getting ready for sail away. Life is good.

I am really glad you had a wonderful stay.. lotta people on Tripadvisor didn't

[princeton123211]

12 hours ago, STLCARDS82 said:

lotta people on Tripadvisor didn't

I wouldn't call tripadvisor the definitive authority. Lots of people with small issues they make to seem catastrophic and a bunch of petty competitors put up bad reviews. 

 

We've stayed at the Royal Hawaiian close to 20 times over the past 15 years and it's consistently very good. 

[Fouremco]

14 hours ago, STLCARDS82 said:

I am really glad you had a wonderful stay.. lotta people on Tripadvisor didn't

With a score of 4 out of 5 based on over 5,000 Trip Advisor reviews, it's clear that those who didn't enjoy their stay were very much in the minority.

[jollyjones]

And you need to look at the actual things they are complaining about and see if they might be relevant to your experience - for example, if the complaint is that parking is difficult and expensive and I won't have a car, that's not going to matter to me. But if for example the complaint is about room cleanliness and functionality, then I would pay attention.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 8/24/2024 at 9:51 PM, STLCARDS82 said:

I am really glad you had a wonderful stay.. lotta people on Tripadvisor didn't

 

Not a lot of people on TA. Over 5,100 reviews, over 4,000 were 4* & 5*, about 500 were 1* & 2*.

 

I went into the 1* reviews and found most of them ridiculous, some very petty and many inaccurate. Like the one who gave them a 1* because there was no adult pool, but there is.

 

I think I have over 500 reviews on TA. I've given two 2*, a lot of 4* and 5* and 3*, where deserved. I looked at the first 60, 1* reviews (glanced through most) and most of the posters had 10 or fewer TA contributions. Don't get me wrong, having few posts doesn't mean your opinion is invalid, but how can I judge your judgment if you only have 3 contributions and this one review? The one poster who had the most reviews, I think about 12 only had two rating, great and horrible. A place either got 4* & 5* or 1*, there was no in between. A red flag for me.

 

While 80% of my stays in Honolulu are at Halekulani, when my room category isn't available, my first back-up is usually the Royal. I've never had a bad stay and can't imagine, even if everything went sideways, giving them less than a 3*.

 

On 8/25/2024 at 10:22 AM, princeton123211 said:

I wouldn't call tripadvisor the definitive authority. Lots of people with small issues they make to seem catastrophic and a bunch of petty competitors put up bad reviews. 

 

We've stayed at the Royal Hawaiian close to 20 times over the past 15 years and it's consistently very good. 

 

Quite right.

[DCwom]

9 hours ago, jollyjones said:

And you need to look at the actual things they are complaining about and see if they might be relevant to your experience - for example, if the complaint is that parking is difficult and expensive and I won't have a car, that's not going to matter to me. But if for example the complaint is about room cleanliness and functionality, then I would pay attention.

Star ratings are just the beginning, unfortunately a lot of people don't bother to read. My approach is to start reading the 2 & 4 star reviews, since the 1 stars are pissed off about something and the 5 stars are just happy to be on vacation🍸. For our stay at the Beach Comber this past May, I'd give it 5 stars, not that its a 5 star hotel (3.5 - 4.0  I think), but for what we wanted to pay and what we needed it was well beyond our expectations. If we had paid top dollar for a room at a 5.0 star and something just wasn't right we'd be harsher in the rating, its human nature.

Edited August 26 by DCwom

[princeton123211]

4 minutes ago, DCwom said:

I'd give it 5 stars, not that its a 5 star hotel (3.5 - 4.0  I think), but for what we wanted to pay and what we needed it was well beyond our expectations. If we had paid top dollar for a room at a 5.0 star and something just wasn't right we'd be harsher in the rating, its human nature.

If you go to any major city and sort by "traveler ranking" and scroll down the list, usually it is well regarded mid level and budget hotels that are on top and the 5 star properties are towards the bottom of the top 20. 

 

Totally agree with you-- people grade a little harsher when they are paying top dollar. But that doesn't mean that the nicer property doesn't blow others with higher ratings out of the water. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

For giggles I went to the TripAdvisor reviews for the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, which is consistently rated in the Top Fifty Hotels in the World. 3,818 reviews and 47 people gave this legit 5* property 1* reviews.

 

Reading them was even funnier than the reviews for the Royal Hawaiian. I think some people get their jollies giving one star reviews.

[LobsterStalker]

2 hours ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

 

Not a lot of people on TA. Over 5,100 reviews, over 4,000 were 4* & 5*, about 500 were 1* & 2*.

 

I went into the 1* reviews and found most of them ridiculous, some very petty and many inaccurate. Like the one who gave them a 1* because there was no adult pool, but there is.

 

I think I have over 500 reviews on TA. I've given two 2*, a lot of 4* and 5* and 3*, where deserved. I looked at the first 60, 1* reviews (glanced through most) and most of the posters had 10 or fewer TA contributions. Don't get me wrong, having few posts doesn't mean your opinion is invalid, but how can I judge your judgment if you only have 3 contributions and this one review? The one poster who had the most reviews, I think about 12 only had two rating, great and horrible. A place either got 4* & 5* or 1*, there was no in between. A red flag for me.

 

While 80% of my stays in Honolulu are at Halekulani, when my room category isn't available, my first back-up is usually the Royal. I've never had a bad stay and can't imagine, even if everything went sideways, giving them less than a 3*.

 

 

Quite right.

And even if there wasn't .... Shouldn't you be able to do your own research and know what you are booking ..?

 

Cheers

[KeepCalmBearOn]

5 hours ago, LobsterStalker said:

And even if there wasn't .... Shouldn't you be able to do your own research and know what you are booking ..?

 

I am afraid your point is lost on me.

[LobsterStalker]

19 hours ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

 

I am afraid your point is lost on me.

Point was , just agreeing with you that people would give 1 star reviews for the stupidest of things. 

[cccole]

We always look at the negative reviews first.  We've done our research and already identified hotels we want to stay at.  Because the RH has better rates than the other Waikiki Marriott properties prior to Thanksgiving we are staying there for the first time this year.  Our favorite is the Moana Surfrider but they cannot confirm the room we want.  RH will be a new experience and I know we will enjoy it.  I just love Waikiki and have reservations at our favorite restaurants for evenings.  Negative reviews are important and I do not think they should be discounted.  What takes stars away for someone will not matter to someone else.  Assuming that your favorite hotel is the best is ridiculous...love @DCwom 's post #87.  JMO. Cherie  

[KeepCalmBearOn]

2 hours ago, cccole said:

We always look at the negative reviews first.  We've done our research and already identified hotels we want to stay at.  Because the RH has better rates than the other Waikiki Marriott properties prior to Thanksgiving we are staying there for the first time this year.  Our favorite is the Moana Surfrider but they cannot confirm the room we want.  RH will be a new experience and I know we will enjoy it.  I just love Waikiki and have reservations at our favorite restaurants for evenings.  Negative reviews are important and I do not think they should be discounted.  What takes stars away for someone will not matter to someone else.  Assuming that your favorite hotel is the best is ridiculous...love @DCwom 's post #87.  JMO. Cherie  

 

When I am going someplace I don't know (which is NOT Hawaii) I start with 3* reviews and look for common complaints, i.e. 'thin walls', 'bad service', etc.

 

I don't discount negative reviews, but I do discount 1* reviews on hotels I know very well like the Royal Hawaiian especially when I read the absurd reasons why AND the reviewer has a history of 1* reviews other places too.

 

If I kept going to places so bad that I had to give it a 1* review, I'd question my ability to select places to eat and stay and resolve to do better research up front. 😁

[STLCARDS82]

On 9/1/2024 at 8:01 PM, cccole said:

We always look at the negative reviews first.  We've done our research and already identified hotels we want to stay at.  Because the RH has better rates than the other Waikiki Marriott properties prior to Thanksgiving we are staying there for the first time this year.  Our favorite is the Moana Surfrider but they cannot confirm the room we want.  RH will be a new experience and I know we will enjoy it.  I just love Waikiki and have reservations at our favorite restaurants for evenings.  Negative reviews are important and I do not think they should be discounted.  What takes stars away for someone will not matter to someone else.  Assuming that your favorite hotel is the best is ridiculous...love @DCwom 's post #87.  JMO. Cherie  

What you said was spot on!!!