kahala mandarin oriental
Jan 16th, 2002, 11:24 PM
#2
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Bob,
When I went to Hawaii for the first time I was a travel agent and I had booked reservations at the Ihilani. Another agent in my office kept trying to get me to switch our reservations to the Kahala. She had stayed there every time she went to Hawaii and couldn't stop talking about it. This discussion went on for about 4 or 5 months until I finally switched our reservation to the Kahala Mandarin at the last minute. I'm so glad I did!
This is absolutely my favorite hotel anywhere and we do still travel quite a bit! We stayed at the Kahala in 1999 and I've never forgotten it and no room has ever compared to it. The rooms are exquisite! We stayed in a room that had a balcony with a partial ocean view and it was so amazing. The bathrooms are HUGE and so plush. We are going back this May and I can't wait! In fact, the rooms just received the highest score in the USA on the Conde Nast Gold List for 2002. The hotel always scores extremely high in both Conde Nast and Travel & Leisure for overall service & quality. I think the location is great because we didn't want to be downtown in noisy Waikiki. The hotel is located just outside a residental neighborhood but it's still close enough to downtown. The service was also top notch. When you get to the hotel you are immediately taken to your room and checked in there..not at the front desk. I could go on and on and on but I won't. If you decide stay here I'm sure you will love it.
Aloha!
When I went to Hawaii for the first time I was a travel agent and I had booked reservations at the Ihilani. Another agent in my office kept trying to get me to switch our reservations to the Kahala. She had stayed there every time she went to Hawaii and couldn't stop talking about it. This discussion went on for about 4 or 5 months until I finally switched our reservation to the Kahala Mandarin at the last minute. I'm so glad I did!
This is absolutely my favorite hotel anywhere and we do still travel quite a bit! We stayed at the Kahala in 1999 and I've never forgotten it and no room has ever compared to it. The rooms are exquisite! We stayed in a room that had a balcony with a partial ocean view and it was so amazing. The bathrooms are HUGE and so plush. We are going back this May and I can't wait! In fact, the rooms just received the highest score in the USA on the Conde Nast Gold List for 2002. The hotel always scores extremely high in both Conde Nast and Travel & Leisure for overall service & quality. I think the location is great because we didn't want to be downtown in noisy Waikiki. The hotel is located just outside a residental neighborhood but it's still close enough to downtown. The service was also top notch. When you get to the hotel you are immediately taken to your room and checked in there..not at the front desk. I could go on and on and on but I won't. If you decide stay here I'm sure you will love it.
Aloha!
Jan 18th, 2002, 01:50 AM
#3
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RMC, I think you are gushing just a tad too much over those rooms! They certainly are nice enough but really don't deserve the accolades you are throwing them. Have you ever stayed in any other luxury hotels, such as a Ritz or Four Seasons, etc., for a true comparison? Also, the Conde Nast poll is a READER'S poll and not the magazine's opinion, but nevertheless, for readers to nominate those rooms as the most beautiful/luxurious in the U.S. and give it a 95 out of 100 rating is quite ABSURD and LUDICROUS beyond words, in MY opinion!!!
Jan 18th, 2002, 05:32 AM
#4
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would be more helpful Tim if you told us what the rooms were missing. I did not hear RMC compare Kahala Mandarin to Four Seasons that hotel is in a different class. I think you see this in the different cost. Have not stayed bob but have visited this hotel to dine, listen to Jazz, several times. It is a great hotel in a scenic exclusive location. So quiet at night to walk along the grounds. The brunch is one the best on the island. I would suggest a trip in just for this. I knew a number of professionals (longtime residents) on Oahu who would come here for weekend indulgances. Never heard anyone complain about the rooms. RMC is not exaggerating but if the rooms are a miss let us know how Tim. Then tell us what hotels for the same money would match Kahala Mandarin. I would like to know for future reference.
Jan 18th, 2002, 05:41 AM
#5
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PS. I would take a reader rating of a hotel over the travel industries recommendation any day of the week. Readers do not get kick backs and are more likely to be honest. I think most agree with me and this is demonstrated by the success of the Zagat Survey.
Jan 18th, 2002, 11:58 AM
#7
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Yes you're so right Tim. Prior to my staying at the Kahala I'd only stayed in Motel 6's. I am in no way qualified to make judgements on this property or any other 4 or 5 star property since I have no expertise in this area.
Tim, I would have placed a lot more value on your comments had you actually stated WHY you don't like these rooms. Essentially you just critisized me because I do.
Okay, sarcasim off....
The fact is, there isn't a Ritz or a Four Seasons on Oahu. The Kahala Mandarin Oriental and the Halekulani are considered by most to be the top 2 properties on Oahu. For the record, we actually stayed at the Ritz on Maui and the Orchid at Mauna Lani (formally a Ritz) on the Big Island. Both were very nice hotels but neither were particularly Hawaiian feeling as far as their rooms go. Based on the room decor at either of those hotels I could have been at a Ritz in Cleveland! The Kahala was so nice because their rooms are very light and airy. The furniture is mostly teak, very elegant but yet you know you're on a tropical island.
The current issue of Conde Nast has the Kahala Mandarin receiving a 95.7 score on their rooms, the Four Seasons on the Big Island received a 92.2 and the one on Maui received an 88.8. Overall scores, Kahala received an 87.4, the Four Seasons Big Island got an 85.9 and the Four Seasons on Maui received an 85.9 This is a readers poll so it's people like US that voted for these hotels. Can 95.7% of the people be wrong?
Tim, I would have placed a lot more value on your comments had you actually stated WHY you don't like these rooms. Essentially you just critisized me because I do.
Okay, sarcasim off....
The fact is, there isn't a Ritz or a Four Seasons on Oahu. The Kahala Mandarin Oriental and the Halekulani are considered by most to be the top 2 properties on Oahu. For the record, we actually stayed at the Ritz on Maui and the Orchid at Mauna Lani (formally a Ritz) on the Big Island. Both were very nice hotels but neither were particularly Hawaiian feeling as far as their rooms go. Based on the room decor at either of those hotels I could have been at a Ritz in Cleveland! The Kahala was so nice because their rooms are very light and airy. The furniture is mostly teak, very elegant but yet you know you're on a tropical island.
The current issue of Conde Nast has the Kahala Mandarin receiving a 95.7 score on their rooms, the Four Seasons on the Big Island received a 92.2 and the one on Maui received an 88.8. Overall scores, Kahala received an 87.4, the Four Seasons Big Island got an 85.9 and the Four Seasons on Maui received an 85.9 This is a readers poll so it's people like US that voted for these hotels. Can 95.7% of the people be wrong?
Jan 18th, 2002, 02:46 PM
#8
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RMC -I certainly agree with your reasoning that 95% of the people can't be wrong. Since you stayed at the Orchid I am hoping that you will share more info with me. What did you think of the resort aside from the rooms not having a Hawaiian ambiance? I am thinking about staying there but I am still unsure. Maybe you can help me decide. It's either the Orchid, Mauna Lani Bay, or the Hilton. Did the Orchid have good service, good food, beautiful grounds, a great pool area, and a good beach? I would love to hear your opinion!
Also, do you think that it would be worth it to stay at the Kahala Mandarin just for one night? I am trying to decide if we should stay in Honolulu for one night on the way back from the Big Island. We have to connect in Honolulu regardless of whether we stay overnight. We would really like to visit Pearl Harbor and were trying to figure out how to do it during our layover of about 9 hours. The problem with that plan is that we will have no place to put our carry-on luggage since neither the airport nor the memorial have storage due to security regulations. Aloha Airlines will check the carry-ons through to American, along with our other luggage, but then we would have nothing with us during the long flight home. What do you think?
Thanks again!
Also, do you think that it would be worth it to stay at the Kahala Mandarin just for one night? I am trying to decide if we should stay in Honolulu for one night on the way back from the Big Island. We have to connect in Honolulu regardless of whether we stay overnight. We would really like to visit Pearl Harbor and were trying to figure out how to do it during our layover of about 9 hours. The problem with that plan is that we will have no place to put our carry-on luggage since neither the airport nor the memorial have storage due to security regulations. Aloha Airlines will check the carry-ons through to American, along with our other luggage, but then we would have nothing with us during the long flight home. What do you think?
Thanks again!
Jan 18th, 2002, 10:11 PM
#9
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While Tim came on rather strongly, I agree with his basic message. The rooms at the KM are not the best in the whole USA. That's not to say it's not a great place...it certainly is. But remember one very important thing about such polls: there tends to be a skewing effect for the nice hotels in touristy areas versus the top hotels regardless of location. What I mean is this: people who are willing to pay ANY price to stay at the best places expect near perfection. And they're hard to impress (myself included).
People who are splurging on the best place in a touristy area are often easier to impress.
Here's an example:
Ritz Carlton rooms in these hotels are quite similar in design and quality (Phoenix, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta Buckhead, St. Louis).
Room ratings for these hotels in the CNT survey range from 93(Chic), 92 (StL), 83(SF), to 72(Phx).
Give me a break. There is no consistency there. The similarity among those rooms is tremendous.
But the Ritz Phx is downgraded because it's not in a nice resort like the competition (Phoenician, Boulders, etc) and why the Ritz Chicago is still highly rated is beyond me. That place isn't even in the top 5 in Chicago any more, let alone top 5 in the WORLD, as CNT would have you believe.
BIG grain of salt to be taken with the CNT numbers.
Kahala is nice.
It's rooms are bland compared to most Four Seasons in the US, Peninsulas in Chicago and Beverly Hills, Bellagio, even places like Charleston Place.
People who are splurging on the best place in a touristy area are often easier to impress.
Here's an example:
Ritz Carlton rooms in these hotels are quite similar in design and quality (Phoenix, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta Buckhead, St. Louis).
Room ratings for these hotels in the CNT survey range from 93(Chic), 92 (StL), 83(SF), to 72(Phx).
Give me a break. There is no consistency there. The similarity among those rooms is tremendous.
But the Ritz Phx is downgraded because it's not in a nice resort like the competition (Phoenician, Boulders, etc) and why the Ritz Chicago is still highly rated is beyond me. That place isn't even in the top 5 in Chicago any more, let alone top 5 in the WORLD, as CNT would have you believe.
BIG grain of salt to be taken with the CNT numbers.
Kahala is nice.
It's rooms are bland compared to most Four Seasons in the US, Peninsulas in Chicago and Beverly Hills, Bellagio, even places like Charleston Place.
Jan 19th, 2002, 12:09 AM
#10
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Chris is right on the money with his remarks! The rooms at the Kahala are definitely BLAND, smallish and not really all that luxurious at all!! (By the way, Chris, when I stayed at the Ritz in Phoenix, the food was SUPERB, so once again, in MY opinion, the Readers' Poll is a joke!)
Now back to the Kahala: It basically still feels OLD and just like the Hilton it used to be, regardless of the so-called "multi-million dollar" renovations! (By the way, for those of you who are SO INTERESTED, I had an ocean front room near the top with a balcony which was definitely OVERPRICED at over $600 per night!) Again, the room is STALE looking, the "teak" furniture looks cheap, the bathroom is smallish with old looking tiles, with lousy water pressure in the shower, no REAL CLOSEST in the room at all (5 star hotel, you say?!?), just an open space with hangers in the bathroom of all places(!) with no closet door (ABSURD!!), no privacy whatsoever on the balcony which also feels OLD and "Hiltonish," (dirty tiles and railing) like the Hilton Hawaiian Village, its TRUE sister property! Like Chris said, ANY Ritz or Four Seasons or Independent -- and certainly the Big Three in Wailea, Maui (Four Seasons, Grand Wailea, Kea Lani) is FAR SUPERIOR to what I saw at the Kahala, in MY opinion!!
Lisa, stay at the Mauna Lani Bay Resort on the Big Island! Also, yes, if you're flying out of Honolulu you should stay overnight (or 2) for "comfort's" sake as many people do, but I would opt for the Halekulani Hotel instead, even though it's on Waikiki, which you should experience at least ONCE anyway! Now there's an example of a hotel that was built long before the Kahala (back in the 20s) and yet their rooms are much nicer, fresher and newer feeling, and the water pressure in the shower is excellent! Lisa, request a Diamond Head view no matter what the price. You'll be glad you did!
Now back to the Kahala: It basically still feels OLD and just like the Hilton it used to be, regardless of the so-called "multi-million dollar" renovations! (By the way, for those of you who are SO INTERESTED, I had an ocean front room near the top with a balcony which was definitely OVERPRICED at over $600 per night!) Again, the room is STALE looking, the "teak" furniture looks cheap, the bathroom is smallish with old looking tiles, with lousy water pressure in the shower, no REAL CLOSEST in the room at all (5 star hotel, you say?!?), just an open space with hangers in the bathroom of all places(!) with no closet door (ABSURD!!), no privacy whatsoever on the balcony which also feels OLD and "Hiltonish," (dirty tiles and railing) like the Hilton Hawaiian Village, its TRUE sister property! Like Chris said, ANY Ritz or Four Seasons or Independent -- and certainly the Big Three in Wailea, Maui (Four Seasons, Grand Wailea, Kea Lani) is FAR SUPERIOR to what I saw at the Kahala, in MY opinion!!
Lisa, stay at the Mauna Lani Bay Resort on the Big Island! Also, yes, if you're flying out of Honolulu you should stay overnight (or 2) for "comfort's" sake as many people do, but I would opt for the Halekulani Hotel instead, even though it's on Waikiki, which you should experience at least ONCE anyway! Now there's an example of a hotel that was built long before the Kahala (back in the 20s) and yet their rooms are much nicer, fresher and newer feeling, and the water pressure in the shower is excellent! Lisa, request a Diamond Head view no matter what the price. You'll be glad you did!
Jan 19th, 2002, 12:53 AM
#11
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Okay, after second thought, to be fair, I'll throw in a few positives as well (don't roll your eyes towards the ceiling!!):
1. Great and private location.
2. Very nice beach/grounds, with calm and clear water (not nearly as nice as some Caribbean beaches, but very nice just the same).
3. Wonderful staff.
4. Delicious food.
5. The 4-poster bed WAS very comfortable in the room, apparently courtesy of Simmons Beautyrest.
1. Great and private location.
2. Very nice beach/grounds, with calm and clear water (not nearly as nice as some Caribbean beaches, but very nice just the same).
3. Wonderful staff.
4. Delicious food.
5. The 4-poster bed WAS very comfortable in the room, apparently courtesy of Simmons Beautyrest.
Jan 19th, 2002, 04:20 PM
#12
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tim, i filed the original post, so i have a question. if not the kahala mandarin, and im not going to stay at the halekulani because it is way overpriced, where would you stay. would you pick the kahala say over the ihilani or the hyatt regency, whice were about the same price for 4 nights as the kahala?
Jan 19th, 2002, 04:30 PM
#13
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Tim, why do you suggest the Mauna Lani Bay over the Orchid? I'm just wondering. Also, I am glad that you offered your opinions about the Kahala because, judging by the websites, the Kahala's rooms look superior to the Haekulani's. This is why I was selecting the Kahala. Have you looked at the two websites? Check out both the websites and let me know if you agree that the websites are decieving. Thank you for your responses -they are very appreciated.
Jan 19th, 2002, 05:20 PM
#14
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Bob,
We too went to the Mandarin, and it was truely the most exquist hotel I have seen in a long long time. Food, service, accomodations, views....nothing bad to say at all......and be sure to check out their on site dolphins, they come up and greet you on the bridge.
We too went to the Mandarin, and it was truely the most exquist hotel I have seen in a long long time. Food, service, accomodations, views....nothing bad to say at all......and be sure to check out their on site dolphins, they come up and greet you on the bridge.
Jan 19th, 2002, 07:36 PM
#15
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Here's another vote for the Kahala. I also agree with RMC, I think it's as fine, if not finer, than the FS or Ritz on both Maui and The Big Island. I prefer the Kahala's location to ANY other hotel location on the island. The room, we had an ocean view, was supurb as was the service. You must also try Hoku, the Kahala's restaurant. I found a fabulous rate on the internet last fall. I believe it was around $400 for our room, far less than what Tim posted I believe. Look around, you will find some great rates on Orbitz or even the Mandarin Oriental website.
Jan 19th, 2002, 09:30 PM
#16
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Bob, between your three choices I would stick with the Mandarin given the same price. Others have mentioned the Mandarins good points so no need for me to add to it. The Ihilani while very nice is quite isolated on the Leeward coast and you will have to contend with driving and heavy commuter traffic depending on the time. The Hyatt is in the middle of Waikiki and all its congestion. All in all the Mandarin is a good choice.
