dee7493

We are planning to use Starwood points for five fee nights at W Hononlu Diamond Head. BUT I HAVE SEEN TERRIBLE REVIEWS!
My husband and I chose this hotel due to the quiet location and being small.
We do plan to be out and about the entire island each day.

I am having second thoughts and wonder if we should change to either the Royal Hawaiian, or Sheraton Moana Surf Rider in Waikiki.

Any comments or feedback would be appreciated.

Mahalo!

juanita1989

We stayed at the Moana Surfrider in March 2003 and absolutely loved it. The hotel is gorgeous. The only complaint I had was that our room overlooked the pool area, which meant we had to listen to the music until 9:00 or 10:00 each night. It is lovely music and I'm sure some people wouldn't mind it. But when I'm in bed reading and getting ready to sleep, I like quiet. If we'd had a room not directly over the stage, I wouldn't have had any complaint. It's really a lovely place to stay. Just request a room away from the nightly show, if you care about such things. Have a wonderful time! Oahu is our most favorite place.

dcespedes

Hi there--just a heads up, we just returned from a stay at the Sheraton Waikiki which is next door to the Royal Hawaiian. Renovations at the SW began a few days ago and depending on when you're going you may hear the sounds of the jack hammers loud and clear. Renovations have begun at the back (side facing the beach) but one of these days they will move to the side facing the RH and I suspect anyone with a room facing the SW will be disturbed by the noise so be aware.

MerryTravel

I used to live down the road from the W, and while I never stayed there (so I can't speak to the rooms or service) I did go to the restaurant/club and I know the location. If you're looking for quiet it's one of the few options in Waikiki. It's across the street from lovely Kapiolani Park, and the buildings near it are residential or smaller hotels. I would imagine the two big drawbacks for people are that it doesn't have a pool and it's not ON the beach, but it's a 30-second walk, and the beach is much quieter than most of Waikiki. If I were going back to Oahu for a visit and couldn't afford the Halekulani, it's where I'd stay.

Ryan

Don't know how many points you plan on using, but Starwood also operates the Sheraton and Princeville resorts on Kauai. I believe the latter is a category 5 which is about 12,000 points per night.

If I had to choose between 5 nights free in Oahu and only 2 or 3 free in Kauai, I might still opt for the latter if I had to pay the remaining two nights.

justinpatrie

Unfortunately, the Starwood properties in Honolulu are not particularly good. They are generally regarded as the worst of the major 4-star chains in Waikiki. Even the Royal Hawaiian and Moana Surfrider have questionable service and tend not to be worth the price. The Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Hawaii Prince are better bets for 4-star chain hotels. That being said if you absolutely had to stay at a Starwood my best to worst list is:

1. W
2. Moana Surfrider
3. Royal Hawaiian
4. Sheraton Waikiki
5. Sheraton Princess Kaiulani (I have heard nothing but bad stories from this place... more of a 3-star than 4.)

There are some very decent starwood properties on other islands though!

montyw

We stayed at the W Honolulu a couple of years ago and loved it. It is quiet and we slept with the big sliding doors open each night. The views of Diamond Head are great and the overall feel is the nicest we have had in Waikiki - I would stay again!

memar1

We have stayed at the Surf Rider multiple times. We've found it charming, and have had no problems with service. I'd say this is the best Starwood resort (on Oahu) to use your points

Mary2Go

I have stayed at the Sheraton Moana several times and I love it. I think it has been remodeled within the last year so the rooms should be in good shape. I was in the lobby and bar area in September and it looked lovely. If you enjoy a bit of historic Hawaii you will like it.

dee7493

MAHALO for all your input!

I will definately consider the Sheraton Moana Surf Rider more closly and think about other suggestions.

Using points at Princeville is a great idea - though we really want to see Oahu due to it's great beaches. Also higher prepensity for rain in Kauai.
No interest in any Starwood properties on Maui.

Originally wanted to use points at Lodge at Koele or Manele Bay on Lanai - BUT during the late spring (that's when we are going) both resorts are being taken over by Four Seasons and will have construction upgrades going on.

On Oahu, we won't be spending too much time at the hotel though, each day out exploring beaches outside Honolulu and Northshore area and in the evening have dinner at restaurants in Honolulu/Waikiki area.

Then we go to The Big Island Four Seasons Hualalai for 5 nights! Big bucks that is why we are using Starwood points for other island stay!

cheryldina

Dee - if you've done your trip already, would love to get your feedback. We just booked the royal hawaiian for a few days and then going to the princeville for a few days. (ps..you will LOVE Hualalai..my favorite ever!)

We thought Royal Hawaiian looked nice..did we make a mistake? Is surfrider really better? Am now worried about construction...any news on that? We are leaving 4/1...doing Starwood discount.

thanks!

MileKing

We stayed at the Royal Hawaiian for 5 nights (using Starwood points) for our honeymoon in October 2003 and absolutely loved it. We were upgraded to a suite in the historic wing, not ocean view unfortunately, but very nice anyway. We thought the service was fine. We saw regular rooms in both the historic wing and in the tower, and would certainly prefer the historic wing even if we weren't in a suite....it had more of a Hawaiian feel to it. Having said that, I do know that they were in the process of renovating the tower rooms while we were there so those may be very nice now.

From numerous postings at FlyerTalk.com, there is really no consensus on whether the Royal Hawaiian or the SurfRider ranks number one. The Royal Hawaiian seems to be one of those places where you have either a great experience or an awful one.