Ala moana hotel Reviews

We really liked this hotel! The room was clean, we had a beautiful view of the city and mountains, and the air conditioner worked! The bed was a little bit uncomfortable for our tastes, but they readily provided another pillow and blanket when we asked.

The hotel is in a great location near many bus lines and reasonable walks to activities without being right on the main tourist strip. There is a pedestrian bridge to the mall next door (although it took us a try or two to master exactly how to get back to the hotel via the bridge).

There are also a few dining options within the hotel itself. The one on the top floor is fairly pricey but has a good happy hour menu. The breakfast cafe has fairly limited menu and I don't personally think the price is worth it (how can the fruit be so dismal in Hawaii of all places?) We didn't get a chance to try the cafe at the salon near the pool, but the menu looked reasonable. The Starbucks in the lobby is also pretty handy and the wait isn't bad if you can avoid the prime hours.

We also were able to check in an hour early without issue.

Great hotel to stay at! Make sure you have your SafeTravels QR code ready when checking in. I had no problems with the room; maybe the pillows could be a little bigger. There's a balcony where you have a partial view of the mountains and the ocean.

There's a Starbucks on the ground floor which is open at 5:30am and a few souvenir shops. There's a pool as well with spacious rest area. There's a bridge connecting it to the Ala Moana Center, a super-sized mall with plenty of shops and restaurants. You can also walk through the parking garage to reach the beach. You cross the street and you're at the Waikiki area.

We were overall satisfied with the hotel. Room was great. Our partial ocean view was basically a chunk of ocean to our far left. It was visible, but we saw more parking lot of the Ala Moana shopping center, which is also fine. We had a balcony which was nice for morning coffee. The pool hours were a bummer because it closed at 7 so we usually weren't even back at the hotel by then. Not sure if that's the regular hours or if it's reduced because of COVID. The location was excellent. Literally connected to the shopping center (2nd floor) where you can grab food, drinks, or groceries or just go shopping. (Largest open air shopping center in the US). It was also about a 20 minute walk to Waikiki or 30 minute walk to downtown. Bus stop right outside outside hotel and the bus is a super cheap way to get around the whole island. (Need cash or a Holo card which you can get at the shopping center at the city hall office.) My biggest issue with the hotel was the elevator line. The worst we had was about a 20 minute wait one night. Sometimes there was no line, but sometimes it was excessive.

The hotel itself is very nice and the reception staff and porter staff are wonderful and very helpful. However, people in this area are shockingly homophobic and that includes the restaurant staff and the parking staff at this hotel.
First of all, despite allowing guests to prepay for parking through their stay, parking is not guaranteed for guests, and multiple nights they allowed non-guests to completely fill the parking garage and we had to drive for a long time to find timed street parking and then move our car super early in the morning which was incredibly inconvenient. I think it's a pretty basic expectation that in a high traffic area a hotel would prioritize guest parking but I guess not.
Secondly, I was traveling with two gay friends and two straight friends, and restaurant staff tried to refuse to seat our gay friends three times, using different excuses, even after they had changed clothes multiple times per the staff request, and then seated our straight friends immediately despite them wearing beach clothing. The staff were not subtle and it was shockingly disrespectful.
Third, the parking staff were consistently condescending, dismissive, unhelpful, and outright rude to our gay friends.
It made us feel very unwelcome despite paying a lot of money to stay here. We will not be returning to this hotel. If you are traveling with gay friends I would recommend you stay elsewhere.

Remember to use . when booking any resort. They compare hundreds of booking websites and typically will have rooms much cheaper than others! Thank me later! This place is the best rated in the area. I have been coming here for years. If you stay for a few nights you won't regret it.

Nice hotel and convenient walk to mall, food and shops. Rooms were clean but small bathroom (just a minor issue). Elevators sometimes took a while to get on to but most of the time it wasn't too bad. Pool was also nice with lots of cabanas to use.

Nice location. Rooms definitely need an update. Some rooms have a nice view. Others look into a parking lot or an apartment bldg. Nice pool. Great staff. Towels are scarce. Pillows and bedding are sub-par at the least. Nice to have refrigerator and microwave.

Great location. Municipal bus lines are close with easy access.

It's relatively easy walk from here for subsistence shopping. There's a Target store located in the Ala Moana shopping mall. My personal preference is to go up one block and a half and shop at Walmart. It's an easy walk, for those like to walk.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT trust Google maps to show you a walking direction from point A to point B, anywhere in Honolulu.

Instead just take a really good look at the map and figure it out yourself or ask locals.

Here's a word of warning for those that are renting from owners, as opposed to renting from the hotel itself;

If you if you are renting from an owner, in this building, the front desk will treat you like dirt. Period.

In addition to that, management has decide to instruct employees to become the unofficial COVID-19 fraud unit in Honolulu.

It really is unnecessary, with the entire world knowing that you can't get on an airplane, to get here, without absolute proof of inoculation.

Other than having to navigate around a parade of homeless, throughout the city, it is a nice place to see.

Oh yeah, EVERYTHING is two to three times more expensive than it is on the mainland. EVERYTHING.

Quite honestly, you would be better served all the way around in Florida.

Special thanks to a gentleman by the name of Kurtis Kanekoa, graveyard Valet. He was the only one that showed us welcome.

Lawrence Lum, night manager, along with Gina, front desk receptionist and front desk manager Renee, should be discharged immediately. Poison. Pure people, poison.

I paid for an ocean view but I was given a room with the view of the parking lot. I contacted the front desk and they moved me to another room with a better BUT partial ocean view. The bathroom in my room had to be serviced twice while I was there but all staff members I encountered were friendly and very polite. I really liked the location. I was walking distance from a 24 hour super market which came in handy because I arrived at midnight. I enjoyed their pool, starbucks, and restaurant that is attached. There is also a mall right next door with a walkway to the hotel. I would definitely stay here again.

My recent stay although short was long enough for me to know I WILL NEVER stay at this hotel again! What they don't tell you is that they have rooms that are not managed through the hotel. Which means if you have any issues be prepared to mop and clean yourself. My fridge leaked constantly throughout the night. The shower head might as well had been a sprinkler system because everything will get sprayed other than your body. Not to mentioned the drawers were hanging on for dear life. Worst experience ever. If it wasn't for the beauty of Hawaii my trip would have been completely ruined.

Nice hotel and convenient walk to mall, food and shops. Rooms were clean but small bathroom (just a minor issue). Elevators sometimes took a while to get on to but most of the time it wasn't too bad. Pool was also nice with lots of cabanas to use.