Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

2159 reviews

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  Perfect stay!

  We had the most amazing room at this hotel. There was an error with our reservation so we were upgraded to the biggest suite we have ever stayed in. There were three balconies, all overlooking Waikiki Beach, there were 2 bathrooms with shower and toilet, a massive living/lounge area and a huge bedroom with two queen beds. The room was immaculate and couldn't be faulted. I am so grateful for this upgrade over New Years Eve, it was the best view of NYE fireworks we have ever experienced. The location of the hotel is perfect, across the road from Waikiki Beach and at the quieter end which made finding a spot on the beach easier. The line up for breakfast was frustrating but the food was great. We really enjoyed our stay at this property and would happily stay again.

  Jan 21, 2025
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  Don't waste your money on this tired old resort

  The only thing that can possibly justify this aging high-rise resort's nightly rates and exorbitant resort fee is its location across the street from a relatively narrow and often crowded section of Waikiki Beach. That's it. It doesn't have lavishly landscaped grounds, a lagoon, an adjacent beach (that is, without a busy public street in the way), or a vast array of shops like the Hilton Hawaiian Village. There are two things I liked about the Marriott over the Hilton Hawaiian Village where I stayed last May. First, if you are staying in the Paoakalani Tower, there is an ABC Store conveniently located in the ground-floor lobby very close to the elevators for that tower. When I stayed at the Hilton and they put me in the Rainbow Tower, the Hilton's ABC Store was over 1,000 feet away on the other side of the resort, which made for a long hike just to get snacks and beverages. Second, the Marriott's Paoakalani Tower is right next to the bus stops on Kuhio Avenue, so going up and down Waikiki on TheBus is very convenient. Also, because the front desk clerk gave me a room on a high floor, I did have a view of the ocean in the distance. But the Paoakalani Tower is a far cry from the Hilton where the Rainbow Tower directly faces the ocean. As many other reviewers have noted, the Waikiki Beach Marriott is a mediocre, tired old resort. Marriott apparently attempted to renovate this place a couple of years ago, but the renovation was superficial and sloppy. The lobby areas look great, but on the room levels, you will see lots of little clues here and there that this is a really old resort. For example, when waiting for the elevators on the 18th floor, I kept noticing the sloppy, amateurish caulking on the window frames. Some door frames are dented and have apparently been repainted too many times, with painting over the dents instead of filling, sanding, and then repainting. I could go on and on. Unlike the Hilton, the Marriott's pools are not crowded for a simple reason: they are not heated, meaning that the water is freezing most of the time. They are also too small and shallow. The bed was mediocre and not comfortable. I was eventually able to fall asleep, and my back and neck seemed to be okay in the morning, but I was glad I had only booked two nights. To be fair to Marriott, although the room was obviously an old room with some superficial renovation, it was a clean room. No stains, smells, or bugs noted. I had grimly girded myself for such things after seeing all the recent negative reviews on Tripadvisor but did not see them. The temperature control was excellent and the HVAC system was quiet and effective. Another annoyance is that I asked at the front desk for a quiet room and they gave me a room one room away from the elevator. In the mornings, the vibration from the elevator shaft (on the other side of the adjacent room) was enough to cause the hotel safe in my room to rattle and that woke me up. This resort has so much promise but it needs a lot of work. If Marriott invested in another renovation or a way to heat the pools, then that could help justify its high nightly rates and resort fee. Until that happens, I will not stay here again.

  Jan 21, 2025
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  Very Disappointed

  From the moment we arrived the customer service was awful and the room was old and dirty. We tried to get a different room but they said there was nothing available. The deadbolt did not work, the carpet was stained, there was damage to the balcony overhang, various "hairs" in the bathroom area and the vents were filthy. We ended up leaving a day early as we just could not stay there anymore.

  Jan 05, 2025
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  False advertising on ocean front rooms- complete disappointment!

  We booked and paid for an oceanFRONT corner view room with a balcony, but what we received was far from that. Instead, our bed faces a neighboring building, and the ocean view is only partial—certainly not the oceanfront experience that was advertised in the photos. Adding to the disappointment, check-in was supposed to be at 3 PM, but we had to wait an extra hour to access our room, even after spending thousands of dollars. This feels incredibly misleading and unprofessional. Customer service has been lost on this location.

  Dec 28, 2024
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  Worst Experience Ever at a Marriott Property

  Worst experience ever at a Marriott property! Booked and paid for an oceanfront room. Called 3 times to make sure I was getting an oceanfront room and ended up on the 7th floor with the view in the pictures attached. We are looking at the pool with children yelling and screaming into the night and other buildings with a tiny view of the ocean. I have met with 3 managers about this and none of them cared at all. They would not move us to a higher room with a true oceanfront view which we booked and paid for. This room is NOT in any way, shape or form an oceanfront room, as seen in the pictures. If you stand on your toes, you are lucky to see a view of the ocean. Total fraud! I have invited all the managers to our room to view it, and none will come. I really wanted to make this special for my wife on our 35th wedding anniversary. In addition, while we were registering at the front desk, the front desk employee offered us an upgrade to a Junior Suite Corner Room for $90 extra per night. I absolutely agreed to it, and she came back a few minutes later and said it was not available. She already showed me it was available and showed me pictures of it and we had already agreed to upgrade to it. Again, I talked to 2 supervisors and even though the room was available and offered to me and I agreed to take it, they reneged on the deal they presented me. I did not ask for an upgraded room. They presented it to me. Our room on the 7th floor is absolutely the smallest room you will ever see that has not been remodeled in years. We could have stayed anywhere in Waikiki, but the reason we stayed here was because they offered "the oceanfront room" which none of the other hotels had available. Still waiting to hear from someone in authority about this situation. Worst experience ever at a Marriott hotel.

  Dec 27, 2024