Just returned from Waikiki and would definately recommend this hotel. Our room hadn't been renovated yet, but it was still clean and comfortable - we had a deluxe suite, which came with queen bed, double pullout and mini kitchen (sink, microwave and fridge), which fit our family (myself, husband and 11 and 13 year old girls) just fine.

Staff were friendly and accommodating and you can't beat the location for the price - a 30 second walk to the beach, close to everything!

We lucked out and were given an ocean view room, which really set the tone for our stay - would highly recommend that the ocean view is worth a few extra dollars! Was great to drink morning coffee on the "lanai" and watch the surfers! The pool was also nice and never too busy.

we just got back from waikiki and we stayed at the waikiki resort hotel for 2 1/2 weeks. This is our third time here and it has just been renovated. The room we were in had new carpet, new king size bed, new paint and it was great. It also had a new flat screen tv that was on the wall and freed up the counter space. I love the location of this hotel. It is so close to the beach. The staff is very friendly and always have a smile for us. We will be going back there next year for sure.

Very nice hotel, very well located (2 min walk to the beach). It is highly recommended to book the room with the sea view as it is really worth the money. The view from the balcony is fantastic.
The rooms are quite small but cosy and nicely decorated in hawaiian style.

This hotel is great for the price. I was pleasantly surprised after reading some of the other reviews on this site. We booked a package deal with flight through a tour provider, so I don’t know what the rates were. I’m guessing they were about $100 a night for 6 nights in mid-February. We were primarily there for the Police concerts (which ROCKED btw) so the hotel didn’t concern us much. It’s not like we were on our honeymoon, and we don’t typically stay at plush places anyway. As long as the hotel is safe, clean and quiet, we are OK. The Waikiki Resort Hotel was all three.

Prior to arriving, I’d emailed the hotel’s customer service department and asked for a room away from the elevator because I ALWAYS end up near the elevator. When we got there, the room they initially assigned to us was on the 9th floor directly across from the elevator. As soon as we got in the room, I called the front desk and explained my earlier request. They moved us to another room right away. They even let me look at it first (with a security guard). In fact, Adam at the front desk was very helpful. We took the second room on the 18th floor. It was Penthouse E. But before you get excited, the penthouse is the same as other rooms. Nothing different. We had two full beds and a fridge. The room was clean, as was the whole hotel.

The AC hadn’t been turned on and was locked, so I called Adam again. He said he’d send a maintenance man ASAP. When the maintenance man didn’t arrive after about 25 minutes, I called Adam again and he apologized profusely and the maintenance man was at our door in 5 minutes. Later in our stay, the AC got locked again in the on position (a little too cold) and we called again. A maintenance man was there right away to adjust it. This time, my husband watched how he unlocked the thermostat in case we needed to do it again. The view from the room was the neighborhood and hills behind the hotel. Since we didn’t spend a lot of time in the room that was fine. At night, the view was very cool. The lights from the houses on the hills curved and reminded us of lava flowing down the hills. Very cool.

Speed of the elevators is fine.

The shower IS tiny. I had to figure out a way to shave my legs w/o getting water on the floor. My husband is very tall and the showerhead height was OK for him. But if you are a heavy person, the shower stall will definitely be too small for you. We left our maid $2 each day and our request for more towels on the first day was filled and we never had to ask again. We didn’t request clean sheets every day (in fact we told the maid to leave them). We don’t change the sheets every day at home, why would I waste laundry water somewhere else? We got lotion, shampoo and soap. The vent in the toilet/shower stall area was filthy inside, but since you don’t spend a lot of time in there, who cares?

The good:

Price, cleanliness and quiet. This is a small hotel compared to most in Waikiki or Honolulu. It’s really not a RESORT, though that’s in the title. And I was fine with that. Several friends stayed at the Hawaiian Hilton Village (HHV). Wow. That’s a HUGE resort. It kept going and going. Everything was SOOOOO expensive (food, drinks) and it was very, very, very busy. There was always a long line to check in. The HHV has a lot of bars, restaurants and shops, but it was too bustling for my taste. We were OK with the laid back atmosphere at Waikiki Resort Hotel (WRH)

Location: less than a block to the beach in front, less than a block to the bus stops on the street behind the hotel. A McDonald’s and Burger King w/in a minute’s walk and Starbucks and Subway w/in a 4 minute walk. There are three ABC stores w/in a 2 minute walk, two in front of the hotel and one behind. The beach is a 60 second walk. It’s pretty busy in that area, but walk a few minutes toward Diamond Head and the park and the beach is less packed. Ritzy shopping is just a few blocks away as are the zoo and aquarium.

My husband rented a longboard and the bell hop stored it for $5 a day, which was very convenient. The local surfers were helpful to him too, which he’d heard is not always the case. But surfing was fine.

Refrigerator – buy beer and water at ABC, save $$$$$.

The staff was pleasant/helpful each time we spoke with them. Ask for the bus map.

The bad:
The business center didn’t have a printer so I couldn’t print our boarding passes to fly home. That seems stupid. The hotel should get a printer and charge people 5 cents for a sheet of paper if they are worried about waste. The business center was $7/hr. I heard (but did not confirm) that the HHV was $7.50 for 15 minutes!

Shower size – already discussed

Pool – it was nothing to write home about. Very sparse area. If you want a fabulous poolside experience, you need to go to someplace like the HHV (though HHV is very strict about what can go in the pool – no beach balls, no kid floaties, etc.)

The room doors were heavy and noisy. Even if you tried to shut them quietly, they banged. This was the only noise we heard from our neighbors except when they talked in the hall. We could not hear them in the next room.

Notes:
The city bus to the Pearl Harbor/Arizona memorial took an hour to get there and 80 minutes to get back. Cheap and easy, but if you don’t have the time to spare, take a shuttle (not a cab!) The bus was very easy to use but we did find that there were fewer routes on the weekends and evenings so we had to take cabs a few times to get to places on time.

Do not try to walk to the Diamond Head visitor’s center. It’s too far combined with the hike to the top (which is totally worth it). Take the bus there.

We found a great hole in the wall for breakfast. Leave the hotel and go to the street behind it where the bus stops are. Turn left at the ABC store on the corner. Walk straight until you see a tiny little park (like a triangle) with a statue of a woman and a goose (?) in the middle. There is a restaurant called Hula Girl (not to be confused with the expensive Hula Grill at one of the beach hotels) on the side street on the side of the park closest to Diamond Head and WRH. If the waitress calls you “pretty lady” or “handsome man,” you’re in the right place. The waitress alone is worth the 5 minute walk! The food was very reasonably priced compared to other places.

If you like the TV show LOST, take the Lost tour through Big Kahuna tours. Tom is great!

We had great weather - yay!!!!