Polynesian Residences Waikiki Beach

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5/10Priceline· a year ago

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Katherine

1/5Google· a week ago

***LONG REVIEW*** TL;DR: old/dirty/poorly maintained room, poor sound insulation from street noise, fire alarm went off at least 3 times My friend and I decided to book a stay at The Polynesian Residences for a short trip to Oahu from 10/13-10/16. We're both students, so we were trying to find someplace affordable but still clean and livable. Obviously, when researching hotels, reviews will skew more negatively than positively, even for five-star hotels like the Fairmont, for example. After our stay, I realize we should've taken previous Google reviews more seriously. POSITIVES: We were able to check in early (11 am) because our flight landed in the morning and our room was available on the 5th floor (room 504). The toilet has a bidet. This hotel is centrally located, so many things are within walking distance, making it convenient for us to find food and go shopping. NEGATIVES: Many negatives, unfortunately. First, they tried to charge us $23/night + tax for the resort fee, but because I'd remembered my booking details, I reiterated that our booking stated it was $20/night + tax, to which they apologized and agreed. When we got to our room, we realized that the hotel photos make the rooms appear much newer than they actually are. The curtain had large holes in the bottom, with what appeared to be burn marks. The headboard for my double bed was misaligned and tilted on the wall. The grout and tiles in the shower were not scrubbed clean, and there was noticeable filth along the inside of the sink bowl rim (not pictured). The office chair for the desk in our room had ripped mesh as well. But what can you do, paying $175/pp for 3 nights in mid-October was a pretty good deal at first glance. Our experience quickly deteriorated on the first night. The fire alarm was triggered at least three separate times that night. This rendered the elevators unusable obviously, so we descended the stairwell into the lobby to figure out what was going on. Other guests were present as well, and the hotel receptionist present for the night claimed that someone was smoking cigarettes in the 3rd floor lobby area, causing the fire alarm to go off. If you search "fire alarm" in Google reviews, you will see that other guests have complained about the fire alarm going off several times during their stays as well. I proceeded to request a refund for the resort fee because our sleep was interrupted several times that night. The hotel receptionist checked our booking, and because we had booked through Chase Travel, she refused because it wasn't the hotel's fault for the disturbance. Keep in mind, this hotel only has one small pool and deck, with no gym, conference room, or any other amenities. We returned to our room obviously dissatisfied, but we needed to get some sleep in order to depart early in the morning for our North Shore day. Also, though our room was on the fifth floor, the balcony glass door provided no sound insulation whatsoever, and we could hear all traffic noises loud and clear. On our last day, after we'd left our luggage for same-day storage and returned, the bathroom in the lobby wasn't available. The hotel receptionist kindly offered us access to room 201 so we could use the restroom and freshen up before going to the airport. Interestingly enough, even though this room was on the second floor, the sound insulation provided by the glass balcony door in this room was far better. We couldn't hear the street at all. It was very strange how inconsistent the sound insulation was between rooms, indicating that renovations have not been consistent and applied across all rooms. Lastly, as a concession upon checkout, the receptionist at that time notified us that we would receive a resort fee refund for our first night due to the fire alarm. I confirmed this transaction was completed in my credit card statement as well. Overall, I would not recommend returning to this hotel for a Waikiki stay. It does not meet the basic requirements for a 3-star hotel, which to me is providing a quiet and clean room with no frills.

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joannecY5541MW

3/5Tripadvisor· a year ago

We only stayed one night en route to Australia and the hotel Was centrally located in walking distance to everything in Honolulu, restaurants, shopping, beach. The room has a small galley kitchen, lanai and a little pool. I only gave 3 star rating because it’s more like a LaQuinta or Holiday Inn minus the included breakfast. The location is ideal, literally across the street from Chanel & Gucci, walking distance to Royal Hawaiian shopping center. About 7 min walk to the beach. Have breakfast at “eggs N things” for local flavor. Sunset cocktails at outrigger hotel (monkey pod restaurant is ocean side) or pool side restaurant has live Hawaiian music nightly. Nice experience, very pleasant staff and clean rooms.

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T Rivera

1/5Google· 2 months ago

Horrible!!!! I will attach photo of the bathroom mold but it was sooo bad. Room was smaller than pictured, pool was not worth looking into. 4 chairs and very small. We arrived and the shower had hair, mold, and was not completely attached to the walls Was told it was a maintenance issue not housekeeping. When we asked for update on the fix, we were told housekeeping has not clocked in yet. Luckily no issues were given when we requested to cancel remaining days of reservation. Checked into another hotel and called it a day. I was not going to waste my time in the trashy lil hotel. I should’ve never booked it to begin with.

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Megan Walsh

3/5Google· 3 months ago

Good location not too far from Waikīkī beach. It was a lovely morning walk for a swim. The rooms are old and tired and are screaming out for a renovation. We had rust stains around the air conditioning vents and the carpet was worn and the bathroom was outdated. The pool was deep and nice for a swim. The staff were helpful. This is definitely a 3 star accommodation residence.

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natalie ackerman

4/5Google· 4 months ago

My family all stayed at the Polynesian Residences, during our time in Hawaii and they were amazing!! The staff is all extremely friendly and very helpful! The rooms were huge along with the amazing location near so may shops and restaurants! Our only complaint would be that the AC doesn’t work at times but other than that I would highly recommend staying at the Polynesian Residences!

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Christy Woodall

1/5Google· 6 months ago

This place is terrible. Bathroom didn't even look like it had been cleaned around shower. Trim falling off also. In hallway all hotel room doors I saw looked terrible. They looked like they had been kicked a million times. Floors around elevator were nasty. Hadn't been mopped in days. Could hear people in other rooms. Very loud Hotel was very hard to find. Hardly no signage.

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Rae

1/5Google· 4 months ago

⭐☆☆☆☆ Service was good and the location is great, but that’s where the positives end. We stayed 2 nights at The Polynesian Residences Waikiki Beach and it was extremely uncomfortable from the start. The moment we walked in, there was a strong mildew/mold smell that never went away. The bathroom was the worst part—visible mold and grime around the shower doors, knobs, caulking, and in the crevices of the walls. You could literally smell the mold. The AC was another issue. There was visible mold in the vent area, and every time it would swing and blow air, you could smell it throughout the room. It made the space feel even less clean and uncomfortable. The shower itself was very small, almost cramped, and poorly maintained. The beds were extremely hard, the pillows were uncomfortable, and both of us felt itchy during our stay. The hallways and elevator also had unpleasant odors, and the overall building felt worn down and not properly maintained. We even had to ask housekeeping for an air freshener, which is something we have never had to do at any other hotel. We ended up feeling sick during our stay with coughing and congestion, and it became so uncomfortable that we had to move to another hotel nearby. My wife has asthma, and the environment made it especially difficult for her. We chose this hotel last minute on 5/28 due to standby travel disruptions and needing something fast and affordable. It wasn’t part of our original plan to be in Hawaii more than 24 hours, so we booked under urgent circumstances. The only positives were the convenient location and a heated bidet toilet seat, but that does not make up for the lack of cleanliness and comfort. I would not recommend this hotel unless cleanliness and comfort are not a priority.