I wanted to write a better review, but on Saturday November 2 there was a complete power outage in my 33 floor tower. The emergency generators failed too, so there was no working elevator or lighting in the stairwells. The building didn't even have battery powered emergency lighting in the stairwells. People were trapped upstairs, and those of us downstairs couldn't get things like essential medications from our rooms. One person fell and hurt herself trying to get down in the dark. The staff finally got lanterns and started escorting people up and down. Fortunately people upstairs were in safe conditions. We were told the cause was a fire in the electrical panel though, so what if it had spread?
The outage lasted almost six hours. Some people were given rooms in the other tower but I didn't get to the front of the massive line. When I finally got upstairs late in the evening, worried about getting trapped up there with more power problems, there was no AC or hot water. They hadn't gotten the systems working again. I spent a fitful night trying to sleep covered with salt and sunscreen, periodically being blasted with wind from the open lanai door that provided the only ventilation. The AC wasn't even on when I got up the following morning to end my stay and check out. The thing that has me writing this review is all they refunded me was $100 in resort fees - my colleague only got $50. We both still had to pay $380 with tax for little more than a bed. When I asked to speak to a manager about a more reasonable refund, I was ignored for 20 minutes until I left to catch my flight. The managers were apparently hiding rather than talking honestly and openly to guests.
The rest of the stay was maybe 3 stars. The room had a nice view of Diamond Head and a great lanai, but it was furnished and laid out poorly, with no desk at all so I couldn't work easily. The couch and a small round table were crammed into a corner on the same wall as the TV. The only way to watch the TV was from bed, or an uncomfortable little wicker chair. The couch was a fold-out but there was no space to open it. The restaurants are overpriced and the food is inconsistent. The expensive sushi restaurant had good sake but unremarkable sushi, and the third floor grill served up great fish tacos one night, but dry, overcooked fish and undercooked asparagus the next. The Italian restaurant is excellent, but even more wildly overpriced than the other restaurants.
The luau was great and that's the one thing I'd recommend at the hotel. The food was excellent, with salads, fish, prime rib, and pulled pork. The poi was even good, which is a first for me. The MC and dancers were also great.
