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.
