This was the first vacation, my husband and I have been able to take in a long time and we enjoyed every minute. We spoke with the wonderful concierge Lydia before arriving and were able to schedule the luau, Pearl Harbor excursion and get some good tips ahead of time. We reserved dinner at the Signature Steakhouse at the beautiful Alo Moana Hotel which was great. It was nice to have most days planned before we arrived.,We booked the North Shore tour directly with the tour company and probably saved a few bucks. Most importantly, we upgraded to insure we had a balcony room on a high floor with a beach view. Absolutely recommend you do this because it was just so lovely every day to look out on the water and enjoy the sunrises, sunsets, beach and water activities and even a gorgeous rainbow after a little morning rainfall. It was so relaxing, the shower and bed and room layout were excellent with coffee maker and fridge. The location of this hotel is excellent, lots of eating choices and walkable shopping, beach time even the zoo and nice view of Diamond Head. Try not to book dinner or luau on Friday night because we missed the fireworks at the beach. Only disappointment was the morning yoga class - it was not invigorating or relaxing and the instructor was rude and just going through the motions. But the tai chi class was great and we enjoyed the gym, the pool tables and watching the games in the lounge downstairs. Only wish they had a sauna but overall, the service, amenities, cleanliness of this hotel did not disappoint! We will be back!

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.

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.