I had the opportunity to stay in an Oceanfront room at the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach for two nights over the weekend.
When we checked into the hotel they gave both of our kids the Outrigger Island Explorer backpacks (has sunglasses, binoculars that work, a Hawaiian activity book, & a pen. Our first night in the hotel when housekeeping came to give us extra towels she also brought us fresh baked cookies for the kids that she said she personally had made that night. The next night she brought chocolate dipped mangoes YUM!!! – I mean wow, we wanted to stay longer for the treats!
The room was very nicely decorated with a comfortable polynesian style decor. There were two beds and sofa couch. The beds were very comfortable – we didn’t use the sofa bed but it was a great couch. There was also a desk in the room and where they put the desk in the room was great because you can sit and look straight into the ocean and horizon.
The views were incredible – I mean really they were just heaven and I just kept thinking the view is the reason people are in Hawaii – having that awesome open view of the ocean and Diamond Head made for us a great weekend like a hundred times better. Falling asleep to the sound of the ocean was another plus of course and we also saw turtles and dolphins from the room.
The television had movies to order that were still in theaters plus lots others – it was a pretty big selection plus a lot of Disney cartoons movies + the 30 minute ones on daytime TV, and you could also order video games which my son just loved. They have complimentary hide speed access in your room either with an Ethernet cable or wireless. There is even complimentary direct-dial phone calls to Oahu, neighbor islands, U.S. mainland and Canada, and toll-free numbers – which from my experience in hotels is a pretty rare offer.
I guess some of the rooms have a full bath and some have a half bath – we had a half bath & shower – which was fine…unless you wanted to actually relax and take a bath. Hanging in the closet they had two really comfy robes that you can use while there, & two pairs of bath slippers you can keep, & there were 2 complimentary bottles of water in the fridge… Room service is available from a restaurant in the hotel called the Hula Grill and the food was great but pricey…they automatically add a 17% gratuity to your order & it wasn’t that noticeable so I could see it being easy for them to get double tipped.
The pool & Jacuzzi were okay – never too crowded – the only thing to me has always been how close it is to where people are sitting & eating at Dukes Restaurant… I overheard comments from travelers going both ways – either they loved how close it all was (with the beach being right there too) or they weren’t comfortable.
The only thing I would do different would be to request as high of a floor as possible for two reasons: 1) right below you is Duke’s which is such a Waikiki hot spot, with music, talking, eating, drinking, etc… and 2) the crowds on Waikiki Beach – there were people on the beach from about 6:30am until maybe 2-3am & although it was entertaining – I think I would’ve preferred it from more of a distance than just being 11 floors up.
Overall the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach is definitley a property I would recommend to other travelers and if it’s within your budget the Oceanfront view is worth it. The location of this hotel in relation to everything else in Waikiki couldnt be better - you can easily walk to either end of Waikiki - making it easy to get to shopping and dining spots.
Enjoy the photos!!
Aloha, Angelica
