My wife and I recently stayed six nights in a tower room at the Moana Surfrider. We really liked this hotel. The location is perfect for Waikiki. The staff are amazing. The hotel itself is historical, yet impecibally clean and very well maintained. Our only disappointments were at the pool and the patio bar/restaurant.
I was checked in by a very friendly and helpful employee named Charlotte at the Bonvoy desk. She provided a brief history of the property including that the Moana was the very first resort in Waikiki Beach. She also gave me a small booklet with information about the hotel and included two drink tickets. She then put a real Hawaiian lei around my neck which is a very nice touch. When I informed her my wife would be joinining me at the hotel the following evening, she added her to the reservation and encouraged me to bring her by the desk so she could also get a lei.
Charlotte did try to upsell me by offering me a larger room in their tower for an extra $50.00 per night. I thought my wife would appreciate the larger room. So, Charllotte was successful.
The Moana Surfrider sits right on Waikiki Beach. At the rear, there is an indoor/outdoor restaurant, a patio bar restaurant and a counter service coffee café; all of which overlook the beach and ocean.
The Room
My Tower room was on the 17th floor facing the Outrigger hotel next door. This is far from an ocean view room, but from the balcony, I could easily see the beach and ocean as well as the street area in front of the hotel at the front of the International Marketplace across the street. The room had two queen beds which were very comfortable with good linens. The bathroom was an older, basic layout with a tub and shower and a single sink. The shower had a separate hand wand and a rainfall shower head. Water pressure wasn’t great, but it was adequate with plenty of hot water.
The closet was also in the bathroom area and included a high shelf, several hangars and a safe. I had to request extra hangars for my wife which were brought to my room almost immediately.
The room had one dresser with three drawers, a sliding shelf area for a Keurig style coffee maker and coffe suplies. There was a small refrigerator behind a door at one end. Housekeeping kept the coffee and Aquafina water bottles well stocked.
Food and Drinks
The Beach Bar: This is an outdoor patio restaurant and bar under a lot of umbrellas and a beautiful banyan tree. Unfortunately, it’s not open for breakfast. However, you can get coffee, pastries and sandwiches from the nearby Surfrider Café’ counter service and enjoy them here with a view of the beach and ocean. The Beach Bar does serve food for lunch and dinner, but the prices are high even for Waikiki. A burger and fries is $31.00. (That’s $10.00 more than the Hula Grill next door and the Hula Grill has really good food and also has a beach and ocean view.) There is typically live entertainment at the Beach Bar, so I suppose you’re paying for that. The entertainers I saw and heard were pretty good, but played the same songs I’ve been hearing for decades. Personally, I just can’t sit and listen to yet another rendition of “Hotel California” or “Dreams”. However, I do understand some people still like hearing that stuff.
Be aware getting a table here for luch can be a challenge. It’s open seating. That means the tables are all filled and people wander aimlessly looking for a place to sit. There are typically also a few Karens around stalking a particularly nice table and ready to pounce the instant people occupying said table give the slightest indication of leaving. (This is another reason I didn’t really like this restaurant.)
The Veranda at the Moana: This is an indoor/outdoor restaurant at the rear of the property with a view of the beach and ocean. This restaurant is open for breakfast 6:00 AM to 10:00. This sounded great until I actually went there for breakfast and saw the sign at the entrance explaining they only serve a buffet at $52.00 a person. Hey, I get that everything is expensive in Waikiki. And yeah, the view from that restaurant is really spiffy, but not $52.00 for breakfast spiffy. This was a big disappointment for my wife and me. There is almost always a line of people waiting for this buffet, so there are apparently plenty of people willing to pay for the breakfast buffet.
Fun Fact: I have previously stayed at the Princess Kaulani which is directly across the street and is also a Marriott Property. They have a very good, poolside patio restaurant which opens for breakfast at 6:30 AM. My wife and I went over there and enjoyed a nice breakfast for far less than $52.00 a person. You can even bill to your room since Marriott considers it all the same property.
Surfrider Café: This is a counter service coffee bar serving drip coffee, specialty coffee, slushees, smoothies, pastries and sandwiches. I often went to this café for early morning coffee and croissant. The drip cofee is good. The croissants are far from epic, but still pretty good. The muffins are not very good. A friend of mine got a breakfast sandwich that he said was pretty good, if a bit overpriced.
Later in the day my wife got a slushee and I got a smoothie. I’m sorry to say they were both downright awful. I threw mine away.
Fun Fact: The Hula Grill is directly next door, has an amazing beach and ocean view and has the best fruit smoothie ever! So yeah, that’s another great option. The food is very good and the prices are downright reasonable for Waikiki. (My wife and I ate there three times during our stay.)
Vintage 1901: When I first arrived at the Moana Surfrider, I saw there was a piano player in the lobby. I really liked this and planned to come back for a listen. When I later went by there with my wife, I saw this area is really not part of the lobby. It’s the “Vintage 1901” restaurant and bar. If you want to sit in this area and listen to the piano, there is a “Two Drink Minimum”. They also serve “small plates”, but I don’t know anything about that. I don’t drink very much and my wife doesn’t drink alcohol at all. So, for us, it wasn’t really worthwhile to sit in this area to listen to the pianao player. However, there is a lot of seating in the nearby lobby area where you can sit and still listen to the piano with no two drink minimum.
Pool: The pool at the Moana Surfrider is not large, but adequate. What’s not adequate are the number of pool chairs. Unfortunately, I saw the same problem here I’ve seen on cruise ships; Chair Hogs. Early in the morning, the Chair Hogs place towels and personal items on every one of the pool chairs to shout, “SAVED!”. Often there were only a few people in the pool area, but every chair remained as marked territory.
You can get pool towels and bring them the beach which is right by the pool. Cabanas are also available for rent at prices so I high I didn’t even consider it.
History: On the second floor, just above the lobby area, is a small hotel museum. This area has multiple pictures and descriptions about the hotel through the decades. My wife and I really enjoyed this musuem area. And you don’t have to pay $52.00 for a buffet or meet a two drink minimum to enjoy it.
Although I wasn’t particularly impressed with the food and drink options at the Moana Surfrider, overall, my wife and I really enjoyed this hotel. The rates are not cheap, but the location and service are excellent. We also like the classic architecture and décor. We have stayed in other, modern “corporate” hotels where everything is steel, concrete and glass. We find such properties cold, sterile and sometimes downright dystopian. The Moana Surfrider is a pleasant contrast to such hotels.
