This was our first time to an Outrigger resort. We enjoyed 5 nights in an oceanfront room (217) at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort from Oct. 23rd to 28th. The room was clean and we loved the location directly above the beach and ocean. The hotel staff was great. Special call out to our Host and Housekeeper Mandy. She accommodated our special requests and was a delight to see each day. We were also impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff at the front desk, and the wait staff at the two resort restaurants.
We enjoyed dinner at Kani Ka Pila Grille twice. The live music was wonderful both nights. We especially enjoyed that on Friday the band invited guests to join them below the stage to hula dance to the songs they knew. The food was excellent. I enjoyed macadamia nut encrusted mahi-mahi one night and a nightly special of steak and garlic shrimp the other. My husband enjoyed the macadamia nut encrusted cauliflower too. The servings were generous and we liked that side dishes were included with the dinner rather than having to order and pay for them separately.
We also had dinner at Monkeypod Kitchen one night and it was excellent. We had a large lunch that day so split the Hirabara Farm Mixed Green salad, the Cast Iron Shrimp (really great, with a bit of kick) and the Hamakua Mushroom and Truffle Oil pizza. My husband thought this was the best dinner of our visit. Our waiter, Cliff, was engaging and efficient.
The hotel does a great job of honoring, celebrating, and exhibiting Hawaiian culture, which made the stay extra special.
So why do I rate as Average overall? Well, we did have some issues:
Air Conditioning:
- When we arrived in our room the air conditioning was set to 68 but the room temperature was 79, and the air conditioner was quite loud. When the room wasn't cooling down we called maintenance. The friendly technician said the A/C was working and the air coming out of the register was 56 degrees. He said the heat coming from the sliding glass doors was the problem and we may want to close the drapes. I asked, "What's the point of paying for an oceanfront room if you have to keep your drapes closed all afternoon?" He was at least able to adjust the A/C so that it was quieter. So, we had to close the drapes in the afternoons to keep the room cool. But, that eventually did not work. On Sunday afternoon we had the drapes closed but still saw the temperature go from 74 to 79. We called the front desk yet again and were told the A/C was out in the building and they didn't know when it would be back on. We went to sleep with the sliding glass door opened and despite opening the front door to allow more cross ventilation it was still 79. By 2 a.m. the temperature was down to 77, but still too hot for sleeping well. I tried turning the A/C back on at that time and thankfully it was working again.
Television Reception:
- We were watching TV while unpacking and the TV would go to the black screen of death. We called the front desk and were told they were working on the system and it should be restored. It was an hour or so later. However, we continued to have reception problems and the next day it went black again while watching our favorite college football team. We waited and waited for it to come back but after 20 minutes called maintenance again. The technician came up and checked it with no luck and called a help desk to see if the system was being worked on. After waiting on hold as soon as the help desk picked up the TV came back, so he left. We continued to more reception problems and I discovered some loose connections on the back of the TV contributing to the problem. Had to call maintenance who had the tool to tighten the secured connections. The TV system changeover work the following week continued to create challenges - losing the ability to stream content, the "Guide" feature not showing any content, etc.
Running Toilet:
- In the middle of the night the toilet started running an excessively long time after flushing. I was able to correct that myself initially by adjusting the float control in the tank, but eventually that didn't work. Called maintenance again and they had to change out the valve in the tank.
So, there were big pluses and minuses. I would expect fewer minuses for just under $600 a night, which included the resort fee and taxes.
