The Kahala Hotel & Resort, Honolulu HI

I was in the middle of booking this property after reading wonderful reviews. Unfortunately, I canceled my booking after finding out that they have live dolphins captive on property. I will absolutely not support this practice and will happily take my money to a more sustainable property on Oahu. Sad and disappointing. This is 2024- get your act together, Kahala and support the natural (free) wildlife of the beautiful Hawaiian Islands.

Rates and conditions are good, and the staff and concierge are great.
However, the service gives you 2 pieces of chocolate per night, but I was a little disappointed as it was 1/4 the size of a few years ago!

One of my favorite hotels to visit in Honolulu. Excellent service and ambiance. Highly recommend.

Enjoyed spending part of our honeymoon at the Kahala. Our room was charming and spacious. The hotel is in a very quiet, location a residential area tucked away from touristy Waikiki. The dining experiences are a little pricy (and the food is alright), and we found ourselves much more content to drive 10 minutes to restaurants off-site, like Mud Hen Water (featured on Somebody Feed Phil). 10 minutes to Diamondhead and Bogart's Cafe. The beach is beautiful. It was a nice place to celebrate NYE with their drone show on the beach!

Visited the facility for New Year's Eve. It's a fantastic place, fully decked out. Will post pictures later. Warning in advance. This is top tier facility and the prices reflect the elevated standards.

Love this place, so elegant! Had lunch right on the beach and watched the dolphins swim and play with families! So entertaining!

An absolutely wonderful experience, surprised to find such a wonderful hotel on Oahu, never felt crowded, wonderful staff, and delicious restaurants. Not noted in my guidebook, there is a Dolphin interactive experience on site. They are about to upgrade the rooms which were fine already. Shows an incredible attention to detail.

Kahala is a special place. Certainly not without its flaws, but still a special place my wife and I have enjoyed returning to. We’re here on a quick 3-day 2-night getaway without the kids. We did the same getaway last year at the Four Seasons Wailea, though have enjoyed this years trip at the Kahala more than last year. We will probably come back again.

The key benefit is the location and setting. Hands down, no other hotel in Honolulu can offer such a picturesque and relaxing beachfront as Kahala. Gentle waves on a beautiful stretch of golden sand, yet still only 15 minutes from Waikiki or Ala Moana. It’s the best combination of relaxing paradise and access to shopping and restaurants anywhere in Hawaii. The other benefit is the oceanfront rooms have spectacular views. And the breakfast - the buffet at Plumeria is among the best anywhere in Hawaii!

The downsides: it’s a dated property with dated (but comfortable) rooms, with a small dated pool, and spotty service. The rooms look identical to the last time we were here 9 years ago; the walls are a pale yellow, which feels a bit like sleeping inside a stick of butter. The dimly-lit bathrooms are at least 30 years old, though feature fun Japanese toilets. However, the bed is comfortable and the views are spectacular.

Service has definitely gone down hill since last time we were here. The doormen and Plumeria breakfast restaurant staff are great, as are the super friendly team at the Verandah for evening drinks, though others can be somewhat apathetic and not helpful. There is no service if you take a beach chair on the oceanfront lawn. There is no minibar and they’re pretty stingy with providing bottled water (unless you go to the awesome doormen!). Our rate entitled us to space available room upgrade, early check-in and late check-out. We requested the early checkin and late checkout when we booked. Given the quick nature of our getaway, we arrived on a morning flight and are departing on a 10pm redeye. We arrived at noon and were not given a room until around 2: 30. The wait for the room wouldn’t have been so bad, except the front desk guy clearly didn’t want to help us and was unable to provide any insight into how long it would take to get the room. No upgrade was available, and they seemed to indicate the 12: 30 “late” checkout was generous (only 30 minutes past the normal departure time). So, 0 for 3 on the added benefits included in our rate.

We will probably come back, though will calibrate expectations and know the hotel is very stingy with any “benefits” that are included in the rate.

Honestly the best resort we ever stayed at. Hotel was beautiful, the location was isolated from downtown Waikiki with its own quiet beach front, staff was amazing and friendly and for once, food at the resort was delicious (pricey but what do you expect from a 5-star resort). There were lots of families even with babies and the amenities being 24/7 is unheard of. Beds were comfy, the bathrooms had 2 separated sinks and there was a bidet! We will definitely be back.

The rooms, location and beach are the stars of this hotel! My room was an Ocean Front Lanai and the view was spectacular. The room was nicely appointment with a large bathroom, fantastic AC, comfortable bed and comfortable chairs on the lanai (with a sunrise view!). The beach is quiet but has great sand and water with turtles swimming out front. It’s nice to be away from the noise of Waikiki, but it’s only a 10 minute drive away.

The service left something to be desired. I had lunch and drinks at the beach restaurant and while my water was constantly filled, the waiter was cold and somewhat absent. Not at all what I would expect.

I would definitely come again to check it out with the family.

Very nice resort. The beach is fantastic and you can’t beat the ocean view. Pool is also nice. The rooms are a bit dated but comfy and large so plenty of room to unpack with the kids. Service is fantastic staff is very friendly.

Went to Dolphin Quest and the used their beach to get a tan. Didn't actually stay at the hotel. Lovely hotel and location. Perfectly "Hawaii".

My husband and I had a beautiful stay at the Kahala! We were greeted with a bottle of champagne to celebrate our honeymoon. All of the employees were very helpful, attentive, and personable. We loved the access to the beach, the restaurants on site were all amazing, the amenities like shuttle buses, bikes, and towels were very helpful. Our room was serviced daily and we didn’t need to ask for anything extra. Randy from the Plumeria restaurant stood out for us, he made us feel like we were at home and his service was top notch.

Great non-touristy location and beach access, but our room was 30 years out of date.

The location and proximity to the beach simply can’t be beat. If you’re looking to run or ride bikes from the hotel, there really isn’t a great route to stay out of local traffic. It’s also not near much other than a residential area.

Our room was an ocean view king, and for the price, frankly it should be more updated. Carpet was stained, our sink and shower backed up, and the whole decor looked like grandma’s place 30 years ago. The bathroom was among the worst layouts I’ve encountered. No place for my wife to hang her dresses, the small shower, and loud commercial toilet would wake people on the floor below. Shower also smelled like poo.

The valet, housekeeping, and front desk service at the Kahala is excellent. Beachside food was ok, but pricey. The dolphin experience should be taken down and the animals housed at a proper sanctuary. It’s kinda sad. Overall the hotel interior and exterior is tired with wallpaper in the halls peeling off, plus a faded and rusted exterior. There was also no market or place to grab essentials.

Of the options in/near Waikiki, this is the best to avoid the crowds. But, we likely will stay elsewhere next trip.

Came for dinner and spotted the dolphins in such a terrible space. Not sure how a hotel can keep dolphins in a small space like that. Would not support this hotel or book accomodation here.

The first time I landed in Dolphin Lagoon in April.
I can only say that the staff and rooms are excellent.
I would definitely stay at Kahala again when I come to Hawaii.
Even if you don't go to Waikiki, you can fully enjoy Kahala.
I love Hawaii even more now.

We stayed 5 nights. The hospitality from the staff was amazing. Everyone on the staff that we interacted with was helpful and very polite. Located just outside of Waikiki was nice for being away from the crowds. The beach here is beautiful and very easily accessible. The hotel itself could use updating. Exterior is definitely showing some wear and could say the same about the room carpets and tile definitely showing their age. But the size of the room was nice. Overall great location and hospitality.