Hawaiian Adventure Waikiki Beach Marriott
We stayed at the Marriott Waikiki Beach during the first part of our Hawaiian Island Adventure. Here is a quick tour of the room, hotel, and surrounding area.
For more about what we did during our time in Waikiki, please check out our Waikiki Beach post and YouTube video.
Waikiki Beach Marriott
While the main part of our Hawaiian Island adventure was going to be island hopping on NCL’s Pride of America, we wanted a chance to visit Waikiki. We made the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort our home for three nights.
The Marriott is situated toward the end of Waikiki Beach in a quieter area near Kapiolani Park. The Honolulu Zoo is located in this park. The park extends all the way to the ocean, providing a nice place to walk along the beach.
The Room
We had an ocean view room with a balcony. Or, as they call it in Hawaii, a lanai. The hotel is set back about a block from the beach. We had an ocean view. While the view was partially obstructed by some of the other tall buildings in the area, having our own private balcony with an ocean view was pretty amazing.
Our room was very spacious. It had a king-size bed, a couch with a small table, and cabinet with a refrigerator and coffee maker. It was a quiet room. With a large city comes some amount of traffic noise, but we didn’t hear anyone from the adjacent rooms.
The bathroom had a nice shower with refillable shampoo, conditioner, and body wash provided.
About the only negative we might mention about the room at the Waikiki Beach Marriott was that the bathroom door was frosted glass. Now, that might not seem like an issue. However, if the light is turned on at night, it lit up the whole room. A tip to consider: bring a nightlight so that you don’t have to turn on the bright bathroom light.
Hotel Amenities
The hotel lobby is open and airy. In fact, it is open to the outdoors as it doesn’t have enclosed walls. In the main part of the lobby, you’ll find plenty of table seating which is adjacent to an ABC convenience store and a Starbucks.
If you continue past the check-in desk, you’ll find several shops. Continuing from there is a nice courtyard area with a few more shops.
One nice amenity we haven’t seen at other hotels was a water bottle filling station. Place your bottle into position and then activate the water with a foot-operated lever. Nice touch. We just wish the water would have been a little colder.
If you are heading to the beach, you can get towels and beach chairs from the hotel. We took advantage of this on our day at the beach. The very high daily resort fee covers this amenity.
To get your towels, you can use a self-service kiosk. At the end of the day, simply return your towels to the towel return door in the kiosk.
The beach chairs are the low Tommy Bahama type chairs often we use when heading to the beach. You can carry them backpack style and they have a pocket where you can put a book or water bottle.
There are two pool areas, one more for families and one for adults.
Another nice hotel amenity is the laundry room. To help pack light, it is nice to know you can do a load of laundry when needed. You pay for the machines using a debit or credit card. A load in a regular-sized top loading machine is $4.
When I asked about the laundry room at the front desk, they gave directions. And, they gave us a box of Tide and some Bounce dryer sheets. That was a nice touch. If you need more laundry detergent, it is available for purchase.
Waikiki Beach Marriott Dining
We had the opportunity to try two of the restaurants.
Kuhio Beach Grill Breakfast Buffet
There is an amazing breakfast buffet available at the Kuhio Beach Grill. It has all of the things you’d normally expect at a breakfast buffet, plus a few special things. I didn’t expect to see bread pudding with vanilla creme sauce or Creme Brule at breakfast. But, hey, this is vacation.
While the buffet breakfast is normally $48 per person, our travel agent arranged for the buffet breakfast to be included with our room. It was a great way to start the day. With a hearty breakfast, we can usually have a lighter lunch which makes a day of travel adventure easier.
Queensbreak Restaurant
One of the most amazing parts of staying in Waikiki are the sunsets. Every night during our stay, we were treated to an amazing sunset. And one of the best places to watch the sunset was from the Queensbreak Restaurant at the Marriott.
This rooftop patio provided just enough elevation to see over the busy Kalakaua Ave to get a great view. And the food was pretty tasty, too. We enjoyed sharing a pizza with our sunset.
The seats along the front edge of Queensbreak are the best for enjoying the sunset. We were lucky enough to get seated there. However, this area is in high demand and can be reserved. To ensure a great seat, you may want to plan ahead.
Waikiki Beach Marriott YouTube Video
Check out our Waikiki Beach Marriott YouTube video where we show the highlights of this nice resort hotel.
Summary
We wanted a place to relax and get used to the six hour time difference from the East Coast. This was just the spot. The hotel is located about a block back from the beach, just a few steps from the ocean. There was plenty to do within a short walk. It was fun to walk along the beach, take a swim in the ocean, and explore the Waikiki area.
There is a lot to do within walking distance of the Waikiki Beach Marriott. If you are looking for some ideas, check out our Hawaiian Adventure Waikiki Beach post and YouTube video.
What is your favorite thing to do in Waikiki? We’d love to hear all about it. Please leave us a comment.
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