OHANA Waikiki West, an Ascend Collection hotel

I’d say this hotel is typical for Kuhio. Old hotel in bad need of serious overhaul with a lot of band aid patch work to keep it from falling apart. It doesn’t have many basic amenities, including shampoo in the room, and I had to hike another flight of stairs after getting out of the elevator just find my room. But the kicker is their stickler policy about occupancy. I’m sure we’ve all pushed that rule in the past fitting 3 people into one room. This place however, stopped my friend in the middle of the night and hauled her off like she’d held up a convenience store. Very annoying. Needless to say, I won’t be staying here again. Thanks for the Gestapo tactics Ohana West!

I know the Ohana Waikiki West will close soon (March 27, according to a recent Pacific Business News article), but I’ll just put in my two cents anyway. First, the pros. Location. Location. Location. Waikiki, baby! But that’s about it.
Now, for the cons. Where should I even begin?!
* A 1-​foot space between the sliding door and the railing is a poor, no, PITIFUL excuse for a balcony.
* Even at its maximum High, the AC couldn’t cool the entire room (my family and I were in room 449), thus requiring a fan (yup, a FAN — who uses a fan in a hotel room these days?!) to pick up the rest of the slack.
* In the kitchenette, there’s dishwashing liquid but no sponge, so what’s the point of even cooking if you can’t wash your pots and pans?!
* What’s the worst thing that could happen in the middle of the night? The hotel decides to test its evacuation system. The fire alarm goes off, not once, but THREE times on our first night!
* Yes, there are elevators, but don’t even bother. If you’re on the bottom floors, take the stairs because by the time you step off the last flight to your room, the elevator in the lobby still wouldn’t have opened.
* Parking, OMG! Not only are the stalls super narrow and exit signs non-​existent, but the lot is almost always full. So your only option is to park at the Waikiki Trade Center, which is a couple blocks west AND a 5-​minute walk from the hotel.
Good riddance, Ohana Waikiki West!

Cool place .good rates .the staff is nice. Brian or Ryan gave me exceptional service. Resort fees and parking has a decent rate. I was even able to extend my stay without extra deposits and moving rooms .I must say I love my 15^th floor room

Perks: location… the balcony… T H A T S I T!!!
This place is a VERY DISAPPOINTING
3 stars on the internet??? from 4 different web sites??? 3 stars??? Try 2
$ 140 a night??? Yeh… try $ 90
This place is tacky too
The room, the climate control, the vibe, the staff, the paint, the awful décor of the room. The radio electrical cord is worn and loosing connecting causing the speaker to chirp

Update as of 12÷30÷14. I checked my checking account when I got home and found that they had double charged me for their «connection fee» (they told me it was similar to a resort fee). I called them and they told me they didn’t see where I was double charged so there was nothing they could do. So I had to call my bank and start a dispute on those charges. I’ll let you know how that goes :)

The Outrigger Ohana West hotel was your typical Waikiki accommodations.
The location in the heart of Waikiki was ideal, as it was walking distance to and from Waikiki Zoo and Kapiolani Park. The Outrigger Ohana West is located on Kuhio Avenue, near a Starbucks and a cluster of venues and eateries. I stayed here with a friend of mine from Florida for a night, occupying room 669 the night before the 2014 Honolulu marathon. I have been in a variety of hotel rooms before here in Hawaii, on the mainland US, and a few spots internationally, and I was pleasantly surprised at what my friend and I had received. I would say that the one night stay I received was a pleasant one and a good experience overall.
There is garage parking for guests who drive a rental car, which is located on the side of the building. If you are like me, a few bus routes, namely #2, 8, 13, 22, and 23 will get you in and out of Waikiki. Bus routes #19 and 20 will get you direct service from Honolulu international airport to and from Waikiki. With that said, reservations should be made in advance to secure the best deals to be had. Pricing at the Outrigger Ohana West was reasonable and got a good rate on it. Prices can range from $ 119 upwards to $ 189. The Outrigger brand tries to maintain a balance between catering to the budget friendly traveler and families, as well as hosting well heeled individuals as well. The check in process was fast and expedient. The lobby was always bustling with people coming and going. I guess it was like that. I didn’t notice whether or not they had an on property restaurant, but a group of us went out to nearby Marukame Udon Waikiki anyway and partied up.
The room itself was pleasant, clean, and organized. Quite meticulous, but the typical set up. My friend and I received a 2 double bed unit and all the amenities you could want. The shower before and after completing 26.2 miles is always invigorating for sure. The television in the room worked nicely and the bed itself was quite comfortable and spacious. I was able to catch 6 ½ hours of good sleep before waking up to prepare for the Honolulu marathon at 2:30am. Quite amazing actually. Yes, the Outrigger Ohana West is good at what they do. Reasonable and comfortable accommodations for a price you would smile about. They do a good job here about making your stay happy a top priority. If you are ever vacationing or thinking about a staycation here in Waikiki, take a looksie at the Outrigger Ohana West. They made a believer out of me.
Wifi was kind of spotty.
Support local!
B

We got two nights free for a promotion. My husband and I were able to check in early and parking was a breeze. It’s only $ 12 for kama’aina.
Ok, so I think it would be easier if I create two lists of pros and cons:
PROS
Good size refrigerator
Pillows are soft and fluffy
Ample drawer space
Coffee pot
Hair dryer
Iron and ironing board
Great water pressure, big plus in my book
Trash cans have bags
Powerful toliet, be prepared or it will scare you lol
CONS
The bed does not have a fitted under sheet.
View is construction which is Ok however should be advertised especially with the noise
Extremely small bathroom
Chipped painted tile in shower
Air conditioner is a dial of hi, med, low and sounds like a small motor on a boat
Gym room is a max of about 5 feet by 5 feet with squeaky equipment, geez at least bust out the WD40
Elevators über slow
Bathroom counterspace is next to nothing
No second curtain to allow light in and provide some privacy
Great water pressure but do not bother with the cold water nob, to get a good decent shower, hot water nob only!
Pillow cases are a grade better than the ones you get on a red eye flight
Be careful opening the plastic covering to the coffee cups or you will crack/​rip the cup
Yes, they have a hair dryer however, there are NO plugs in bathroom and the plug you can find is no where near a mirror so bring an extension cord
Of course, if you want coffee make sure you have a knife to open package and you will need to sit the coffee maker on floor so that you can plug in.
Overall, we kept reminding ourselves that it’s free. We have spent many times in Waikiki and this was the worst. This hotel definitely needs updating.

This hotel is in need of a remodel… Pretty bad. I’m not that picky, but the hotel just looks tired.
They do give a good Kamaaina discount (for Hawaii residents only), but now I know why.
I booked a single bed, it ended up being a double, not even a queen. There was hardly any room to walk around in the hotel, it reminded me of being right back in Japan. Where rooms are like closet size. The shower was the worst, at a weird angle, made you bump an elbow or knee at every move. My boyfriend and I always shower together, and in this hotel, it just wasn’t happening.
Not a romantic hotel in the least, but we made it work. The only good things are Kamaaina discount on the room and parking fees, and the fact that every room has a balcony.
I’ve heard the Ohana East is nicer, and for $ 30 more a night, I will definately give it a go next time we are on island.

What an absolute DUMP. The minute we walked into the lobby, I knew we had made a big mistake. First of all, it was hotter and humid as hell and there was no AC. The guy who checked us in asked us if we wanted to pay for parking or park on the street. Then he warned us that police were very strict and quick to write tickets if your car was parked somewhere and not moved by the times noted on the signs. We asked how much parking would cost. He said it would be $ 25/​DAY!!! Annnnnnnd… parking was first come, first served. You’re not guaranteed a spot! What kind of BS is this??? (keep in mind, we haven’t even gotten to the room yet!) Soooo, we were kind of at their mercy and purchased the parking. The parking attendant practically throws herself in front of your car when exiting or entering the structure to make sure that you have a valid parking pass. She was ANNOYING!
Okay…now the room. What. A. Dump. Tiny room, tinier bathroom and and EVEN TINIER shower! Tile in the shower was grimey, rust on all the fixtures, leaky air vent with a wet spot on the carpet. Just gross! Only WIRED internet in the room. WiFi only available in the crowded, hot ass lobby! Slowest elevator in the free world! To top things off, they have timeshare vultures strategically placed in the lobby so there’s no avoiding them. Finally had to be rude after their third attempt to hook us. Geez people!!!
Needless to say, we will NOTTTT be back here. #killmenow

Great location that is why I am giving it 3 stars. The AC wasnt working most of the time. You had to request for a fan. I felt bad for my aunties who had to wait for their shower to be fixed.
The hotel could use some remodeling. if you visit paradise why cant the rooms feel like it. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK all your room fees. The front desk isn’t very clear of what you pay because they forget to mention hidden fees.
I wish the view was more pleasant but then again wakiki is a concrete jungle.
I won’t be staying here the next time I am in hawaii

This hotel is outdated, but in a good location for the price. The AC unit doesn’t work very well in most of the rooms. I had to ask for a fan, which was brought up to my room within minutes. The staff is very friendly and quick to deliver extra towels.
The bathroom has no ventilation. The room smells somewhat moldy. Ending this on a positive note, I enjoy the balconies and hearing the city life outside. Also being able to get to all the nearby shops with in minutes of walking.
Don’t stay here if your feeling luxurious.

I didn’t take any photos and I am pretty upset that I didn’t. I guess I was too overwhelmed with being super upset with our stay. I would have given this a 0 star If I could.
I’ll start from the beginning but try and make it short-​ish. I booked through pleasant holidays (as we have before but a different hotel), when we got there, it’s hot as sh*t in the down stairs parking lot, we check in and the front desk girl tried to jip us on our room saying, «and you’re ok with a queen bed right»? I said no that we reserved a King, she said, «Oh those are all full but let me see what we have», by the look of my expression, I’m sure she knew I meant business and magically found us one.
Got up to the 6^th floor, (elevators SUCK and were SLOW and you HAVE to use your key card which we had no clue at first and we though our floor was broken and took the stairs several times until someone told us otherwise) the room was hot, turned on the AC that blew as hard as I could, hence the HOT ass room thee ENTIRE trip! #FAIL!
On our first walk through the main lobby, after unpacking, we were hassled by the salesman trying to get us to sign up for timeshare but didn’t explain that right away. He was trying to get us to attend a free breakfast and they would give us a $ 100 gift card and when we started agreeing, he tried charging us $ 20 that would be «refunded», so yeah, an other BS moment.
The room was clean, old, but clean. The fridge was warm and had water in the freezer, AFTER we went and bought groceries. It took SEVERAL hours to get cold, but it did the job. We normally leave the «do not disturb» sign up when on vacation because we have too many valuables, they still came in our room, twice. They left a note saying so, that it’s regulation but I honestly think it’s BS. When they know you are on vacation and only for one week, you should be left alone if you request so. They swear I had a dead body in there!
My kitchen counters and bathroom counters had tiny bugs constantly, running around, smaller than ants and faster than ants but not roaches. I was livid. I had to go out and buy big baggies to assure that my food didn’t get bugs. When I moved all my food to the table in the sleeping room, they followed… **sigh** Oh and a +, there were no bed bugs.
At $ 100+ a night, you would think the AC would work, it didn’t. That was very frustrating as most people know that Hawaii is HUMID! When we asked where the ice machine was, they said, the 2^nd floor… half way through our trip, we noticed one ON our floor, so the whole time we were trying to get to the 2^nd floor and our key card wouldn’t allow it, we used the stairs!
Parking is scarce, we got to park there every night but very close to not being able to. We made it a point to be in before 7pm to insure that we had a parking (which was a drag at times). Otherwise we were told and read reviews, parking runs out and we would have to park over 10 minutes away.
NO WIFI in the rooms! Pool closes at 8!
Needless to say, the stay sucked and we would NEVER return, not even if it was «free»… but my husband just said right now, that he WOULD go back if it was free (only because it’s Hawaii)… but it still sucked!

I’ve Stayed In The Area Before But My First Time @ This Hotel. The Female I Booked The Room With Over The Phone Really Hyped It Up. Was Really Looking Forward To It.
The Parking Structure Was Very Very Limited!!! If The Spots Are Full — Guests Are Asked To Park Elsewhere As On The Street Or The Building Center They’re Affiliated With Down The Ways. It Was Very Very Inconvenient!!! The Room Was Pretty Much Not Serviced After 2 Days!!! Had To Call HouseKeeping 3x Just To Get Fresh Towels & The Trash Taken Out!!! The Mini-​Fridge Freezer Didn’t Work @ All!

After reading the reviews here I was expecting the worst. We stayed here because we named our price on Priceline and had no say in the matter of where we stayed other than how much we were willing to pay.
This place is in a fantastic location. It’s a couple blocks away from Waikiki beach but easily within walking distance.
The room felt clean and the bed was comfortable. My only complaint was that the shower didn’t have a light in it. The bathroom had a light but I like to be able to see everything when I shower.
The room did get hot even with the AC on but I found that to be true of any place in Hawaii that we stayed. We loved to open the door and hang out on the balcony.
We had a fridge in our room and that came in handy!
The woman who checked us in was very friendly and helpful! I would stay here again. It’s worth the price and it’s in a great location!
We didn’t rent a car and therefore didn’t have a problem with the garage. Everything is within walking distance. We took a cab once and only had to pay $ 10.

Can’t believe this is actually a three star hotel, not even as good as a motel!
Cons: really small room, small bath room which smells damp. All the furnitures are dated. The A/​C is so dated you can only choose from low, medium or high, no temperature control. NO WIFI in the room, and a large crowd in the lobby to use the complimentary wifi. The parking space is tiny and they charge for $ 25 per day.
Pros: good shower. Nice location. An excellent udon restaurant within minutes walk.
Avoid this hotel if you didn’t bid through Priceline and had to stay there.

Stayed here a couple of months ago… and while it was not horrible, we did not ‘enjoy’ it.
I booked this hotel thru Priceline, and what a waste of time that was… I only got 1 dollar off of their website price. I have had the privilege of working for a hotel and have dealt w/​travel sites to know how Priceline works and how they set prices. I think this hotel probably manipulates the rate thru these sites so that they aren’t out any real money by you getting a ‘deal’
With that said, after I got my confirmation I called the hotel to request a crib. The lady told me that they could not do that, that I would have to request one upon arrival. I also inquired about getting a room w/​2 beds. Now I understand that when you book via a 3^rd party and place a bid that you are not guaranteed a room type, I get it for those people that may be stroking out while reading this. My mama taught me that it doesn’t hurt to ask, and it has been my experience that most hotels will accommodate your request. This place told me on the phone that it wouldn’t be a problem, that I could get 2 beds. However, when I checked in it was a completely different story… I’ll get to that in a minute.
We arrived at the hotel and let me tell you, the parking is a straight up hassle!!! There are no clear signs showing you where to go. There are 2 levels to this parking garage and the spaces are beyond TINY!!! It is so frickin hard to maneuver is and out of this place. If you are parking anything bigger than a smart car good luck, its that small. When you pull in, you have to tell the attendant that you are checking in, and if you are lucky you might get a parking space. This hotel has something like 600 rooms and only about 50 parking spaces. They charge you $ 25 per day to park, on top of your room rate and you aren’t even guaranteed a spot. All the parking is on a first come first serve basis which is a rip off if you are paying $ 25 a day. When you check in they give you a card to take to the lot attendant, and then you go and the lot attendant has to fill a form out and you put in your dash and you better believe they will check it coming and going.
Enough about that. The location is great!!! Only 3 blocks from the beach… but they are long blocks so be prepared to walk. When I checked in, after telling me the room would have 2 beds they say NOPE, you booked thru Priceline. They told me that they could upgrade me to a bigger room, a suite if you will and it would have 2 beds, for an extra $ 130 for the stay, so I paid it. How stupid of me, it was so not worth it. I thought we were getting a better room, but the joke was on me. It did have a fridge, sink and some eating utensils as well as a microwave but that’s where the frills stopped.
In the main living space was one of our beds, which was a pull-​out couch!!! So much for 2 beds huh. The mattress was thinner than a piece of sheet metal, just not comfortable.
The master room had a full size bed, they say queen but I disagree. All of the furniture and bedding were outdated, it looked like my parents Hawaii in the 80’s.
The bathroom was small but it had a decent shower. My complaint here is the mold, and I will post pics of that soon. The bathroom had the smell that is typical of mold. I tried to rationalize it w/​this is a tropical island and w/​sea air and humidity, but there shouldn’t be mold. It looks like they had tried painting over it.
Each day we would leave and then return, we saw that they had slipped a note under our door, notifying us of maintenance and pest spraying… lovely. Housekeeping also did NOT change our linens. When we arrived we noticed a crusty stain, I wont even go there, and we called to ask them to change it. They never came!!! Even on the day we left, it was still the same linens.
The elevators are horrid and they only work if you have a room key, if they even work at all. Even w/​a 4 story hike, and all of our suitcases we still took the stairs rather than spend our entire vacation waiting on elevators. A hotel this size should have more than 3 guest elevators.
If you don’t have any beach towels, you can check some out from housekeeping but you have to practically go thru a background check to get some, just save yourself the hassle and pick some up at Walmart.
The only friendly employees we encountered during our stay was housekeeping, they were too busy talking to be cleaning, lol.
If you are on a budget or other hotels are booked then you should stay here, but if you can afford to go somewhere else then stay away from here. I think this hotel, and a lot of others on the island are really deceptive. They get you in w/​a pic of a room that looks really good, then you get a crappy room. I know a lot of hotels do that, but it just seems to be more prevalent here. Like I said, the rooms at most hotels are reminiscent of my parents 80’s Hawaii
#flagproof

I am taking it down one star, because my son left his tennis shoes in the room. We realized it three days later when we prepared to go home. We went back to the hotel and went to the M level lost and found. They told us nothing was reported by the staff as being left in the room.
My son is a teenager and autistic and he has left a phone at the marriott in waikiki and they found it, turned it in, and graciously mailed it to me at my expense via FedEx.
I know I shouldn’t complain about shoes but it still would be nice to have turned them in and waited a few days.
So I spent more time to go shopping and buy him new shoes 50 $ and an hour plus later.

I would give this place four stars for location (within walking distance of Waikiki beach) but zero stars on customer service… So I settled on two stars.
The housekeeper props the door open so he/​she isn’t in the guest’s room with the door closed. However, our housekeeper accidentally left the door open after she left and my husband and I came home to a room that was unlocked with the metal slider lock wedged in the door!
The manager said there wasn’t anything she could do because we booked through Priceline. I love the Hawaiian laid back attitude, but not when it comes to a lack of hotel security or customer service.

Checked in on Wednesday 10/23/2013…clerk did really well in assisting me. Spent half the day away from the hotel today (Thursday 10/​24/​2013) and I come back to a room that has not been cleaned yet. Air conditioner is noisy. There’s dust on the wall near the door hinges. Sprinkler system looks like there’s mold on the metal. Balcony glass doors have not been cleaned for awhile. It’s a small room with a small bathroom… I guess that’s the standard room size for a room at $ 85 a night. At least the bed is bigger than my bed at home. Checking out on Friday 10/​25/​2013.
Update: housekeeping finally showed up to clean room. Housekeeper told me she didn’t clean the room because there was a privacy sign on the door. I was gone half the day… double check the door handle to see if there’s a sign or not. I had to inform her about the dust on the wall near the door hinges. Balcony glass doors still has not been cleaned.

I struggled with giving this a two– or three-​star rating. Ultimately, I decided that the star description («Meh. I’ve experienced better.») for two stars is a closer fit.
For pros, the hotel is close to the water and for people who come to visit the beach, that’s a big plus. For the money, the location is great. For the money, the rooms are acceptable, and for the money the service is good.
My room was clean when I arrived and the maid service did a bang-​up job the whole time.
Parking is $ 25 per day and the lot filled up around 7:15 PM each night I was there. After it’s full, they send you over to Waikiki East, which has a gated pull-​in on Kuhio. The first time I stayed there, the parking attendant girl gave me such poor directions that it took 35 minutes to find something that was a block away. The proper directions are «get back on Kuhio, drive past the light for this garage, and turn in to a gated entry on Kuhio.» Her directions were to turn right at the next light down, which takes you to the Sheraton parking garage. That attendant was helpful and got me back onto Kuhio, but also didn’t really explain where the Waikiki East parking entry was. The Waikiki East bell hop, however, gave good and clear directions.
Pulling into the Waikiki East parking garage is, in a kind word, treacherous. The access crosses a sidewalk (no lights to stop peds) frequented by drunk partiers, the mentally inept who don’t check to see if a car is coming, and blatantly hell-​bound inconsiderate jerks who simply don’t care if there’s a line of cars blocking Kuhio — they’re going to saunter across the sidewalk like they’re in a slow-​walk contest. That kind of person should be killed with fire.
Anyway, inside the garage at the Waikiki East, the ramp to get to the Waikiki West overflow is also terrifying. It’s literally a wedge about as wide as the Hyundai Sonata I had. Literally, my tires were partly over open air as I drove down the ramp — it is THAT narrow. Do not try this lot in a truck.
The parking at Waikiki West is not meaningfully better. Both levels are a straight line — no turn-​around. So if you have a large vehicle, you get to back out of the whole thing Also, the stalls are VERY narrow. Even with my Sonata (not a big car) I had to back in an out inches at a time. The aisles are so narrow (slightly more than a car width) that one can’t even drive on the far side and make a wide turn into the lot. So that’s a basic and largely unfixable design flaw. They COULD take two stalls out of service on the far end to make a loop, but that’s $ 50 a day in lost revenue (parking during my stay was $ 25 per day.)
The hotel is 17 stories and has three elevators. You can see where this is going. Getting to a room above the fifth floor is a LONG wait. Often, I had to wait for a couple elevator cycles before I got in to one. Also, there are a lot of pretty awful human beings (more people who need to die in a fire) who just walk in front of everyone and onto an elevator. Not coincidentally, these are usually morbidly obese white guys with disgustingly hairy backs. Yeah, so not only do they just cut, but they get most of the elevator to themselves because who wants to touch that? NO ONE!!! NO ONE WANTS TO TOUCH THAT.
Also, the elevators seem not to communicate. For instance, when I called an elevator during off hours, sometimes more than one would arrive. Why? A simple computer upgrade should help streamline the elevator system and relieve lobby congestion.
The hotel room shower, for me, was awesome — the most water pressure I’ve ever experienced. However, I had to fiddle with the knobs to find the temperature. You know how at home you can set the shower handle to a fixed point and it’s always the same temperature? Yeah. Not how it works here. That’s probably a factor of water heater location and system use. It’s not really a problem, just something of which to be aware.
Were I to come back to Hawaii on vacation, I would CONSIDER the Waikiki West. However, I’d also do a lot of research into other options. And I would either NOT rent a car or rent a MUCH SMALLER car. If I ever use the garage again, I want to do it in either a Smart Car or on a moped.
The staff are VERY friendly and helpful. The concierges will tell you they’re not affiliated with the hotel if you ask them questions, though.
For laundry, get quarters from the shop in the lobby. The wash was $ 2.75 and the dryer $ 2.50. For two loads, it’s $ 10.50.
Soap is $ 1.25 at the machine in the laundry room. Across the street at the grocery it’s cheaper. There are eight washers and six dryers. And the dryers take longer. So that’s a bottle neck and I had to wait for 20 minutes for a dryer to open.