The Moana Surfrider Hotel
Waikiki Beach, O'ahu

The Moana Surfrider Hotel, located on Waikiki Beach, is a landmark resort in Hawaii. Formerly the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, this property is known as the "First Lady of Waikiki".  The Moana is a great blend of history and luxury.  Built on the oceanfront in 1901, she is a majestic property with lots of charm and history.

This Westin Hotel is part of the Starwood family and is run as a Westin property. For a romantic vacation, family vacation, or a Hawaii honeymoon it is one of our favorite vacation ideas!

The resort is luxurious and one of our favorites. It is central to most in Waikiki and you can only really compare it to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (another Starwood Property).

To see our experience click here. If you have comments or would like to share your experience of the Moana Surfrider, please send me a comment here and we may publish it.

About the Resort

Formerly the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, Starwood Hotels & Resorts converted it to the first Westin Property on Oahu. It is the flagship property on the world's most famous beach - Waikiki. The transformation began June 1, 2007 and will be completed with in mid 2008 with Waikiki's first beachfront spa  - The Moana Lani Spa - including 14 treatment rooms and a Reebok fitness facility.

You will also find the Westin's famous signature Service Express program, the Westin Kids Discovery Club and the Heavenly Beds!

The beautiful Banyan Courtyard houses restaurants, and the beachfront pool. The charming and beautiful lobby invites you in with it's elegance and the verandah with rocking chairs is a great place to watch the world go by and rock away your worries.

With 4 wings, there are many options to choose from for accommodation, the Victorian Building, the Diamond Wing, the Banyan Wing and the Tower.

The best way to describe the Moana Surfrider, is a piece of history with old world elegance and many of the modern Westin amenities.

Beaches and Pools

The property has a private section of the beach, with umbrellas and beach chairs. The area is roped off with a chain to show guests and beachcombers where the boundaries are. The location on the beach is quite central. A short walk will take you to where the surf instructors hang out, or on some days you can watch the latest surfing competition.

There are many different activities available on the beach (you can take a lesson or rent equipment every day) - from boogie boarding, paddle boarding and surfing to taking a sunset cruise on a catamaran. You can even take a traditional outrigger canoe out for a ride. You may even see a turtle or dolphin from the beach and if you are lucky, from late January to late April you may even spot a Humpback whale.

To reserve a beach  or pool chair and umbrella you have to reserve the day before you would like it by 1 pm, and claim it by 9 am. If you leave for 1.5 hours you could lose your chairs. Some say to tip when you are being shown to your chairs and umbrella - it may get you a better view etc.

If you prefer the pool, there is a small pool situated in the Banyan Court, right by the beach. When you get a little hungry or thirsty, the Beach Bar and Snack Bar are right there.

Towels are provided for hotel guests at the Towel Hut (where you reserve your chairs. Hours of Operation are 7:00 am to 6:00 pm all year round.

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Rooms, Restaurants and Bars

There are a variety of rooms and suites available. All rooms include the signature Heavenly Beds, one king or 2 double beds, flat screen TV's, air conditioning, Internet access (for a fee), voice mail, coffee makers, and refridgerators, including:

• Large City View Room - in original building (newly renovated and less expensive but more complaints of noise from the busy street below)
• Deluxe Ocean Diamond Room - in Diamond Wing - Has a balcony
• Historic Banyan Ocean View Room
• Tower Partial Ocean View Room - in Tower with balcony
• Deluxe Ocean Tower Room - in Tower with balcony and better view
• Tower Suite -1 bedroom suite - 2 oceanfront balconies - beautiful views

Restaurants include the Beachhouse at the Moana,  The Veranda, The Banyan Court, and The Beach Bar.

When you stay at the on this property, you are centrally located in Waikiki on Kalakaua Avenue. There are many different type of restaurants and bars within walking distance. Including the Cheesecake Factory and Duke's (famous Hawaiian restaurant).

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History of the Moana Surfrider

The "First Lady" was one of the first hotels in Waikiki and opened it's doors March 11, 1901 with 75 rooms. It cost $150,000 to build and was the most elaborate hotel of the time in the Hawaiian Islands. The first floor housed a billiards room, saloon, main parlor, library, office and reception area. It was built in the colonial style that was popular during the era.

The first guests of the hotel were a group of Shriners and paid a whopping $1.50 a night for their rooms. The hotel was eventually sold to the Matson's Navigation Company (who later opened the Royal Hawaiian Hotel), and expanded. The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese forces  Hawaii into martial law. Today it is hard to imagine the barbed wire stretched along the beach. Where the Royal Hawaiian was leased out to the US Navy, the Moana remained a guest hotel. It was however usually full with servicemen or people on the island due to the war.

In the late 1940's and 1950's the Moana became the "place to be" in Hawaii. Regularly scheduled flights from the USA made this possible for the "high society" of America.

The hotel was sold to the Sheraton Corporation in 1959. It has since expanded and just recently converted to a Westin Property.

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Our Experience at the "First Lady of Waikiki"

We chose the Moana Surfrider as this was the beginning of a 4 week family vacation. We stayed at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel the previous year and wanted to try the Moana Surfrider this year. We stayed for 3 nights as a stopover on our way to Australia.

After a long flight from Toronto, we were greeted with lei's by 2 lovely ladies and treated to a glass of cold lemongrass tea and a cold towel while we checked in.

We used our points and paid for an upgrade to a Tower Suite. This was pricy but it was one of the best decisions we made. It was absolutely beautiful!

We had 2 balconies, a master bedroom, living area, dining area, wet bar, and a queen sized Murphy bed for Montana. We even had a really cool toilet that warmed the seat and cleaned the bowl when you used it!  Montana and Warren thought it was really cool! It was perfect for our short stay. The view was unbelievable and we were treated to seeing a few turtles swimming in the water.

We didn't eat in any of the restaurants or reserve beach or pool chairs, but we loved the location of the hotel as there were lots of shopping and restaurants to choose from in the area.

We did hear some people complaining of the noise on the city side of the hotel.

Click here for our blog entry about our arrival into Honolulu and our time at the Westin Resort (half way down the page).

Pros: Location, location, location, hotel is full of history, elegance and charm, and still has most of the Westin features.

Cons: Come staff were a little "off" and housekeeping wasn't the best at requests.

Overall we would stay here again!

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