The Moana Surfrider Hotel
Waikiki Beach, O'ahu
The Moana Surfrider,
A Westin Resort
Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii
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
Address
2365 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96815
Phone: (808) 922-3111
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.
Moana Surfrider
Beach and Pool
Taken from the 18th floor of the Tower Suite
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
Westin Heavenly Bed
in the Tower Suite
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"
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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