Review - The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach
December 26th, 2020
Enroute:
You’ve probably heard by this point what a nightmare the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa was. We booked a last-minute stay at the Ritz with American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts, which came about $950/night including taxes - the Ritz didn’t charge a resort fee. While that was pretty expensive for a city hotel, it was during Christmas/New Year, and the Four Seasons was still closed. I mean, it’s still cheaper than therapy given what a year we all had🤷♂️.
At least booking with Amex gave us perks like free breakfast and $100 F&B credit, which helped offset the cost mentally.
Check-in:
By the time we arrived at the hotel from, literally down the street, it was close to 8pm. I generally have pretty low expectations for Ritz. I think the luxury element of the brand had been diluted over the years, and they saturated the market with a sizable portfolio of uninspiring cookie-cutter hotels. Having lived in DC for a few years, it’s hard to view them as truly luxurious when there’s four of them in the metropolitan area. Of the ones I’ve stayed at, only the resort in Bali I would call fabulous. Our most recent stay at the Ritz Bal Harbour could not have been more mediocre.
One nuance of this specific property is that it’s actually a residence development. I’m not read in on whether the hotel rooms are actually individually owned or rather just one of the two towers has residences. The only difference worthy of clarifying is that the hotel rooms are equipped with kitchen and laundry appliances.
After getting dropped off, the porter came over to assist with our luggage, but we politely declined since we just had one checked bag. He directed us to the elevators that would take us to the lobby, located on the 8th floor. At first I thought I was teleported to the W in Brickell…
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Colonnade
There was an atrium with plenty of seating near the bellhop station.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Entrance
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Entrance
Check-in was a bit odd. It took a while for the front desk agent to find our reservation, which was last-minute so it was understandable. But then we were told our room wouldn’t be ready for another 1.5hrs since they weren’t expecting us. I figured, well, the lobby bar seemed really nice. Surely it’d be okay for us to have a round of cocktails on the hotel while we waited for our room at 8pm. The Japanese lady working at the front desk told us the bar was closed while there were people literally in there having a good time. We realized it would’ve been futile to further the exchange given everything was already lost in translation and headed to bar regardless. Miraculously, before we were greeted by the hostess at the bar, the agent came over and handed us our room keys. Well, what does a girl have to do to get a drink around here.
Unpack:
We booked a deluxe ocean view room, which in reality was more of a junior suite. First of all was the oversized bathroom.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room Bathroom
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room Bathroom
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room Bathroom
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room Bathroom
The toilet was without surprise a Toto Washlet, which I think should be a basic human right. The bathroom, in my opinion, was generic yet upscale nonetheless. Like every Ritz, the toiletries were all from Asprey, which were fine but not my personal favorite.
Next up was the closet, which didn’t strike me as large enough for a room this size, or a hotel intended for longer stays.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room Closet
Bathrobes and additional towels were in plastic packaging, which I’d assume was a Covid-related measure.
Beside the closet was the integrated kitchenette with cabinetry.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room Kitchenette
To the left of kitchenette were the washer and dryer.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room W/D
Strangely the washer and dryer were right across from the bed instead of being in the closet space by the foyer, which could be a bit noisy.
Then there was the king size bed.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room Bedroom
The TV wall and writing desk were in this room as well, champagne not included ;).
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room TV
The hotel had provided two leis, a branded beach tote, two metal straws and some pineapple gummy bears.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room Welcome Amenity
The living room was in the room next to the bedroom and had a sliding door to partition the space off.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room Living Room
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room Living Room
Lastly was the balcony with some deck furniture.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room Balcony
The view was obviously better during the day.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Deluxe Ocean View Room View
I thought the room was very nice. My partner and I did talk about how the living space and bedroom were not the other way around, because why would you want to go through a bedroom to get to the living room? But that’s a minor quirk.
Unwind:
As soon as I was finished taking photos for this review we changed into our swimsuits and went down for a night swim. There were two infinity pools on the lobby floor, with one being adult-only. The adult pool also had a hot tub on each side.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Adult Pool
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Adult Pool
The kids pool was on the other side by the Italian restaurant Quiora, where breakfast was served.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Kids Pool
For the rest of our time at the hotel, we got a cabana everyday and mostly just relaxed by the pool enjoying the 85-degree weather. Service times at the pool were a bit weird - they served drinks from 11am-3pm, then it was canned beverages only. You would think more people would drink in the later part of the day but we were told it was due to shortage of staff during Covid.
Our pool attendant Robyn, yes, spelled the same way as the Swedish electro gay icon who told you to call your girlfriend because you met someone new, aka moi, was this super nice girl from San Antonio. She had the brightest personality and was so enthusiastic about her job. We were relatively low maintenance as long as we were on the sauce but she was always there whenever we needed something.
Refuel:
Since there really wasn’t a pool bar per se, the cocktails came from one of the two restaurants depending on the day. In addition to Quiora, the other restaurant was La Vie. We didn’t go there because it was closed during the days we were there, it did have a glitzy open-air setting and a striking bar with mirrors reflecting the beach.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach La Vie
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach La Vie
Other than the crowd favorites like mai tai and blue Hawaiian, the hotel had many other craft cocktails. There was a refreshing thyme-infused aperol spritz, a Kentucky kiss, which was bourbon based made with calamansi, and a hibiscus pisco sour.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Pool Beverage
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Pool Beverage
The secret ingredient of a great beverage is always a killer sunset.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Adult Pool
On one morning we had breakfast at Quiora. We shared a loco moco and a parfait.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Quiora Restaurant Breakfast
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Quiora Restaurant Breakfast
The food, while nothing special, was better than most hotel breakfasts. I mean you’re in Hawaii, why eat at a hotel at all?
Depart:
The service at the Ritz Waikiki was definitely more aligned with Asian standards. The housekeeping was outstanding - the last time I had my toiletries rearranged like this was at the Ritz in Osaka.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Housekeeping Service
The turndown service involved the housekeepers coiling up charging cables and placing a property-branded cloth under my glasses. How often do you stay at a hotel where the housekeepers make you feel like you’ve been living like an utter pig?
Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach Housekeeping Service
Besides rockstar Robyn, everybody else at the restaurants and bars were also extremely friendly and genuinely enjoyed their jobs. I asked the bartender Jesse if the olives were stuffed with bleu cheese (my preferred kind) while he was making a round of martinis for another table, and he offered me some to snack on while waiting on my drinks.
I also got to chat with the front desk manager Cohco, who’s from the Big Island where my partner and I had just spent a week on. We talked about diving with manta rays and how great the food was. She was so gracious and such a delightful person to talk to. Our flight back to the mainland was scheduled to depart at 8pm, so she offered us a generous 6pm check-out.
Of the many Ritz hotels out there, this one on Waikiki Beach was actually ritzy.