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Hawaii Hotel Reviews

Kahala Resort & Spa Losing Its Luster

Where: 5000 Kahala Avenue [map], Honolulu, HI, United States, 96816

December 6, 2006 at 9:34 AM | 0 Comments

[Ed. Note: Alex Salkever is the editor of Hawaii travel blog Hawaiirama.com and a general travel maven on all things Hawaii.]

From a distance, you can't tell that this is no longer a Mandarin Oriental.

Apparently the past year of switchover of the Kahala Resort & Spa from the Mandarin Oriental flag to an independently managed resort has been a rocky transition. First, the posh Oahu hideaway that's long been a fave of presidents and potentates lost its Five-Star AAA status.

Now the hotel hounds at TripAdvisor are calling downhill alert on the venerable property, which sits on a prime stretch of beachfront ten minutes from Waikiki. In reviews over the past six months, the Kahala got one or two stars roughly 40 percent of the time. Take for instance this one:

rooms need work and the level of service for such an expensive resort was terrible. Definitely not up to their rating. Provided surf lessons and then neglected to provide the right gear resulting in serious injury to one of us.

Other reviews cite high rates and crappy rooms for those high rates. One even said the place was perfect for kids, which may sound the death knell for a luxury hotel.

Of course, we know TripAdvisor posters have been known to grind an axe or two. And speaking from first-hand knowledge, this property is hardly a dog. But clearly something is amiss in this regal resort.

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