Should Sean Penn Leave or Stay at the Turtle Bay Resort in Oahu?

Where: 7-091 Kamehameha Highway [map], Oahu, HI, United States, 96731

4/12/2007 at 2:38 PM
Tags: Celebrity Scoop, Hotel News, Oahu Hotel Reviews

[Ed. Note: Alex Salkever who's behind the island blog Hawaiirama returns this week to offer his opinion of the Turtle Bay resort, where Sean Penn is staying much to the dismay of some Oahu natives. Enjoy.]

According to Page Six and the blog Hollywood Interrupted, the self-righteous Tinseltown crusader Sean Penn and clan is vacationing at the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu.

This might seem an odd choice considering that the owners of land surrounding this hotel are embroiled in a controversial struggle to load up the pristine, rural coastline with thousands more condos and possibly anger Native Hawaiian activists who claim the site as an ancestral sacred spot.

Then again, the hotel recently resolved its union problems and it is the largest single employer on the economically challenged North Shore, so Penn's presence and copious spending are going to support real blue-collar working folks, something that he would be proud of.

And the maligned expansion plan, which I dislike for purely aesthetic reasons, enjoys a broad measure of support in the immediately surrounding community of Kahuku.

So should Sean stay or should he go? Tough call. At the moment, with the ground still unbroken for new construction and Penn supporting local union workers staying in a 30-year old hotel that's no longer an environmental flashpoint, he's got no reason to leave for now.

[Photo: Aruba14]

Related Stories:
· Turtle Bay Resort Oahu reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Oahu Outrage [Page Six]
· I am Sean! [Hollywood Interrupted]

1 Comment - Add Yours by juliana

Kahala Resort & Spa Losing Its Luster

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

12/06/2006 at 9:34 AM
Tags: Hawaii Hotel Reviews, Oahu Hotel Reviews, Luxury Hotels

[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.

Related Stories:
· Kahula Resort reviews [TripAdvisor]

0 Comments - Add Yours by ASalkever