Sheraton Waikiki, Hawaii
When opportunity presents itself to dip in the pool of luxury travel, we tend to get a good grip and dive in. Sheraton Waikiki, located next to the upscale shopping district and nestled on the beach right behind Diamond Head, has everything a visitor can expect from a luxury resort in the capital of the state.
An extremely busy property, right at the heart of the hustle-bustle of Waikiki and attracts a lot of tourists. This is a joint property of Sheraton and Royal Hawaiian (which is owned by SPG now). We drove in and right from the parking valets, to the greeters, and the front desk staff, we were up for a nice ride.
Even though valet was ~$10 they waived it off. We even got some goodie-bags to fill in the gift shop. The front desk staff were well versed and open to allow any requests. We were upgraded to their Malia suite (which was huge with two balconies overlooking the pool and the ocean). Beautiful room with upscale amenities.
The lobby was full of tourists because of the boutique shops and the fancy restaurants. So people watching is an option from the lobby. Good enough shopping district inside the hotel too. Good for shopaholics. 🙂
The pool (and staff) were courteous enough, but the drinks (as expected in a poolside) were below par. Good amenities for families with interesting light and sound shows in the pool after dark. We enjoyed that from the balcony a couple of times.
Extremely conveniently located to the designer shops and a variety of food options. Again, I never had a bad experience in an SPG property worldwide; this was not an exception, if not they surpassed my expectations.
P.S. Highlight of this property is the 30th floor Club lounge for elite members – provides stunning views of the waikiki beach. You can watch sunrise from here, and sunset from the pool. But food (breakfast 6-10am and hors d’oeuvres 4-8pm) is good; you can also network with other guests or soak in the views.