Aston Waikiki Circle Hotel

The staff was super nice and helpful. The location & view is the best! And it’s clean! But seriously, that’s about it. The rooms & bathroom are very small, like cruiseship small. The beds were so horrible. Nothing comfortable about them at all. Like sleeping on the floor, but with sheets. Even though there are 2 full size beds, there’s no way 4 people would ever be comfortable in the room. There are seriously no amenities. No pool. No hot tub.no gym. No waters in the room. No restaurant or bar. No microwave. No valet. Parking absolutely stinks. If you like all the fancy and luxurious things about hotels, this is not the one for you. If you just want somewhere to crash while you go to the beach all week, then this is your hotel!

While I thought the view from the room and the staff were great, I had to confirm with the taxi driver that I was at the right hotel, 3 times. It is an old hotel and not what I was expecting. The room confirmed my impression being very small, especially the bathroom (no bath only tiny shower). We made the 5 night stay work and chose to enjoy the positives.

This hotel is excellent in so many ways. You cannot beat its location, across the street from the ocean and a shower right there for cleaning off salt and sand before returning to the hotel. The rooms are not big, but the hotel is not big to begin with. That being said, they pack a lot of features into that room. The bathroom has shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion. Plenty of towels. A decent size TV with a DVD player(they have a free DVD check out in the lobby that is pretty well stocked with all genres of movies). The beds are doubles and are a little firm, lots of pillows ranging from flat to big and soft; plenty of clean sheets. I think these rooms would really be improved by swapping some of the rooms to a bunk bed and a queen/king combo option for families. There is a small desk with a kuerig(multiple coffee/tea packs with condiments). A dorm fridge, 2 complimentary refillable water bottles. A small closet and safe help with storage. The deck is the highlight of the room, the patio door opens in 2 segments basically completely open the room to the deck, and WHAT A VIEW! Air conditioner works well to keep the room cool even after having the room open for a while to take advantage of the view. The deck is big enough for the 2 chairs and table, along with room for maybe a couple of people also to stand. The rooms are reasonably quiet, with the patio door shut the noise from Kalakaua Ave is not bad. We did not hear much for noise from the hotel other than doors closing(as to be expected). I cannot say the same for our neighbors as we had 3 young boys that were a chore to keep quiet but we never heard a complaint. There is a water purifier machine in the lobby that was working most of our trip. I drank water from both the tap and this machine without a problem but I do think the water from the machine had a slightly better taste. A lending library and microwave are also in the lobby. In the parking lot is a rack of sand toys, boogie boards that are there to take for the day. There are surfboards locked away so I assume that they can be rented. Parking garage is convenient and can handle a mid sized SUV. Service: We had excellent service throughout the trip. Check-in was quick and we were early, no problem we got right into our rooms. We chose to upgrade and that was smart, our new rooms were higher and more directly faced the ocean. Throughout the week, I sent our young kids down multiple times to get ice(which is available from the front desk) and DVD's without a problem. When we needed more towels, they were always right there. Getting towels for the beach was always quick. We intentionally only had our room cleaned a couple of days during our week stay and always came back to a spotless room with new towels and bedding. LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! A 2 minute walk to the beach. A breakfast restaurant right in the lobby(we did not try it because there was a waiting list from 630 am to closure every day) A McDonalds(that does an ok job of getting orders right and decent speed) and within 2 blocks excellent restaurants and food trucks. ABC stores on both sides. Also across the street is a luau that goes on the weekends and tuesday evening. Overall, it is a small hotel that is not the best, but it is well worth its price and we would not hesitate to stay there again visiting Waikiki Beach.

I have many many things to say. Most are pretty awful. So let's start with the positive. Prime area to walk to malls and a beach just across the street, but be prepared to come across at least 20 homeless people on your way to and from any location (this has nothing to do with the hotel, just Waikiki in general). Day one and two of our 6 day stay, we had amazing service. Very polite and willing to help. The remaining duration of our stay we were met with side eyes and attitude from anyone involved in cleaning staff. Had a broken handle in the shower that was fixed the same day as our complaint. However, the rest of our trip, the water was only burning hot or ice cold, never a way to adjust to the temperature after they "fixed" the handle. The view we had of the ocean was decent, albeit not what we actually paid for. Now, the remaining review is everything else. This hotel basically scams you into a room and then makes you feel like an idiot for asking why we didn't get the room that we paid EXTRA to be in. When I made the reservation directly with a person who works there, I specifically asked for a room facing the ocean directly. Was very particular because it was a trip for a special occasion. Was told that cost a bit extra, I said no problem. Upon arrival, our room was facing in-between hotels, and we had to walk outside to see the ocean. Beautiful view, but NOT what I paid an extra 40 dollars PER NIGHT for. We asked the lobby why this was our room and were told, "You have to walk outside." At which point we were told that it would be at an additional 40 per night to get the room, which we were under the impression, was originally purchased. So for 350 per night, you can get an ocean facing room here. Otherwise, you see a hotel until you walk outside. Had I been informed of this information prior, it would not have been so bad if that's what I was expecting. However, they mislead you and charge you extra at every turn. Felt very scammed with the whole process. Onto the quality of the hotel. Great room service, wonderful balconies. Not a single bit of quiet will be met here. Peaceful nights sleep where you feel safe and can hear your tv, NOT GONNA HAPPEN. Doors are not soundproof when shut, and I could even fit my pinky in between the jambs when the door was locked shut. Bright light comes in from every direction. Ranging from any of the 4 fire alarms with flashing lights that never shut off to the light in the highway that comes in from the not fully closed door to your room. Also, the elevator is in the center of the building. You will feel it move and make noise anytime it runs. I felt so unsafe that I had to wedge towels into the door each evening in order to help actually shut the door entirely and help soundproof. My family and I were forced to play sleeping sounds at max volume, wear ear plugs, and headphones over them to drown out the absolute onslaught of noise from the highway downstairs. Upon complaint we were offered an "ocean front" room on the floor closest to the ground above the restaraunt on the bottom of the hotel directly facing and blocked by a TREE, or told to pay more for a different room further up. This was NOT HELPFUL. The offer they gave us was louder and could be looked into directly from the street below, so no privacy. We politely declined this offer and dealt with our room for the remainder of our stay. Overall, it was a terrible experience. I felt unsafe here and was treated with indifference anytime we asked why. The worst part is that this hotel offers amazing history and seems to be perfect on paper. I would NOT STAY HERE. After all of their extra costs, including parking, if you have a car and no breakfast provided, you'll be paying about the same as the all-inclusive hotel just down the street. Just go stay there, you'll have a better experience and see less homeless people on your doorstep every day. Pictures below.