{"id":5922,"date":"2014-01-02T14:58:22","date_gmt":"2014-01-02T19:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/verygoodpoints\/?p=5922"},"modified":"2014-12-29T12:59:13","modified_gmt":"2014-12-29T17:59:13","slug":"westin-moana-surfrider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/verygoodpoints\/2014\/01\/02\/westin-moana-surfrider\/","title":{"rendered":"The Westin Moana Surfrider Hotel Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Westin Moana is called the First Lady of Waikiki and opened in March of 1901. It\u2019s a beautiful historic hotel. The hotel has two wings, a historic wing, the rooms that surround the main courtyard, and a tower wing, which is a newer addition to the hotel.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Copyright:<\/a>

Copyright: Starwood Hotels & Resorts: Westin Moana Surfrider<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I was greeted with a flower lei and directed to check-in. \u00a0When I arrived at 2:30 pm, my hotel room was not yet ready. \u00a0I had requested a room upgrade by applying Starwood Suite Night Award Requests, but those were declined. \u00a0The hotel provided access to their newly opened lounge, called the Beach Club, until my room was ready. \u00a0They took my cell phone number and said they would call when it was ready.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The lounge opened on December 3 and is available to Platinum members of Starwood\u2019s Preferred Guest program, honeymooners and guests who booked Club level rooms. \u00a0The beach club is located on the first floor directly in front of the beach. It\u2019s very large and very nice. \u00a0You can access the lounge from 6am to 10pm daily. There are both indoor and outdoor seating areas. \u00a0It was lovely to sit on a couch outside overlooking the pool and beach while still having access to the amenities in the lounge.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\"Beach<\/a>

Beach Club Lounge Outdoor seating<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"Beach<\/a>

Beach Club Lounge refreshments<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

When I hadn\u2019t been called by 4pm I headed back to the front desk to ask about the status of my room. \u00a0I was told it was ready and they apologized for not calling. \u00a0I was given a room in the historic wing overlooking the courtyard. Little did I know how unfortunate that location would end up being.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The room was tiny, the size you would expect in New York or Hong Kong. There was a king-sized bed with only enough room to walk around it. I couldn\u2019t open my suitcase and lie it flat on the ground. There was a bench under the window where I put my luggage. \u00a0The windows were covered with wooden shades that opened to reveal the courtyard and a slight view of the ocean. \u00a0 The bathroom was also small but adequate. There was a shower (no bathtub), toilet and sink with very little counter space. \u00a0It worked for me, but I can\u2019t imagine anyone trying to share it.<\/div>\n
\n
\"Room<\/a>

Room at the Westin Moana Surfrider – that’s the whole thing…I’m staring against the door taking the photo.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"The<\/a>

The Bathroom at the Westin Moana Surfrider – You can see the entire bathroom here.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Since I\u2019d checked in on New Year\u2019s Eve, the hotel was packed and it showed. There were very few seats open at the pool and nothing on the private beach. \u00a0The restaurant was sold out for dinner but the hotel was offering a private party for $100. What did that include? Access to the courtyard area and private beach from 8pm – 2am with spectacular views of the fireworks. The price also included a party favor, light snacks and a glass of champagne at mid-night. For children there was a special candy station instead of the champagne.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\"Beach<\/a>

Beach at the Westin Moana Surfrider from the Beach Club Lounge outdoor area<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I headed to the beach club around 6pm for some appetizers – which were very good – and to watch the Times Square New Year\u2019s Eve festivities on CNN. \u00a0It\u2019s worth noting that CNN was only available in the lounge. At 8pm we were informed that the lounge was closing early and no one would be allowed in due to the special event. \u00a0So essentially, the hotel had taken away all opportunities for guests to see the fireworks, for free, from the hotel (unless of course you had a room looking at the ocean.)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I decided to have a nice dinner and call it a night around 10pm since I had an early morning flight. \u00a0Well, that didn\u2019t happen. \u00a0After dinner I realized that the private party was happening right under my room. There was the DJ and band with their flashing strobe lights and booming music. With the windows closed and wooden blinds shut I could hear the music and horns and shouts clear as day.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Wide awake, I decided to find somewhere to watch the fireworks from – I could sleep on my flight. \u00a0I noticed that one floor above me there was a balcony that seemed to open up to a hallway. \u00a0I went up one floor, to the 6th floor, and followed the hallway. The doors to the balcony were wide open and I went out. \u00a0I had a perfect view overlooking the courtyard, private party and more importantly, the water! \u00a0For a while, I was the only person out there. A few minutes later I was joined by a couple from Japan, an older woman and the Director of Housekeeping. \u00a0We had the best view in the house.<\/div>\n
\"image-1\"<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I really liked the Westin Moana Surfrider. I wish I’d been there beyond New Year’s so that I could have experienced the hotel when it was a little less chaotic and noisy. \u00a0Even though the room was small, the bed was very comfortable and and the shower had great water pressure. \u00a0The old historic wing creeks as you would expect an old hotel too, and you can hear through the walls, but it’s a very nice hotel none-the-less. \u00a0 The addition of a lounge, The Beach Club, is a great addition to the hotel.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I would absolutely return to the Westin Moana Surfrider if I’m in Waikiki again!<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Westin Moana is called the First Lady of Waikiki and opened in March of 1901. It\u2019s a beautiful historic hotel. The hotel has two wings, a historic wing, the rooms that surround the main courtyard, and a tower wing,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"The Westin Moana Surfrider Hotel Review #Hawaii #Waikiki #F2B @Westin","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[91,742,25,82],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Westin Moana Surfrider Hotel Review - VeryGoodPoints<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Westin Moana Surfrider, Westin, Moana Surfrider a Westin Hotel, Waikiki\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/verygoodpoints\/2014\/01\/02\/westin-moana-surfrider\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"The Westin Moana Surfrider Hotel Review - 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