Castle Resorts & Hotels - Waikiki Shore

Buyer Beware!!! I won an auction and got to stay 2 nights at the Waikiki Shore Hotel. I went during the Thanksgiving Weekend 2024. Although I am Kamaaina, I did not know anything about this hotel when I bid on it. Well to say the least it is underwhelming! The building is old and the room I stayed in (Room #504), was pretty depressing. I honestly wanted to leave but my husband said no. We paid for this so we are going to stay he said. The room was very old, the bathroom tiny, and the bed was hard and you can feel the bed springs. You must wash your own towels and bed sheets but I was only staying for 2 nights so not a problem. There is also no housekeeping and you must put your rubbish bag outside your room for pick up.The next morning I noticed something crawling on the bed. I screamed for my husband and told him to kill the bug on the bed. Then I noticed on the pillow next to me two stains. To say the least, I left that day!!! I was so grossed out and upset. We went down stairs and told the front desk we were leaving early. She asked if everything was ok and I said No. our bed has bed bugs. She apologized and said for us to email the manager. My husband and I went to get breakfast and stopped by one store and then we left right after. The front desk girl said she emailed her manager. My husband also emailed the manager and I wrote a review on their satisfaction survey. 5 days later, we still heard nothing from management. So I'm here to warn people about our experience there. Don't go!!!!

We have stayed 3 previous times at Waikiki Shore, fairly recent, in 3 different units that were all outstanding. This is a review of "PENTHOUSE 6" in Waikiki Shore, where we stayed for 8 days. I'm giving this unit a 4 star rating but it is actually more like maybe a 3 1/2.The first thing you might notice when entering the unit is the great view. Especially if you haven't stayed here before. However, since we have stayed here several times and experienced 3 other great units, our first thought was "Is that all there is". Our previous stays have been in units that were extremely well furnished and felt homey and comfy. This one is not! It is kind of minimal furnishings with just what it will take to get by and no more. It sure could use some decorating to pick things up a bit.Couldn't tell for sure but was the couch really worn or is it dirty???One of the first things we noticed was upon getting to the room, we were walking in our bare feet and feeling sand on the floor. We ended up sweeping the entire unit and swept up a considerable about of sand. Housekeeping obviously didn't do that good of a job before we got there.This one bedroom has 2 bathrooms and for myself and my wife, we couldn't really care less. Other units that we stayed in have a closet where with this one, they put in a bathroom in that space instead. This bathroom is right next to the beds and when we went to use the sink, the water was extremely slow draining. I called down to the front desk and was told that maintenance would take care of it the next day. We were gone most of the next day and when we returned, it had not been fixed. Don't know if they even checked on it. I took it apart my self and you can see from the pics all the crap I cleaned out from the drain.The hairdryer I have pictured, did not work. Not only did it not heat up, but you could not turn it off if it did. What are you supposed to use it for??Do you think there could be more than (1) small little dish towel.The dishwasher is really poorly installed. The controls are on top, instead of in front, and when they installed it they put it under the lip of the counter top. The only way you can even use it is to put it on delay start and then close the door. Too much of a pain so we just washed the dishes by hand.The washing machine is a bit noisy and at least on some cycles, if you have a larger load, it really doesn't put in enough water. My wife would have to use the water pitcher to add water so the clothes would actually have something to agitate in??Like I said earlier, if this is your first visit to this building, the view is outstanding. But we have stayed in some other really nice units that have the same view but were furnished with everything you could possibly need for your stay. Maybe we got spoiled and possibly the owners of those units put a lot more into keeping them up and desirable to renters. These are condos and privately owned so it is up to the owners themselves to update their units. This is not a hotel so it does not have 24 hour front desk. That's fine with us though.This is an older building but they had just completed a major update of the front of the building and the lobby, early December. It really looks nice now and much better than the previous setup.For our needs and wants, the location is excellent and close to all that we do. We will be back to Waikiki Shore, but not to PH 6. The unit has lots of possibilities if the owner would ever decide to improve things.

Booked for the view, hence the two stars, but this is an old building and our room was pretty shoddy. We were told multiple times when checking in, NO SMOKING. Which is fine, because we don't smoke. We just wanted to sit on the lanai and enjoy the view. But everyone around us smoked and we got to inhale it all. Plus we had the glass blinds that don't fully close, so the smell came into our room. Our shower was badly clogged, and when we showered, it leaked so much, we showered under the leak more than the shower head. The AC leaked all over the furniture. The pullout couch was horrible and had about 5 layers of Orange egg carton padding. We had two adults sleep there for a week. We had four in the room but they only allowed two key fobs so we had to figure out where to meet each other to swap fobs to get in. Had questions for the front desk at 8am but the janitor told me they don't open until 9, although the front desk employee was in the next room laughing with security. They were doing construction at 6:30 am, which was incredibly loud and super enjoyable on vacation. Our water was turned off for that as well. Again, the views were cool, but it's not worth it.

It is what it is! This is Hawaii. It's beautiful. It's also very expensive to renovate and/or build here. That said, this is clearly an old building, but we understand the "charm" of an older building means it may not have all the bells and whistles of a mainland property. The location is outstanding- we watched the sunset every evening we were in our condo. We could also just take the elevator to the first floor, and walk out to the beach. That's pretty awesome!Now here's the drawbacks- one ice tray, one terrible fry pan,twin beds pushed together to make a king size bed, and not the friendliest front desk staff. These are easy fixes. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat for the location alone. Don't be an "ugly" tourist, people. Appreciate the beauty of Hawaii and be respectful of their culture as an island state and the rich heritage we are blessed to visit. Mahalo!

We rented penthouse 10 for our daughter's 30th birthday the week of 12/20/22 to 12/27/22. The room was on the 15th floor (highest floor) and described as an ocean view and that's what we got. Updated kitchen but outdated table/chairs and bedroom furniture. The living room furniture was ok. A pull out couch that made into a hard bed and a side single sofa chair. The bathrooms appeared to be redone w/a stackable washer/dryer that worked but was LOUD! The blow dryer shut off every 2 minutes, so bring your own. It was a two bedroom 1.5 bath, with full kitchen/appliances. It was stocked with a big pot, two medium frying pans and a smaller pan but thankful I shipped a box of disposable tins to cook the ham in as there were no baking dishes. Was told they are not allowed to keep any spices from the previous guest so I also shipped many spices along with tinfoil, plastic wrap, freezer bags and any other kitchen items I may have needed. They provided laundry, soap, toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags and old worn beach towels but they got the job done. There was a SMALL rice cooker, coffee pot (not pods) and a blender. The potato peeler, and knives on hand were SO DULL I had to buy a decent knife/peeler so I could use it for the week. They had dishes, cups etc. for six.We hosted 14 family members on Christmas and made it work as some people ate on the LARGE lanai (patio). My nephew brought over a folding table for the food so it worked out.There was a television in bedroom one, but not in bedroom two but you're not on vacation in Hawaii to watch TV however, my husband is a sports fanatic, and was looking forward to all the holiday games but the tv/cable were not working. They couldn't get it repaired till Monday and we were leaving Tuesday. My husband complained and the assistant manager offered to let my husband watch the games in another room. The bedrooms have NO WALLS. One has an accordion slider and the other 3 mirror sliders for privacy. You can still hear through the sliders. They lanai (balcony is huge)! They had 1 round table and 4 chairs. We were able to see the Friday night fireworks from our balcony (perfectly). Once you come down the elevator and walk to the gate you are RIGHT on the beach (it's popular) as they have a teriyaki, ice cream/smoothie/açaí bowl place and a decent sized store to buy toiletries, souvenirs, t-shirts, hats, towels, beach stuff etc. below building. You can also rent Kayaks/flotation devices, and beach chairs w/umbrellas. For what we paid for the week it was extremely pricey just over 5k as it was the busiest season in Hawaii, but we obviously paid for the view and to be right on the beach. There are 2 elevators, 1 was out of service (same thing when I stayed there 4 years before) so something tells me it's non functional. You are right next to Fort Derussy beach park and walking distance to the Hale Koa hotel (on the paved beach path). We also attended Sunday church service at the beach at the Hilton Hawaiian Village beach area (all short walking distance within each other). You are also a short walk to the beginning of Waikiki, Yard House and other eateries. When we went to Dukes, we took a lyft as it's about a 10-15 min walk but still close. We only stayed there as we hosted Christmas on vacation but had many Kanikapilas (gatherings) with family from the mainland and Hawaii & it worked out. They did make it right for our complaints and refunded a few days but feel they should have had EVERYTHING checked out before our arrival to ensure everything was in working order.

We stayed here last week and it was good! Here's the breakdown:The Hotel: The building is older but it was fine. Everything worked. Our room was on the 7th floor with an awesome ocean view. Nice to wake up to that view every morning. The two double beds were fine but the sofa bed was not comfortable. It was convenient to have a kitchen in the condo. Parking is available (for a fee) in their garage or on their ground level. The front desk staff was great! Kayla was very patient with my cranky mom and gave some good tips on things to do on the island. Very grateful for her service.Location: I was hesitant about the location because I've stayed more in the heart of Waikiki in the past but I was totally mistaken. The location is awesome! It's steps away from DeRussy Beach which was less crowded than Waikiki Beach. ABC store/Long's Drugs is not far away for snacks and water.Hopefully, I can make it back to Oahu again soon and will probably stay at Castle Waikiki Shore!

We got a room on 8th floor with ocean view and balcony from every room. Checking in was a bit slow as there was only one window due to renovations. We found bed bugs on our last two nights there. It was so gross and stressful. We caught the some of the bugs and saved them in a ziplock bag with a note for housekeeping. We also notified front desk who didn't seem to care about the bug issue. We also emailed and notified them via the booking site, as well as the survey they sent out. So far, no one has gotten back to us.

This place was amazing!! So nice! Courteous staff and beautiful views! This place has everything at a great price! Price is excellent. Central location to everything. Excellent location! Definitely will come back here and highly recommend the stay! So wonderful!!

This is a review for Penthouse 4 at Waikiki Shore.A piece of advice for those looking to book Waikiki Shore, and you haven't stayed here before. Book only through Castle Waikiki, VRBO, Air BnB, or Captain Cook. Do not book through other 3rd. party sites. The reason is, you want to be able to book a specific condo and those other sites don't do that. From them, you only get a unit that is available when you arrive. This is why you are seeing some of these very negative reviews.For us, this is our 5th. time staying at Waikiki Shore. Each stay has been in a different unit and this review is for Penthouse 4, which we would rate between a 3 and 4 star. There are other units we've stayed at here that we would give the rating a 5 star, but not PH 4. First, for us, you can't beat the location or the view from the unit, especially from the upper floors.That being said, you need to remember that these are condos, NOT a hotel, and each unit has been decorated and furnished, according to the owner of the specific unit. We have been fortunate in usually picking very good units in our stays but we have seen some of the other units and some of those are units we would never ever stay in!Waikiki Shores has had some remodeling done in the last couple years and the lobby area now looks very nice and updated. We have always found the front desk staff to be friendly and helpful. If you are driving, there is paid underground self parking, or you can park in a paid parking lot across the street. If you park at the hotel, you will be given a remote control for the garage door and an assigned parking spot. Very convenient for what we like to do.Right next door is a beautiful open area park and Fort DeRussy army museum. Well worth the visit. Once again, the location is great and you can pretty much walk to all of Waikiki, and the surrounding area, without being stuck right in the middle of everything super busy in the heart of Waikiki.Now, onto the Penthouse 4 review. If you have never stayed at Waikiki Shore before, the first thing you might do when walking into this unit is walk directly over to the balcony and say, Wow! Yes, the view is there. However, since we had stayed in the building 4 times previously, we admired the view, as we always have, but we looked more at the furnished unit.We have stayed in a few other units here that were like staying in someone's home and they were really furnished outstandingly. Everything you could possibly want or need. This one was not! PH 4 was furnished more in a "that's good enough mode", and in our opinion, it isn't. Furnish the condo but don't spend too much doing it was what it felt like.When we booked the unit, there were only a few pics of the unit online. Not like other units we had rented before that had many pics of everything. Because of that, we didn't expect much so that we wouldn't be totally disappointed. Therefore, it was pretty much what we may have expected.One of the first things that stood out was that there really wasn't anyplace to sit back and relax in comfort. The couch is a sofa bed and it was certainly not comfortable to sit on for any length of time. Some of these are comfortable to sit on, but this one was not. Then there are 2 matching easy chairs that seemed more like something you might put into a model home to stage the place. These are even less comfortable to sit on than the couch. The best we could do is take an office chair, that was there, and put a pillow on it to try to be comfortable. We were very disappointed by mainly the lack of comfort in the living room area.The bed was a twin put together to make a King. It was decent sleeping but nothing to brag about. The rest of the unit, table, chairs, kitchen, bathroom, etc. was ok, until you get to the washer and dryer. What was that??!! I don't believe we can remember a nosier unit. With the washer, you were only able to put a low level of water in the tub and then could only wash small loads at best. When it was running, it was so noisy that I thought the whole building might be able to hear it. Can't say that the dryer was much better.Since we have stayed in this building several times before, we have come to expect certain things of the condos. One of them is the fact that this building is right on the beach and there is sand. Most of the time we have always found some sand on the floor when we arrive. Housekeeping sometimes doesn't do the best job getting it all. We always end up sweeping the floor as soon as we arrive, before we even get settled in. It's a given and the way it is. If you plan to do any cooking, there are enough things in the kitchen to get it done. Typical frig., oven, and microwave but no dishwasher.As I said earlier, the location and view is great from Waikiki Shore. Depending upon what you want from the place you stay in, this might be just right for you.

The location was on the beach at Waikīkī, just as advertised--great! It was the only thing about the condo that was as advertised. We purchased two KING bedroom suites for four adults for our family vacation trip via booking.com I wanted to splurge and provide my family with the best! Instead, the minute we paid for the vacation, they switched our reservation to assigned upon arrival instead of Kings. They claimed they reserved the right to assign beds upon arrival. They clearly advertise a king or two twins. for the price we chose and paid for. We got neither. I emailed them to request the king beds we paid for in the $5100 price per week. We received two double beds suites. The beds were at least twenty years old. They had SPRINGS sticking up in the mattresses, were lumpy, squeaked with every move, and were incapable of providing any sleep. We all woke up with backaches every day. They advertised AC. Our suite had none, although our kid's room did. Awful. We sweated, and I woke up with a headache every day. They had no internet in our room, but the kids room did. After three days, they finally replaced the broken internet modem. They advertise dishwashers, but they had none. Awful. I cooked two meals every day for a week, and had to handwashi the dishes in a tiny sink, with about five inches to wash, with only COLD water! They SHUT the water off one day, but didn't repair it. AWFUL! After 4 nights of our complaining about the AC being broken, they finally moved us to a KING suite, which is what we paid for. When I asked them to move our kids to a king suite also (for the third time) I was told by the front desk that they never give king suites to booking.com reservations, only to VRBO and Air B&B. I repeatedly asked for the king suites all week long, as that is what we paid for in our reservations, and Castle Waikīkī Shores refused to comply or help us. All week long, I contacted booking.com via written customer service on their app, who contacted Castle Waikīkī Shores which is the only reason they fixed the internet modem after 3 days, and moved us to what they called 'an upgrade' King suite because the AC technician they sent pronounced the AC dead. Thank you Booking.com. We requested a partial refund due to the awful beds incapable of providing a night's sleep, through booking.com, who contacted Castle Waikīkī Shores for us who refused to grant ANY REFUND at all. Booking.com agreed our stay was awful, and apologized with a fifteen % refund from them, stating the Castle Waikīkī shores ought to be removed from their site with enough honest reviews. I'd NEVER EVER stay there again. They are dishonest--stating we never complained about the beds (which we did daily), nor the internet, nor the AC. So then why did they send the technicians to try to fix them? We're in our 70's and our kids in their 30's, and have never stayed in such a dump before. I didn't believe the one bad review I read that sounded like the one I just wrote because I didn't want to cancel the reservation--wish I had! I was so embarrassed to have provided such a poor accommodation for my family vacation. The pictures in their website do not match what you will receive. They must have been taken forty or fifty years ago when everything was new. Now you receive a tired, broken down bed, ugly dusty decor, a fire trap with excess plugs in each socket. Oh, I forgot to mention the toaster that burnt our toast each day, and the coffee maker that broke on day four after blowing the circuit protector in the kitchen, and wouldn't reset. DON'T STAY HERE EVER--YOU'LL REGRET IT, AND WASTE A PILE OF MONEY. Lots of pictures on my booking.com review. (broken door to bedroom, taped shut, looks like it'd been broken 10 years . . . old, ugly decor, unlike the photos.