Don't Do It: Overprice and Undervalue
Written: Apr 05 '05 (Updated Apr 07 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Dining at Azul; Drinks and food at Poolside Bar/Grill
Cons: Staff Attitude; Spa Privacy; Room Cleanliness; Poor Construction Quality; Safety; Cost per Value; Weather
The Bottom Line: Unfortunately, I'd say: Burn it down; Stay in Honolulu and drive to see it.
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| tera-n-jason's Full Review: Marriott J.W. Ihilani Resort and Spa |
As a prologue let me mention this trip was our honeymoon; one of several trips I've made to Hawaii but my bride's first island adventure--and what an adventure it turned out to be! Before reading our review though, I recommend everyone read up on the weather and look at any photos of Ko'Olina: it's windy; not just breezy, but WINDY. Every photo shows the palms with all the fronds on one side of the tree...get it?
Our adventure to the J.W. Marriott Ihilani Resort included the valet losing our car (at sunset) and making us stand around 45 minutes without any feedback or accountability on the progress of their search. Our J.W. Marriott adventure also included seeping and staining of the ceiling in the shower stall, stains around the electrical outlets in the entryway, mysterious goo on the bedside furniture (ewww!) and storm damage exposing the sharp metal flashing on the sidewalls of the outside lanai. All of this in a $600 / night "deluxe suite" for our honeymoon! We took pictures of all the shabby, unhealthy or downright dangerous conditions as documentation--too bad we can't include them into this review. If we had children, I wouldn't feel safe leaving them to play unattended anywhere in the room or lanai for fear of them hurting themselves on something.
About the Ihilani Spa: it's calm, quiet and has complete amenities, but the "private spa and exercise pool" is actually a haven for vacationing early teens escaping their parents--hotel guests have only to pay a service fee to gain access to this portion of the resort so expect kids playing in the exercise room, tennis courts and spa pool! My bride and I wanted to spend quiet time together in the spa after our massages but the upper-deck pool area was the only co-ed locale and it was overrun with kids!
The biggest complaint I have is regarding the resort staff themselves. An allegedly five-star resort, the J.W. Marriott Ihilani Resort would have a "requirement" for courtesy and a "whatever it takes to satisfy the guest" motivation. We found neither courtesy nor motivation present in the staff. Instead, we received either a "take it or leave it" or "couldn't care less" attitude regarding any of our documented concerns. (It must be said however, that these negative attitudes were not reflected in the dining, bar service and wait staff, who were meticulous, thorough, and a complete delight.)
While we're on the subject of dining, I should mention some of the most positive and memorable experiences were at mealtimes. We arrived in early afternoon and after exploring the grounds (passing three of the pretty beach-lagoons while holding our hats and leaning into the wind) we returned to the main building and stopped by the poolside grill for a late lunch. The barstaff was very friendly and efficient. The poolside menu was a bit longer than expected with 6-8 appetizers ranging from pupu's to Maui Onion rings and also included as well as several hot and cold sandwiches as entrees. Of course they served the usual island libations to cool us down from the walk.
Dinner at Azul was equally memorable and [ful]filling. It's nice to have a thorough attention to detail in a dining experience. While the menu was a delight to review, our wait staff explained that the chef would be happy to accommodate any taste or interest, whether shown on the menu or not. That was all the prompting I needed to change my order around slightly. While my wife enjoys more "stock" fare, I tend to regularly ad-lib when ordering--it was nice to be encouraged in that regard. Together we enjoyed a custom 4 course meal, splitting both an appetizer and a wonderful shrimp bisque first course. For entrees I can heartily recommend both the prime fillet medallion my wife ordered and the "speciality" parmesan-crusted veal chop so large I could barely put a dent in. I also recommend keeping the winelist at the table and selecting by-the-glass for each course--it ends up costing as much as a bottle but a variety of quality wines can be better enjoyed that way. Dessert, perhaps as a treat for being last served that evening, was on-the-house; I was persuaded to try their yummy tahitian vanilla-bean creme brulee.
Without a doubt, the dining was the best part of our adventure; if only it was enough to overcome the really poor hotel staff attitudes and poor quality accommodations.
Going into the honeymoon, we were Marriott Rewards members, and were seriously considering vacation ownership. I felt it important to not just sit through a 90 minute presentation, but experience the resort first-hand with a stay.
If we had it to do over again, we would have gone Hilton. I'm now in the process of trying to convert my Marriott Rewards points to Hilton Honors!
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
tera-n-jason
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Reviews written: 1
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