Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa | Ocean Front King

Home base for all things Waikiki.

Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii — Located centrally on the Waikiki waterfront, the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa was an ideal place to base my partner’s first time in Hawaii as part of an anniversary vacation. The hotel’s location directly across the street from the protected areas of Waikiki beach is great for beachgoers looking for calm waters, especially families with small children. The beachfront property is a strong Hyatt offering for this part of Honolulu, and we booked via the Hyatt Privé program which we’ll discuss further in the post.

Date(s) Stayed: 2023 September 23-27
Room Type: Ocean Front King (upgraded from Ocean View King)
Elite Status: Hyatt Globalist
Notables: Fantastic location on central Waikiki Beach, strong World of Hyatt member recognition, Regency Club access for Globalists.

Location
The Hyatt Regency Waikiki is a fairly large twin-towered property located centrally on Waikiki Beach, essentially across the street from the famous Duke statue. This provides guests with access to the free public beach with a quick walk across Kalakaua Avenue in front of the hotel. The swim wall sections of the beach protected from the ocean surf are a mere 500ft (150m) or so from the front entrance, and we saw many families enjoying the calmer waters in this area during our stay.

The property is located approximately 20 minutes by car if the highways are clear but expect upwards of 30-45 minutes during Waikiki rush hour. It is also directly reachable by public bus #20 in approximately 45-60 minutes.

The hotel is approximately 10-15 minutes by foot from the Royal Hawaiian shopping center and about 10 minutes by car (45 minutes by foot) from the Ala Moana shopping mall. A quick 10-minute drive gets you to the entrance of Diamond Head if you fancy a hike.

The Room
We were given a King Ocean Front room on the 22nd floor of the South Tower, upgraded from our original King Ocean View booking. Each of the two towers on the property is roughly octagonal with three sides offering ocean front rooms.

The king bed was clean and very comfortable. I would subjectively call it plush medium firm. On either side of the bed were nightstands each with a lamp. One side had a small clock/iPod dock with a USB port. There were no USB or power outlets built into the nightstands, but both sides of the bed had a standard US power outlet nearby for charging electronics.

Opposite the bed were dressers and a desk which offered plenty of space to spread out. A large flatscreen TV and wall clock (which was nonfunctioning) rounded out this side of the room.

Further into the room is a lounge chair and larger lamp. Beyond that is the ceiling to floor slide glass door which opens onto a balcony containing a small table and pair of chairs. This was a nice place to relax (especially during the sunset), and we ended up eating dinner in-room here one evening.

Upon entering the room for the first time, we were greeted by a reusable branded shopping bag and two water bottles that you may keep, making them decent functional souvenirs. Additionally, a welcome amenity of macadamia chocolates and local Hawaiian snacks was also provided; this is not a normal inclusion but rather a benefit of booking through the Hyatt Privé program.

Rounding out the room are a relatively unremarkable closet as well as bathroom. The bathtub and toilet are separated from the rest of the room. The toilet does have a bidet which was nice and a likely inclusion for the many Japanese and Korean tourists that visit Hawaii. Above the bathtub is an extendable clothesline which is a nice touch for drying wet bathing suits and towels. Included amenities/toiletries were Noni branded.

Dining
The Hyatt Regency Waikiki offers various dining options to fit a variety of guests and schedules. The hotel itself has three dining spaces and the Regency Club, while the shops on the ground floor offer quicker take-out options.

Breakfast is served in the SHOR restaurant from 6AM to 11AM daily. For those who do not have breakfast included in with their booking, the buffet breakfast cost $39.99 per adult (13 years or older) and “pay-your-age” for children aged 6 to 12 years old at the time of this stay.

The breakfast buffet was fairly comprehensive, with various rotating hot Western and Eastern options, cold cuts and cheeses, a bread and pastry station, as well as an egg station. For Hyatt Globalists who have the option to take breakfast at SHOR or the Regency Club, it may be worth eating at SHOR at least once since the breakfast menu is more robust compared to the club.

The dinner option is The Buffet at Hyatt, open from 5PM to 9:30PM, and specializes in seafood and Korean-inspired cuisine. We did not try this place during our stay due to other plans, but it seemed very popular for guests dining onsite and reservations can be made ahead of time on the hotel’s website here.

For guests wanting to spend more time around the pool, the poolside SWIM restaurant and bar is open all-day from 7AM to 10PM. In addition to serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, it also offers a happy hour between 4-6PM and live music after 6PM.

The hotel atrium also offers other options for snacks and dining. At the time of our stay, options included a coffeeshop, ice cream/gelato, and Japanese dining. For the most up to date information regarding dining options at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, check the hotel website here.

Lounge/Club
The Regency Club located behind the 3rd floor Buffet At Hyatt restaurant was open at the time of this stay and accessible by all Hyatt Globalists and select guests staying in Club access rooms (Note that Hyatt Privé rates DO NOT include club access). A different room keycard denoting their club access is issued to these guests. The Regency Club is open from 6AM to 9PM daily.

Guests with club access may elect to enjoy their breakfast in the Regency Club from 6AM to 10AM daily, instead of the SHOR restaurant as noted above. The club breakfast selection was slightly smaller than SHOR’s, but the space is a little more private and less bustling.

Those with club access can come and go as they please with card access. Juice, soft drinks, coffee, tea and light snacks were available all-day. In the evening, hors d’oeuvre, beer and wine were served and could suffice as a light dinner if one so chose.

The Regency Club was a nice place to pop in for a quick coffee or snack in-between activities throughout our stay, but it remained steadily busy throughout the day, especially with so many families around, so I would not personally use it to relax or get any work done.

Other Amenities
At the time of our stay, the pool was open from 8AM to 9PM, and the whirlpools and hot tubs were open from 8AM to 10PM. Pool towels are available to borrow from the nearby towel machines which are accessible by room keycard. The poolside cabanas can be book in advance on Hyatt’s website here.

The Na Ho’ola Spa located near the pool is open from 9AM to 5PM daily and offers various massages, facial and body treatments. For more information about the various spa treatments, check Hyatt’s website here.

The gym is accessible 24/7 by card access and contained various cardio equipment as well as weight benches and squat racks.

There is 24/7 self-laundry facilities on the property though we did not use them during our stay. To see the full list of amenities available at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, see the hotel’s website here.

Booking via Hyatt Prive
The total cost for this stay was $1,629.68 cash for 4 nights ($407.42 per night) through the Hyatt Privé booking program. Note that the property was charging a $49/night resort fee at the time of our stay. This fee is waived for Hyatt award stays and Hyatt Globalist members booking directly with the hotel.

The Hyatt Privé program provides further benefits such as included free breakfast for two, a guaranteed room upgrade, welcome amenities, and other luxuries at certain participating Hyatt properties. The room must be booked via a travel agency that offers Hyatt Privé bookings. The program offers one way to achieve elite status-like benefits if you otherwise do not have elite status with Hyatt.

While I was Hyatt Globalist at the time of the stay, I originally made the booking via Hyatt Privé before I made Globalist because I was not sure I would make the status in time. It ended up being a nice experiment booking through the Hyatt Privé program regardless.

We booked via Prince of Travel (no personal affiliation, just giving kudos) via an online form, and one of their agents reached out quickly to complete the booking for us by email. The whole process was very easy and worth considering if you want something a little extra for your Hyatt stays. To see an updated list of properties participating in Hyatt Privé, check out One Mile At A Time’s post here.

Hotel Website
https://www.hyatt.com/hyatt-regency/en-US/hnlrw-hyatt-regency-waikiki-beach-resort-and-spa

Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card
Hyatt is a valuable hotel transfer partner of the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a powerful entry-level travel card for U.S.-based travelers looking for some basic travel protections, including trip cancellation/interruption insurance, primary auto rental collision damage protection, and no foreign-transaction fees.

Additionally, travelers can earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be redeemed at an elevated 1.25 cents per point for travel through the Chase travel portal, used for statement credits, or transferred to hotel or airline partner programs like Hyatt for potentially outsized value.

For more information, you can check out the Chase website here. At this time Chase is offering potentially 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points sign-up bonus if you are approved for the card and meet the minimum spending requirements. If you are interested in applying for this card and wish to continue supporting this blog, consider doing so through this LINK. We receive a referral bonus if you are approved for a card which will help fund future reviews. Thank you in advance for your support!