The Ritz Carlton Oahu, Turtle Bay

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

6370 reviews

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  Mixed feelings after day 1. Not sure it lives up to the Ritz Carlton name or price.

  Day 1 started out very well with a friendly and helpful greeting from Sean at the front entrance. He quickly took care of our car and directions to check in. Check in was also wonderful with friendly service, Leis and clear room directions and check in. We were told we had to pay $40/day for parking. I have since heard that it is free at beach access and mixed information on whether it would be towed over night. Upon arriving at our room, the phone was ringing, as I ran to answer, I hit my toe on the corner of the base of the bed that was sticking out, and believe I broke it. I mentioned it to the manager and showed a picture of the bed and the base, and was told this is normal and he offered me ice to be brought to my room. I’m not sure what I expected? But I felt a bit let down. We had dinner at Alaia and found the food excellent, however value for the portion was not great. As well my husbands tenderloin was over cooked. We did not complain, as it was his birthday, and didn’t want to ruin the evening with negativity. The jumbo prawn add on he had, while good, was again not our idea of good value with 3 prawns for $18.00. We are enjoying our room with an ocean view balcony and the beach. There is coffee and tea in the room, which we also appreciate. Hoping the rest of the stay is better than day 1!

  Jan 27, 2025
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  beautiful setting, but don't expect a typical Ritz experience

  Ritz Carlton and 4 Seasons Hotels/Resorts usually guarantee 5 star service. While the setting (the old Turtle property) is unbeatable, and the common areas of the hotel meet expectations, that's where the positive reviews end. Our room was typical for what one would expect from an airport Hilton Hotels, with the exception that the soft products were totally unacceptable: single-ply toilet paper, rough tissues (which were not replaced when they went empty), small non-plush towels, and no bathrobes. I noticed that checkout time was 11am. Our conference finished at noon, and I asked if I could check out at noon instead of 11am, and was flatly denied the 1 hour grace period. While the setting is perfect, the Ritz Carlton experience was totally missing.

  Jan 23, 2025
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  Beautiful resort but not quite Ritz Carlton standard yet.

  This is a stunning resort in a beautiful location. The facilities are top notch and the fittings and furnishings are first class. We had a beautiful top floor club room with amazing views. We particularly enjoyed using the club facilities. On the negative side we were really disappointed not to be able to get a decent meal on the day we arrived as the only restaurant was fully booked and had to settle for bar snacks. The wifi in our room was hopeless (room 619) and ended up using the hotspot from my phone. The service too was poor with staff overstretched but doing their best even in the main restaurant. Overall we really enjoyed our stay and don’t mean to be hypercritical but expected just a bit more from a Ritz Carlton.

  Jan 20, 2025
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  Don’t miss Turtle Bay Tuesdays with Tad!

  It was an ultimate treat to relax, after a nice sunset drive around the North Shore, by dining at Turtle Bay. The elegant lounge-bar was enveloped in a timeless kind of atmosphere, thanks to the virtuosic vocal and guitar acoustics of musician Tad Jennings — a remarkably keen ear and charismatic stage presence! His music struck a delicate balance as both a captivating centerpiece and also a complimentary backdrop to dinner and drinks. We’ll try to time future North Shore journeys for Tuesdays again, with hopes Tad will be back there like before! 🌅

  Jan 18, 2025
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  We love the perfect Turtle Bay Resort

  We had the most amazing stay over Christmas at the Turtle Bay Resort. We've been to this property many times in the past and we as a family feel that it turning into a Ritz will definitely be an upgrade. Are there things management need to iron out? Absolutely. But that is true with any changes. If you absolutely NEED that Ritz Carlton experience, just wait 6 months until they've worked out their kinks. Think of this as still being in their soft opening time. If you're not stuck on having that and you are happy with the most friendly staff experience and the most beautiful beachfront resort property look no further. Upon arrival you will be greeted with the best team of Bellmen who will start you smiling and feeling that Aloha spirit. Then your jaws will drop as you walk through to the lobby and be floored with how absolutely stunning the views are from all directions. As you await your turn to check in you won't even mind the wait if you gaze at the perfect scene behind you. We wanted to thank Tanner and Scott who went above and beyond to make our room arrangements perfect as we were traveling with our teen boys. We didn't call ahead but they were able to move things around even though it was Christmas and they must be fully committed. You gentlemen were awesome! Our room had the view of the surfing beach and our boys had the view of the sandy beach and both were amazing. We had the sunset and they had the sunrise. You can't go wrong with either option. We left our lanai door open each night to listen to the sound of the waves lull us to sleep. We closed the blackout curtains and that was plenty enough to keep the lights from the resort from interfering with our sleep. Note that this will turn off the AC but the fresh Pacific ocean air in December was magnificent. We dined at all the restaurants that the resort had to offer and found that everything was delicious. No complaints except for the longer than average wait for our food at the pool. That might be one note we have for management that may make Turtle Bay perfect. I did hear a few staff complain that the kitchen leadership isn't there so maybe they should try to poach someone from a hotel in Waikiki to whip that in shape. I know places like the Marriott in Waikiki have their stuff down pat even when they are at full capacity. We hit the Lip bar every evening and we met so many amazing bartenders. You could tell how much they love working there and most have been there for a while. Our most favorite was Rosie who told us many amazing fun tales of Oahu and made great recommendations. If you don't want to stay in the resort for all your meals, as the resort is isolated -- in the best way possible -- from the rest of Oahu, you can do a quick drive 5-8 mins to the food trucks and have the best shrimp scampi you'll ever try at Giovanni's shrimp truck. Or drive the other way to Ted's -- their coconut chocolate pie is friggin to die for. Drive further down about 20 mins you'll find yourself in Haleiwa with tons of food options. With all that said, you definitely need a car when you visit Oahu or you'll find yourself pretty limited. Be respectful of the locals, appreciate their culture and don't be a A-Hole just because you can afford to stay at the Ritz Carlton and you will have the best time.

  Jan 03, 2025