Castle Waikiki Shore Beachfront Condominiums

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

853 reviews

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  Waikiki Shore can be good with the right unit!!

  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. We stayed for 2 weeks and by the second week, the lack of comfort in the living room was wearing on us. Sometimes you just like to just sit back and relax and there was nothing to sit on that gave you that comfort. We would certainly stay at Waikiki Shore again but not in Penthouse 4. This is a bit expensive staying here and you should be able to have a comfortable stay.

  Jan 04, 2025
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  Waikiki Shore 1408 - Great Experience

  We very much enjoyed our stay in this condo. The view is amazing, and one of the primary reasons we chose it. The unit is very spacious, and the king bed was very comfortable. Appliances, air conditioning and washer/dryer were all great, and in good working order. There were plenty of ‘starter’ amenities, and we didn’t have to purchase much on our own. Also, plenty of beach items were provided. The property is also right on the beach! We did not rent a car, but the location was outstanding, especially for walks along the beach if you are not swimming in the ocean! Kalakaua avenue is only a couple of blocks away, and there are many restaurants and shops within easy walking distance. The VRBO description of the property is also very detailed as well as accurate. This was booked through Captain Cook. We were greeted by Paul upon arrival, and he showed us the details of the condo, told us about nearby shopping and places to eat, and even walked us to a close-by ABC store! The only down note of our stay was one evening there was a power outage in the building that lasted over an hour, and we were not able to make contact with Paul at that time, so it would be good to know whom to contact in such a situation. Overall, we were most pleased with our visit, and would highly recommend this condo to anyone! If we are back for another visit to the Waikiki area, we would definitely stay here again!

  Oct 31, 2024
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  Perfect stay for a Hawaiian vacation!

  What an unbelievable condo. Right overlooking the beach. Views are perfect. Place was clean. Had everything we needed. So convenient for Waikiki! Perfect stay in room 1000 for a family! Staff was responsive and helpful. Stumbled onto this online and couldn’t have been happier!

  Jul 11, 2024
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  Perfect place to unwind..feed yourselves or go out to the many local eateries

  Excellent location. Very well appointed, every electrical appliance needed, even an air fryer ( we think it was)!! Snorkel, mask, float and beach towels all ready to use. Had a great sunset view. Washer and dryer easy to use. Came from the UK. The loo was interesting 😆…

  Jul 09, 2024
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  Views and Green sea turtles!!

  We loved everything about unit #1402. Amazing views from both sides of the unit. The beach area was small but so nice to swim in. Sea turtles are abundant in the afternoon along the rocks right out the condo. Plus in low tide you can tide pool critters and tropical fish. The unit itself was nice and clean. The only minor negative is that the shower head could be replaced. I would 100% come back here!!

  Jul 06, 2024