Stayed at the JW Ihilani for 3 nights in late April. Got a room with a sunset view, away from the pool & lagoon side. It was wonderful to sit out on the spacious balcony & watch the sun set over the ocean. Most nights there was music coming from a nearby luau that could bother some people if they wanted to goto sleep before 10pm, but it didn't affect us. Also, birds made alot of noise just before sunrise, but it didn’t bother us. Other reviews have have talked about which oceanview is better & there are pros & cons to to each view. One thing about rooms overlooking the pool & lagoon- if you're up on a very high floor, you may see a nearby construction site which may be an eyesore to some. If early morning bird noise & evening luau sounds would bother you, don't stay on the sunset oceanview side. But the sunsets were awesome.

We found the hotel staff to be very friendly & helpful. We didn't eat in the hotel, but we did have lunch at the nearby Roy's at Ko Olina. We thought it was a pretty decent value for lunch. (The burgers, while costing $11 were tasty & HUGE) We did the timeshare interview & it really wasn't bad at all. It's worth doing to save $100. I played golf at the Ko Olina course, $145 for hotel guests with cart, & it's fine. Nothing too special but it was in good condition. At worst, it's still a fun round of golf while in Hawaii. Parking at the hotel is $15/day whether you self park or valet.

As for stuff to do at the Ihilani, we did the Ray & Reef Adventure where you pay $40 pp to feed the fish, rays, & sharks in the shallow pools around the hotel. It was an hour long, the people that run it were very nice, relaxed & answered all of our questions. it was alot of fun. Every day there’s a free fish feeding session out by the ocean lagoon at 7:30am where you stand in the surf & watch the person feed the waiting fish. Kids have fun at the feeding. They give you a free souvenir fish ID card which you can use while you snorkel. They rent snorkel gear for $8/hr or $15/day & we did that one day. Saw some neat fish, & the water is pretty calm in the lagoons. We also did the catamaran cruise one afternoon & it was a blast. They took us out to a spot near the resort where all sorts of fish congregate. A pod of spinner dolphins hang out there, & they jump out of the water, spin around, twist themselves & splash back into the ocean. The boat captain said these dolphins like to do this when they are "happy". Snorkeling there was fun too to see all the fish. The cruise was 4 hrs long, they feed you, $100 per person; we thought it was worth it. As for our actual room, we loved it. The bathroom is quite large with a shower, separate bathtub, two counters with sinks, & a separate toilet area. The bed was VERY comfortable, not your usual hotel mattress, & you have a nice couch, armchair & desk as well. The bedside phone is very cool w/ a touch screen & can be used to adjust the A/C, & lights. The balcony is huge, w/ typical backyard outdoor wooden furniture. There's a small fridge & a room safe. The cleaning staff each day puts ice into your ice bucket.

2 exits away from the resort is the town of Kapolei (5 min drive). If you don't want to eat at the hotel, most of your food options are here. Generic, everyday type of restaurants, NOT high-end dining for you foodie types. For other needs, a Safeway is here, as is Long's Drugs and a KMart. Ate at a "Hapa Grill" which I wouldn't recommend since it was nothing special. Would recommend "L and L BBQ" which is a local chain - good generic Hawaiian plate lunch type of food. There's a Japanese and Chinese restaurant in the area as well. And I think I saw a Chili's too.

Overall, we had a blast staying at the Ihilani. No problems with the hotel grounds, facility, room, & staff. We enjoyed spending time in the water, whether it was in the pool, lagoons, or out on the ocean. The resort is an easy 20 minute drive away from Honolulu airport (NOT in rush hour traffic). Waikiki would probably be another 15-20 minutes away. As for whether the Ihilani is a true 5 -star or just a 4-star I can't say since we don't stay at 5-star resorts. Nonetheless, we really enjoyed our visit to the Ihilani, especially b/c we felt there were activities in and around the resort that we wanted to do. We would definitely consider staying here again if we returned to Oahu!

We just returned from a wonderful vacation at the Ihilani Resort and Spa. Everything was excellent. We arrived a day late because of airline delays and the Ihilani more than made up for it. They immediately upgrated our room to an Ocean view deluxe. The service throughout the hotel, from the bell boy to restaurant staff, was outstanding. The food in the hotel restaurants, although expensive, was delicious. My twelve year son and seven year old daughter had a vacation they will never forget. The pool and lagoons were perfect. We are planning a return trip next year!

First of all I have to say that we absolutely loved our vacation at this hotel. If you use Trip Advisor a lot you already have read the great things about this property. We did get an upgrade to a partial ocean view room 730 which actually faced the sunset. I think this view was better then just a direct ocean view were you would not see the sunset if you wanted to.

Here are some practical pointers for those who are practical people like me.

1.Go to the Grocery store in the town before the Ko Olina and stock up on a few things that I refused to pay for at the hotel. $3.50 for one bagel, $10 for drinks by the pool, $8 for a kids hot dog, etc. We bought 6 bagels for $3 and some PB & J for our little boy who is 3 ½. We would get our free coffee from the lobby and just sit on our Lanai enjoying our view without spending a lot of money just for breakfast.
2.Walk down to the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club and check out their buffet menu for the week. For some reason the prices over at the Beach Club were less the JW. On Saturday night they had a seafood buffet for $33.95 at the hotel the same seafood buffet was $42.95? The buffet at the Beach club was really good and I think the view was even nicer.
3.I was actually looking forward to getting a babysitter for one night or even putting our son in their kids club. Forget that at $16 an hour with a 4 hour minimum just to go out for dinner for an hour and a half was not worth it to me. Even the kids club at around $50 a day I thought was way too pricey.
4.If you valet or park it your self you get charged $15 a day which I guess if your spending the money for the hotel what’s $15. Except last year when we stayed at the Marriott in Kappalua Bay (which has been shut down for renovation) you at least got something for your parking. They called it a resort fee which got you an appetizer in the bar each # and a discount in the restaurant.
5.If you can bring your own snorkel gear. It’s not the best of snorkeling so why pay to rent their equipment when you can bring your own.

Overall, a great place to relax, highly recommend it…

Okay, having read so many reviews about the Ko Olina, I was a bit nervous about our stay there. Having traveled AROUND the world and stayed at places such as the Ritz, St Regis, and the Fairmont, I was somewhat concerned. So here are my thoughts about what everyone has been saying.

1) It is far out but when you look at the description on Marriot's site, you get that feel. If you want Waikiki, then stay there. The beauty of this resort is the fact that you are secluded from Honolulu and Waikiki. Yes, the traffic is AWFUL in the am but knowing that, leave early, get your sites seen in the morning and go back to the resort for a relaxing afternoon. If you want hustle and bustle, stay in Waikiki, if you want to relax, stay here.

2) Kids, yes, they are everywhere but I have noticed that trend in all of my travels. And there is nothing that you can do about it. We do not have kids nor do I want to be around them on my vacation, so we went to the beautiful adjoining lagoon instead. And to be honest,the lagoon is so breathtaking that you feel guilty for not taking advantage of it to go sit by the pool. Bottom line, I wish I could go to a resort where kids were not allowed but unfortunately we have to co exist....outside of the pool, I didn't seem to notice. We were also there Easter week.

3) Breakfast...no, I would not spend 50.00 on a bufffet either for two people but they do offer a lobby cafe that has a variety of pastries, toasts, fruit, smoothies, coffee, and juice. Having read the reviews I was expecting that there would be no options, but there is. So for those going - do not worry. Or eat later in the am and combine it with lunch (which we did one day), you will be stuffed till dinner.

4) Restaurants, having lived in NYC for over ten years, I consider myself a food snob to say the least. However, we ate the hotel every night and never once was I dissapointed. If you are looking for a cheaper meal, the lounge has great pub fare and there is even sunset sushi where they discount the food (and some drinks) 50%. And for those that might not know this HAWAII IS VERY EXPENSIVE. Yes, a sandwich (BTW, the tuna fish sandwich is so yummy and fresh) was 13.00 at the pool bar but it was everywhere we went in Hawaii. I paid 8.00 for a smoothie at Pearl Harbor. Even truck stop plate lunches (with are supposed to be the thing in Hawaii) were 10.00. There are cheaper places on the island but not by that much. And what you will save in the meal, you will spend in gas getting there.

PS- AZUL is unbelievable and the staff was terrific.

Overall, this hotel is first class ALL the way. We had an oceanfront view on the fourth floor and was amazed by the beauty of our view. The bathroom is every woman's dream. Bring candles for your evening bath and really relax. And everything in the room was NEW and tastefully done. And there are so many little touches (along with an accomodating staff) which make this hotel a definite in my book! This hotel is great and truly worth going....Marriot, if the only things people are complaining about are price of breakfast and children, then Marriot, you are doing just fine!

The only way I would even consider going back to Oahu would be just to go back to this resort.