Services stated on website & in room information were not correct, service at hotel restaurants was *completely* terrible, and staff does not communicate with one another so nobody there gives you the same information.

The room was nice, but it should have been for the additional cost of a "full ocean view".

It seems their highest priority is to take your money and then to up sell anything they can, including a "welcome" counter with high pressure sales people who make snide comments when people aren't interested in what they're trying to sell.

great hotel, beautifully updated and a gorgeous pool. i would absolutely return!

We stayed at the Reef for five days in late June. Parents plus two teens, 16 and 13. We were in the Pacific tower, 16th floor in an Ocean "view" room but our lanai wrapped around two sides, mostly ocean front and then a little over the center courtyard, I never asked if that was an upgrade so I don't know, our view of the water was beautiful. We had a one bedroom suite: a very generous king bedroom for Mom and Dad, a big bathroom between and a large living room where the kids slept. There was also a dining table and a bar area with a sink and refrigerator, a welcome surprise I didn't know about till we arrived (we stocked it with cheap water bottles from the ABC store - great tip from our taxi driver). Everything was new and very pretty, and the sleeper sofa was very comfortable. Plus there were two large flat screen tvs. The staff was warm and welcoming from the moment we arrived and our housekeeper greeted us by name whenever we saw her. We did the breakfast included offer which gave you 2 free breakfasts per day. This worked out fine as we did not eat there every day. We went to Shorebirds and loved it. We combined vouchers to get all four of us free for 2 days. Each time we ate there we got 50% off coupons so the third time was free for 2 and 50% off for 2. It was a great deal. Our endlessly hungry, 6'2" 16 year old was in heaven. There's a huge breakfast buffet, which he probably revisited 4 or 5 times each morning. There's a big variety of fruit, eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausages, breads, pastries, ceral, even fish and rice dishes. Plus coffee, tea and juices. Eating a huge breakfast allowed us to skip lunch, with an early dinner or afternoon snack we were good to go, a help with the food prices. The restaurant is right on the beach with huge open windows catching the breeze (and the occasional bird). We also ate dinner there twice. You order your main dish and grill it yourself on the huge communal grill (with the biggest exhaust vent I've ever seen). The kids really got a kick out of it and the food was delicious (and wonderfully prepared if I do say so myself;-) We also grilled pineapples and made our own grilled garlic bread from the salad bar. There is a huge salad bar which comes with your meal or is available on its own and a good meal in itself. The usual salad fixings plus pasta and sauce. Again the 50% off coupons they gave us came in handy for the second meal. Each night there is live entertainment at Shorebirds and the little bar and grill near the pool and it was wonderful to listen to. We could hear it all the way up in our room and would leave the doors open to listen. We got a rental car for a couple of days and used the parking. It is expensive, $25 a day, but the valets were always very quick to bring it to us. We participated in the vow renewal ceremony on Tuesday morning. I was expecting a quick little thing and we were very touched by the beautiful ceremony we took part in (longer than some weddings I've attended) . A local minister in traditional clothing was the officiant and it combined traditional Hawaiian elements with western marriage customs. The hotel recommended having something to exchange and we bought Kukui nut leis. One couple had beautiful flower leis that they bought in the flower fridge at a grocery store (I tried to find fresh leis and didn't have a lot of luck, wish I'd known, although I got to bring mine home). Some exchanged their existing rings, although they were cautioned to hold on very tight as gold rings on a gold sand beach can be a tricky combo. A hotel employee sort of MC'd the whole thing, including playing the ukelele and singing while a young woman did a lovely hula. Afterward they patiently posed for pictures with all the couples and families and even took pictures for us. What a pleasant surprise that there was no official photographer there to try and get you to buy anything! Right in front of the hotel and down onto the Ft. Derussy beach there are all sorts of water activity kiosks for umbrellas, kayaks, boogie boards etc. I kept reading descriptions that the beach was rocky and just didn't get it. The beach is soft sand, under the water is a reef (thus the name). So its tricky to walk out into the water without surf shoes. Plus you're really not supposed walk on the reefs. We enjoyed snorkeling right off this beach more than Hanauma bay. Head just to the right to the Ft. Derussy beach to be able to have more sand underfoot. One note of caution. There are two large desks that say "Outrigger Activity Desk", they are time share reps and pushy doesn't even begin to describe it. We finally adopted the "we're checking out tomorrow" line if we got cornered. We discovered they have some excellent tear off maps there so its sort of worth the hassle to get the map, and they were very nice about giving directions. Plus they keep big bowls of fresh flowers on the desks that you are welcome to take. Around the hotel you see them decorating lots of ponytails. If you don't mind attending a 2 hour open house and sales spiel they were giving away $100 vouchers that could be used at the Polynesian Cultural Center among other things. We passed. I never heard any noise from the Trump tower construction and I'm a light sleeper, but we were high and on the other side. A city view might not be so lucky. We walked everywhere except when we left the city entirely (and we took a bus to Diamondhead). The Reef was just a fun, vibrant place to be. We had a great time, and my kids loved it! I would absolutely stay there again.

First trip to Hawaii. Great hotel. Celebrating 10 year anniversary. We stayed for 3 nights June 27 – June 30th, 2009. We had an oceanfront room, faced directly to the ocean. Must have been “ocean tower”. Our room was on the far west end of building, on the 3rd floor. It actually had a wrap around lanai for its positioning on the corner of building. (I believe the tall building right next to ours is the condo section of Outrigger Waikiki Shore) So we could see west and south from our lanai. We could not see Diamond Head from our lanai unless leaning way over the railing and looking east. This did not bother us. We saw it plenty when we drove around town and also hiked up it.

The location is good - only a few blocks from major shopping areas. There are lots of little shops and eateries nearby, close so you don’t have to drive. Hotel is not on the “main” section of Waikiki, so I’d say probably less crazy crowded, both on streets nearby, as well as the beach. We did not use the Waikiki beach. (We took a day to head to Hanauma Bay and Lanikai Beach which I highly recommend.) First night you get there, walk up a block to the small ABC store to grab a bamboo beach mat and some water bottles for beachgoing- comes in handy if you don’t want to rent chairs anywhere, or go to beach without them.

It has a very large, spread-out main floor area where the pool is, the main lobby, shops, hotel restaraunts. We only ate at Shorebird for breakfast. The Ocean House looked like a great setting though for dinner. All the workers were very professional and friendly. Valets remembered our names, which is great for the price you pay!

Room – Decent size room and closet. Clean. Comfy bed. I didn’t like the lack of airflow in the bathroom area – mildew waiting to form in this environment. I also think an exhaust fan could help in more ways than one, if you know what I mean. The vanity area hardly had enough counter space. Quiet – didn’t hear neighbors. We were hardly in our room though, only at night to sleep really, and getting cleaned up.

We had a rental car, but didn’t use it in the evenings except for the one night we ate at far east/diamond head side of Waikiki at the Hau Tree Lanai. Outrigger reef parking is required valet and is $25 daily. The valet area is always very busy, but the guys are quick about bringing the car around. We had a car for our day activities which would have cost the same amount for shuttles vs. parking and rental.

For those of you interested in where we dined, see below. I’ll post a trip report in the forums for activities and tips on Oahu soon. Probably reviews of at least a couple of the restaurants too.

I would recommend this resort to people who want oceanfront, don’t want to be right in the heart of Waikiki, and if it is one’s first trip to Hawaii. I think the prices would be steep for repeat visitors who don’t spend much time on the property though. We didn’t spend much time on the property, but this was a splurge for us on our first trip and celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary – we wanted to “make the trip count” so we just went for it. Make sure you explore outside of Waikiki – the east coast (I think that is called the windward coast) is beautiful!! We didn’t have time to drive up the east shore to the north, but this would have been great, I could tell from the little we saw going to Lanikai.

One last tip – DO NOT SWIM WITH YOUR RENTAL CAR KEYS!! {Key was ruined for both auto entry and starting the car! On a dodge charger, there is no metal type key to put into ignition switch, just a knob thing on the end to turn…OOOPS!! We had to wait 2 hours for another car to be brought up; crazy story for this trip indeed!) By the way, most cars have a sticker to this affect, but ours did not.

Night 1 -- We chose to eat at “House without a Key” directly next door in the Halekulani fancy hotel. We did not have reservations as they don’t take them. That was a great spot for our first evening on Hawaii. Great food (and strong mai tai!) with good, live entertainment. Note – you cannot access their place from the beach, walk in the front of the hotel from the street.
Day 2: Breakfast – we picked it up to go from the little grill area near the pool at Outrigger Reef. Bfast was included with our package. They had a special menu to choose from for this program; we had eggs benedict and they were really good. We actually ate them in the car on the way to Pearl Harbor area.
Lunch – we walked from outrigger reef up Lewers street about 3-4 blocks to find Moose Mcgillicuddy’s. Great lunch stuff, good nachos and kalua pig sandwich.
Dinner – Hau Tree Lanai in the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel– good seafood selections, nice view, except for vulgar couples on the beach at sunset. A little crowded feeling.
Day 3: Bfast – Shorebird buffet – okay, but it was included so we went with it. Yummy oatbran muffins. Yummy scenery! Lunch – picked up sandwich at the Kalapawai Market near Lanikai Beach. Dinner – Arancinos’ a block away or so from outrigger reef. Usually a line, but we got there around 9 and walked in. We split a pizza. Nice place, easy going atmosphere.
Day 4: Bfast – Shorebird again. On to Kauai.