My wife and I stayed at the Outrigger Luana 1 bedroom deluxe ocean view room for 4 nights on January 21st. We actually stayed at the hotel in October in a partial ocean view hotel room and liked it so much we booked the best room they had. Our first stay we had zero problems, but this stay we had several.

The first thing that happened was they charged us $18 a day for parking. It was $15 in October. When they gave us room 1106 we were rather excited to be up so high. When you walked in the hallway and kitchen had 15 inch marble tiles on the floor. The kitchen counters were all granite as was the bathroom vanity. The deluxe room has a balcony off of the living room and a second one off of the bedroom. The living room one faces the ocean and the bedroom one faces the Wyland painting and the gas station with all of the exotic cars for rent. I noticed that one of the kitchen cabinets was locked, as this is a condo owned by someone, as was a drawer in the bathroom.

The next morning my wife killed a roach type bug that was hiding behind the toaster. Later that morning I killed one on the counter next to the kitchen sink. I also found a dead one in a drawer. We went across the street to the ABC store and bought a can of Raid and sprayed the entire can in the entire unit. I also killed a live silver fish in the hallway. Before bed I killed a roach on the wall over the bathroom door. In the morning I found a dead roach next to the TV in the living room. When we went out for the day we told the front desk and I showed them one of the bugs that I had killed. We told them that there was rice and crumbs all along the baseboards, and they said they would send the “super housekeeper” up to clean our room and the exterminator would be called. When we got back from our day out, the rice and crumbs had not been swept up, AND I found a dead roach right in the middle of the kitchen floor. I brought the dead bug down and asked to be moved to a different room. They moved us up to room 1506, which is next to the top floor. This unit did not have any cabinets locked in the kitchen or bath. It also had a ceiling fan in the living room, two dvd players, upgraded remote controlled a/c units, and a washer and dryer in the unit. This is what we had expected all along.

The location of the place is really good. A 5 minute walk to the beach, right on Ft Derussy park, lots of shopping and dining very close. But the bug thing really creeped me out. But the nail in the coffin was the courtesy room. I have stayed at many Outrigger places in the past and have always used a courtesy room. It is usually the worst hotel room that they let you use for 30 minutes to take a shower on the day you check out. They list this as a feature on the internet and we even asked about it when we checked out. They said no problem just ask. So we put our suntan lotion on and went out all day. We had an 11pm flight and wanted to shower up for a late dinner and a long flight home.

When we asked at the front desk they told us the courtesy room was the two outdoor bathrooms by the pool. We were told to lock the doors so no one would walk in on us. The men’s bathroom had 2 sinks, a toilet stall at the back and a small shower right across from the urinal. The floor was soaked with urine and I wouldn’t take my shoes off, let alone take a shower. The women’s bathroom was right across from 2 outdoor gas grills, and my wife said there were so many ants crawling around she was afraid they would crawl into her suitcase if she opened it up. Needless to say, neither of us showered and went home dirty and uncomfortable. When we turned the key and pool towels in the front desk person was so ashamed of what he did he wouldn’t look at us or ask if things were ok. He knew what he did.

I really am sorry to say I can’t recommend this place to anyone. I love the location and the remodeled rooms. The parking increase was unpleasant, the roach infestation was totally unacceptable, and the courtesy room sealed the deal. Most people were very helpful at the front desk and the bellman was great, but there are way too many other new places opening up on Lewers Street to try rather than stay here. Beware.

We chose to stay at Outrigger Luana after reading the traveler reviews...I believe I'll do more careful reading between the lines next time I read the reviews. Our studio room (515) had a nice and recently renovated kitchenette with a decent supply of dishes for 4, tableware, and cooking accessories. We had a bit of a view of the ocean from the small balcony which surprised me since we were to have only a city view. The air conditioner worked very nicely. My husband liked the exercise facilities. The pool is small but nicely kept. The pool deck is on the smaller side but equipped with comfortable chairs and tents to shield from the sun.

Other than that, the positives mostly end and the negatives begin. To start, (and this is a big one for me,) there is no fan in the bathroom...puhlease!! We tried to call the main lobby when we couldn't access our phone messages and couldn't dial through. When my husband went to the lobby, he was told that our phone "buttons" hadn't been set up yet. What on earth kind of excuse is that? There were cockroaches in the room (I hope we didn't bring them home with us in our luggage.) There was no information book in the room to explain where the pool, laundry facilities, ice machine, etc., are located or to give information on restaurants, boutique hours, check-in, etc., or any of the usual information found in a book in hotel rooms. When I asked the front desk about one, I was told there isn't one. The queen bed was more of a large double. I sincerely doubt that was a queen bed. There was a small baby ironing board...the kind that sits on 2 inch legs on a table and moves all over the place while you're trying to iron. The coffee for the coffeemaker had to be bought at the front desk. The first night is supplied in the room, but after that, the supply is not refreshed...which is fine, I guess. It was poor quality coffee. The bathroom door squeaked loudly and had to be pushed with your weight against the door to close it. The bathroom is supplied with two rough towels, two washcloths, two hand towels, nothing extra. The toilet was the cheap plastic seat type with a rough surface as if something had gotten stuck to the lid and never completely removed. The floor was only swept by housekeeping when I left a tip and a note to request it. The housekeeping staff, however, were very nice and left the room neat. The sheets were barely large enough to go 6 inches down the side of the bed and there wasn't much on top to fold over the bedspread. They do not do dishes. You need to wash your own dishes. The furniture had many worn spots in the wood stain. You pay separately for parking and internet access (which is only accessible in the lobby). I would not stay there again. This hotel was not what I had expected for $200 a night and the many positive reviews I read. Granted, staying in Waikiki is not inexpensive, but when I have it to do again, I'll pay the extra money to stay at a better hotel where the amenities are included in the price, the sheets fit the bed, and the other negatives are hopefully minimized.