This review is for Waikiki Shores unit #818. Overall, we enjoyed our stay. The unit has its pluses and minuses. The plusses are the ocean view, location right on the beach and walking distance to major shopping and restaurants in Waikiki. The minuses are the city noise and energy inefficiency of the unit. This is in a 15-floor condo building that includes owner-occupied units and rental units. The décor and upgrades of each rental unit is dependent on the owner. Captain Cook manages several units in the building. They are not onsite but they are readily available. Our assigned property manager was very helpful and attentive. The photos of the unit are accurate. We were in an end unit to closest to Kalia Rd and Saratoga Rd. All balconies face west overlooking Fort Derussy park and the ocean. The 8th floor was above the tree line so we had good views of the ocean. We enjoyed sitting out on the balcony early in the mornings and watching the surfers in the distance. In the evenings, we could watch the fireworks display at Hilton Hawaiian Gardens (Fridays & Saturdays). Because we were close to the street, it was noisy from 6 am to 9 pm. Busses and trolleys stops are conveniently located close by on both streets. The other end of the building opens directly onto the beach. That end has a few casual eating places. The steak shack is very popular and very good! There's a paved path west to the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It's easy to walk east or west.
We were in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit. It was very roomy but is showing some age in the infrastructure. There are sliding glass doors around the entire unit which provides a great view from north to west. Energy efficiency of the sliding glass doors needs improvement to avoid the afternoon heat. The master bedroom can be partitioned off but the partition does not fully fit across the room. Also, there is no separate air conditioner in the bedroom and must reply on the a/c unit in the living room. The second bedroom has it's own a/c unit. Our unit had two twin beds in the second bedroom, but it may convert to a king bed. There is a closet in that room but no drawers. The room is looking north to Saratoga Rd. The living room sofa converts to a sleeper sofa, but we did not use it. The blackout shades prevent the neighboring Outrigger hotel from seeing into the unit. The kitchen worked fine and is equipped, but sparsely. It would have been nice to have condiments, plastic wrap and foil. The bathrooms were clean, with good water pressure and instant hot water.
There is a north and south elevator for the building. One or the other elevator was not functioning four times during our week stay - two for scheduled maintenance and two unexpected. The building owners have voted to make major renovations to the lobby and ground level in the near future.