Trump International Hotel Waikiki is a hotel located right near Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. With a name as polarising as Trump I was honestly not sure what staying at a Trump Hotel would be like. So come along while we see what it is like (and it was not what I expected)!
A few months ago I was lucky enough to win a prize. It was a holiday in Hawaii with a stay in a few hotels, one of them the Trump Waikiki. The Trump International Waikiki opened in 2009 with 462 guest rooms. Although a part of the global Trump Hotels, the property is not owned by or developed by, and does not contain property sold by Donald Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their affiliates. Anecdotally, according to the staff here the Trump name became a liability particularly after he became President and would scare off guests.
Since statehood in 1959, Hawaii has voted Democrat in every election except for 1972 and 1984. When native son Barack Obama ran he won 71.9% of the vote in Hawaii. So whilst Hawaii is a safely blue state, I was expecting some mainland Trump fans to make up a large proportion of the guests. What we found was that there is a noticeably large amount of Japanese guests more than other groups. And this has a great impact on the service. My first taste of the service is when I call from a different hotel to request an early check in at the Trump Hotel.
Check in is usually at 4pm with a check out time of 12pm but we were hoping to check in around noon as we were switching Waikiki hotels. A woman answers the phone on the first ring and is so accommodating and friendly with Japanese style service that I'm taken aback. Sometimes when you call a hotel it's hard to locate an actual person. But here she puts me through to a woman that is equally as obliging and she promises to take my request and they will see what they can do. The call ends with a series of "byes" in which we are both being too polite to hang up first.
When we arrive at the hotel the following day at 11:30am we are greeted at the driveway by a smiling staff member. "Welcome to Trump International Waikiki Hotel," she says bowing. "Please follow me," she adds and takes us upstairs to the lobby area on the 6th floor. "May I have your name?" she asks and then introduces us to the check in staff who retrieve our booking. She is back with a tray of spa water and pate de fruits. Check in is seamless and they introduce the hotel amenities to us and we are headed upstairs within minutes. This is a far cry from the previous hotel where check in was a frustrating experience that took around 25 minutes.
Our room #1707 is on the 17th floor out of 35 floors and we are given a premier king bed oceanfront lanai (balcony) room. If you asked me what a Trump hotel room would look like I'd guess it would be a reflection of his Trump Tower with gold everywhere. This hotel is actually quite different; it's elegant and understated with quality furnishings and everything is thoughtfully designed. This room is also spacious with a full kitchen. A coffee drip filter machine has Kauai coffee and there is green tea, Island breakfast and lemon chamomile tea. The fridge also makes fresh ice.
There are proper cups and cutlery (a lot of hotels have reverted to stocking paper cups and a little plastic packet with sweetener, creamer and stirring sticks). Fresh flowers, a jewellery tray and good quality toiletries and a surfeit of fluffy towels make this property a step above. There are also eco friendly details like each guest receives a reusable water bottle and there is filtered water in a large jug provided to avoid using plastic bottles.
The king bedroom and lounge room looks out onto Waikiki Beach and the Pacific Ocean outside and we open the door and drink it all in before flopping onto the comfortable king bed and having a nap.
The bathroom is also spacious and well designed and looks to be recently renovated with a marble open shower, standalone bath, two sinks and Japanese bidet toilet. The shower pressure is excellent (the best of the trip) with a light massage of tiny water droplets on the skin. Good quality robes and slippers are stored in the closet. Natura Bisse Diamond toiletries are provided in larger than normal sizes. The hotel is also dog friendly for dogs up to 25lbs (11kg).
We are staying here for 3 nights and the service here is exceptional. Every staff member we saw greeted us with an enthusiastic hello and was very helpful. When I roam the halls with my ice bucket looking for ice, they call them to bring me some (before I realised that the fridge made fresh ice).
The pool is spacious with enough room to accommodate all of the guests and there's no fighting for towels or a lounge chair here. We watch a little dog sit patiently on the owner's lap by the pool and the sun poke out from behind the clouds.
And the Trump factor is soon to be a moot point. In a few day's time on February 7th 2024, it will become a Wākea Waikiki Beach one of Hilton's three luxury brands leaving just 8 Trump branded hotels in the world. Fingers crossed that they keep the same lovely staff and attitude at this hotel because I would happily stay here again.
So tell me Dear Reader, does the hotel ownership or name influence whether you would stay there?
NQN and Mr NQN won a prize to stay here but all opinions remain her own.
Trump International Hotel Waikiki
223 Saratoga Rd, Honolulu, HI 96815, United States
Phone: +1 808-683-7777
https://www.trumphotels.com/waikiki
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