The Modern has been our go-to spot on Waikiki for years. From reviews, we understood that when Hilton took it over and converted part of the facility to time shares, things changed and it dropped a star in class/ratings. The hotel was just beginning to transition the last time we are here but we can confirm that is complete now and I can discuss the pros and cons.
The first pro is obvious, which is the pricing. That has stayed stable in the same market that the Halekulani’s (once budget) sister hotel has skyrocketed since their re-branding, despite not allowing guests to use Halekulani facilities.
The things that have changed: no Iron Chef or Celebrity Chef Flagship. Obama and family were being served dinner on our last visit. Now what is there at breakfast is self order at a counter with a facilitator to bring food to your table with the number you pick up on the way out.
Instead of the extended selection of outdoor seating once offered by the pool, the outside seating is harbor side and very limited. There was a line of people waiting for a table all the time because the picnic bench style seating inside was frigid and the music which sounds nice outside was way too loud.
On the boardwalk, I noticed a sign announcing the eatery was public for all meals, including breakfast. The location is unsuitable for that, imho. On this visit, the hotel was at full occupancy due to two area conferences. Perhaps some of the breakfast crowd were people who were leaving for the day because the pool area was never over crowded and the adult pool one floor up was empty.
About the pool: the lunchtime bar service was very good and so were the food and drinks. I had to have a cocktail re-made for me because it was way too sweet and it was no problem at all—-the server even gave me the option of replacing it and letting me drink it. I asked him to enjoy it for me and he laughed and said he wished.
All good signs. I recommend the burratta beet salad, which was huge.
The sound system and music selection is also good. Very mellow; classic Hawaiian and reggae. But, the extras are gone: forget about the free Sun Bum spf and the big towels. When the towel folks are there, they offer really skimpy things that don’t cover the chairs.
Inexplicably, there is no longer two way same-floor access to the adult pool deck, meaning you need to be able to climb stairs to get there. As I said, the upstairs deck was all but abandoned. It is really just a reflecting pool that you can sit in with a lounge chair to stay cool but, magically, you cannot hear the kids from below.
Also: the large sheet covered double mattresses that they charge for below, are free to use. This is great because it give plenty of room to position yourself in the path of the sun so you get even exposure. I found out the reason I was the only one up there. While you cannot hear the kids, you could hear the construction from next door (not the hotel) with heavy machinery, all day. I’m from the city, so this way just like home. Other people might want earbuds or whatever.
On the beach, the modern doesn’t have a lounge chair or umbrella or drink service. However, the Hilton property right next door does. Despite being a Hilton, they can not charge to a room at The Modern. This is their pricing. Lounge chairs $28 each and umbrella $50 each. Yo, I have never brought $100 cash to the beach in my life. And I grew up in a beach down and worked through college on Martha’s Vineyard.
The shop is gone, so buy magazines in the airport or you’ll have to risk crossing the highway to get to the mall.
On the other hand, in the rooms, they offer enough toiletries. They are kind of glued to the wall so you can’t hoard them and take them with, but there is an ample supply and the body lotion is extremely rich-which is great for after sun. Robes are gone. They even took down the hooks. We had an Ocean view King which was plenty of room in storage for eight days.
No bathroom scale but there is a Keurig a nice empty fridge without expensive minibar and a microwave to reheat leftovers. That comes in handy because supper prices are way higher right now than pre-Covid. The ice machines are on even numbered floors and the ice buckets keep that ice overnight with the lid on.
In our case, I asked for a room we’d had before when I made the reservation. We had to change our dates and there was some glitch (which may have been our fault since my husband made the new res—it’s really unclear) but it resulted in my original room request getting lost-which became an issue later on.
Also, it meant we were holding two stays on our card simultaneously. The result was that when we got a confirmation vm saying that they were looking forward to seeing us, I assumed it was two weeks early. I got vm when I called back and used the correct dates in my confirmation. I never got a call back. This call, apparently, was from Hilton Corporate in Las Vegas.
The Modern never got the heads up and I got a message the next day saying they were expecting us to check in. I told them we had changed the dates. They said they had our new dates but referred me back to the third party vendor to deal with them. Once I reached a person on Expedia, they said that I hadn’t cancelled within 48 hours so I’d have to pay for both reservations but they reached out to the hotel to see whether they were able to get a reduction.
The agent came back and said the hotel was willing to allow me to pay for just the first night-which was that night. I gave them my information and they appeared to be putting it through. I wrote to the hotel to confirm directly and they said they had waived the entire charge. I have no idea where that money went, if I was charged. Maybe it got refunded. Maybe Expedia kept it.
Whatever. When we arrived, our check in agent said that we had booked a city room and we’re upgraded to partial ocean view. I knew we had booked partial ocean view but seeing as the reservation was so screwed up, I wanted to double check before I said anything. Then my husband’s card was rejected. That was likely fraud support based on the two reservations-one being cancelled. He had another card.
The room was on a lower floor, across from the three very aCroce elevators, city side and you could only see the ocean by going out on the balcony. The HVAC might need to be serviced I got really congested overnight.
When we tried to keep the door open or sit outside, we found the real downside to this room: it’s low enough to hear and smell heavy daytime traffic. Because you can only see the ocean from the balcony, everybody is out in theirs. Because the street noise is loud, every body is yelling to be heard. If there is an argument or personal convo? You get every word.
I asked to see the manager about my lost room requests and whether we could change rooms and that’s when I learned they were at 100% occupancy. For the confirmation snafu, though, she gave us a $75 resort credit which I wasn’t expecting and was delighted with. She said that she’s prioritize us in case of a cancellation and I believe she meant it but we’re half way through our stay now, so I’m not holding my breath.
The nightclub is also gone. Also the Study Bar in the lobby which used to be buzzy and fun. There is a tiresomely conspicuous presence of timeshare agents all over. There is no more room service.
That ends the mixed review. The thing that has improved at The Modern is the staffing. Everyone we’ve encountered has been professional and knows how to do their job. Under previous management, the staffing was always very mixed with some great service and some so bad that I remember it years later: the time we waited over an hour for our breakfast despite being one of three tables. A single and another deuce. The girl just disappeared.
Another time (years ago) I came to to speak to front desk and there were five or six agents behind the desk, all together, casually talking and laughing and I stood right in front of their party and still had to politely say “excuse me” to get any attention. Despite eye contact from the two of them faced toward the lobby. If it isn’t obvious by now, I’ve spent years in service and am familiar with the standard. These experiences were perplexing. Meanwhile, other service at the old hotel was above and beyond.
I would say, at this date it is uniformly good. And the facility is still very clean and modern for those who don’t care for the chintz and wall art and throw pillows of so many resorts nowadays. Even staying the same, it doesn’t look dated or worse for wear. The eco-policy is awesome and I’m attaching a photo of the really good advisements on the bathroom mirrors in an inconspicuous corner. They offer free boxed water—local and purified at the desk and they have a dispenser at the pool.
My recommendations to management would be to offer a small selection of magazines, reef safe spf and the option of a large plush branded beach towel, for sale, on the bottom of the poolside bar menu. The reasons being: some people really want a barrier between the lounge chair somebody else just sweated on, some people who brought spf from home are not aware that the kind the use may be restricted in Hawaiian waters (the amount of dead coral washing up on the beach is insane). Lastly, without a shop or nearby magazine vendor, it makes it hard to come by a really basic poolside activity: reading in print instead of staring into a device.
Unless the hotel decides to offer beach amenities, I would also try to make some deal with the Hilton Towers so that guests can charge their beach amenities to their room at The Modern. Considering that it is now a Hilton property. Right next to another Hilton property.
