Family crashed as the Kahala for a 4-night stay two weeks ago and got lucky enough to snag one of the newly renovated rooms at the classic resort which had been struggling of late, according to many online posters. A lot of pros and cons to the rooms. First, the pros. The slightly wider bathroom doors do add a little brightness and more open feeling. The new bed linens from some crazy linen company are super cool, almost like fine tapestries, with nice gold filigree and what not. All told, the move to lighter colors with brighter whites and less fussy furniture was a plus, methinks. The mac nut chocolate bark greeting amenity is the best I've had in Hawaii and the cut pineapple, likewise, is a lovely touch. The flat panel TVs on extender arms a little clunky but extremely handy. The new scets and soaps from Florian are out of sight, somewhat floral, not to treacly, very classy. After flagging badly, the hotel's tea service is now up to snuff and righteous, according to my resident afternoon tea expert. At the pool, I saw a property manager picking up rubbish that had been dropped poolside--always an excellent sign. Now for the cons (and not all are in the rooms).

The renovated rooms have semi-drab green and white carpets that replaced the lovely but hard to maintain parquet floors. The carpets, with big floral patterns, are already showing stains. The bathrooms were not totally redone, at least as far as I could tell -- plenty of scuff marks on walls, a few dings, etc. The prices at the hotel restaurants have definitely gone up a bit. The pool deck is in desperate need of TLC - lots of cracks around the edges of the flagstones. Overall, the new rooms are an improvement and the property is looking a bit sharper. I'd feel comfortable reccomending it again to Hawaiirama readers.

—Alex, 02/02/08