The Aston Waikiki Beach Tower is a condo-style hotel with large suites, full kitchens, washer/dryer, but limited hotel services. It's usually described as a 4-star hotel. From what I've seen, I would call it a 3-star hotel. The rooms are large, but in terms of quality, probably closer to a typical 3-star hotel. Hotel services are limited: no room service, no restaurants, no massage parlor or spa, no business center, no ATM.
I booked a "2 Bedroom Premium Oceanfront" suite on Hotels.com. The photos were similar, though they were mostly not of the same room.
The check-in process was mixed. When I arrived in an Uber, one of the staff members just stared at the luggage. They seemed to have trouble finding my name in their system. Once they did, they said early check-in was available for my room (around noon, whereas their usual check-in time is 3 pm). They stated that power would be off because of maintenance until the regular check-in time, which was more than a fair trade. We went up to the room on the 36th floor, with a brief tour. They gave me a bag of goodies, which had some sunscreen, after-sun lotion, large water bottles, and a book of coupons. Complimentary beverages in the fridge. What they didn't tell me was that the elevators were also partially unpowered, so I was stuck there for a bit. Calling the front desk didn't help. They said they were unaware of elevator issues and would send security up to get us down. After 15 minutes, no one showed up, so I took the stairs down to the 35th floor and called an elevator from there.
The suite is large and had great views from the expansive balcony. The full kitchen and washer/dryer were very useful. There are several mostly minor issues with the room, although some were pretty annoying.
The main balcony spans the entire width of the suite. It's a private balcony, covered, several chairs, a lounger or two, and a table. Can be entered from either the master bedroom or the living area. Large floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows. Great view of the ocean, Waikiki beach, the Waikiki skyline, and the sunset. Aston is across the street from the beach, so it's not the closest ocean view I've had, but it is the highest floor out of all the rooms I've stayed in. I could hear the ocean fairly clearly. The view ranks 2nd out of 5. My ocean-front corner suite in Outrigger Reef was slightly closer to the ocean, and was the winner here. Halekulani's ocean views were nice, but not quite as good.
The kitchen is large and fully equipped. Electric stove, oven, ventilation hood, dishwaser, garbage disposal, microwave, fridge, coffee maker, water boiler pitcher, toaster, lots of utensils, plates, cooking tools, etc. I did some light cooking, but the kitchen is equipped to do a lot more. Compared to the other two hotels that had kitchens, Aston ranks 1st out of 3. My room in The Ritz has higher quality equipment in their full kitchen, but not enough equipment to do much real cooking. The Luana has a kitchenette (partial kitchen).
The washer/dryer were useful. The Ritz has an edge in terms of in-room laundry. Aston's washer and dryer are older, and they only provided one packet of laundry detergent powder at a time.
The bathrooms are sort of ordinary. The toilets have pneumatic lids, but were otherwise normal toilets. Thin toilet paper. Standard shower/tub combos. The showers have minor water temperature issues.
The room isn't great for working on a laptop. The desk is small, somewhat awkwardly placed, and has a glass top, which makes using a laser mouse difficult. There is only one electrical outlet at the base of the desk lamp, and it is very low on the base. I had to stick some paper under lamp to prop it up and expose the outlet. No USB ports.
The nightstands in the master bedroom are fairly bare-bones. One electrical outlet on the base of each lamp, except they seem to turn off when the lights are off.
Wi-Fi is fairly good. 250 Mbps up/down. By far the fastest Wi-Fi of the five hotels. The connection dropped occasionally.
Cleanliness is a problem. The room wasn't horribly dirty, but it was clearly the least clean of the five hotels. There was a dark red stain on the blue sofa. The floors are mostly wood. When I walked around barefoot, the bottoms of my feet became covered in black grime.
The AC is pretty powerful. It is more than capable of keeping up with the Hawaii climate. The room stayed around 69 F (it was pre-set and I didn't find the controls until the second day) even when both balcony doors were wide open, during the afternoon. It is loud, though.
The Ritz is the closest to Aston in terms of room features, in that they both have kitchens and in-room laundry. My room at The Ritz is clearly better in most ways. Aston is closer to the beach, has better ocean views, has a larger kitchen, and has more space. The Ritz is better at everything else. The price was similar.
Aston charges dumb, semi-hidden resort fees. read more