Turtle Bay Resort

This is a stunning resort in a beautiful location. The facilities are top notch and the fittings and furnishings are first class. We had a beautiful top floor club room with amazing views. We particularly enjoyed using the club facilities. On the negative side we were really disappointed not to be able to get a decent meal on the day we arrived as the only restaurant was fully booked and had to settle for bar snacks. The wifi in our room was hopeless (room 619) and ended up using the hotspot from my phone. The service too was poor with staff overstretched but doing their best even in the main restaurant. Overall we really enjoyed our stay and don’t mean to be hypercritical but expected just a bit more from a Ritz Carlton.

It was an ultimate treat to relax, after a nice sunset drive around the North Shore, by dining at Turtle Bay. The elegant lounge-bar was enveloped in a timeless kind of atmosphere, thanks to the virtuosic vocal and guitar acoustics of musician Tad Jennings — a remarkably keen ear and charismatic stage presence! His music struck a delicate balance as both a captivating centerpiece and also a complimentary backdrop to dinner and drinks. We’ll try to time future North Shore journeys for Tuesdays again, with hopes Tad will be back there like before! 🌅

We had the most amazing stay over Christmas at the Turtle Bay Resort. We've been to this property many times in the past and we as a family feel that it turning into a Ritz will definitely be an upgrade. Are there things management need to iron out? Absolutely. But that is true with any changes. If you absolutely NEED that Ritz Carlton experience, just wait 6 months until they've worked out their kinks. Think of this as still being in their soft opening time. If you're not stuck on having that and you are happy with the most friendly staff experience and the most beautiful beachfront resort property look no further. Upon arrival you will be greeted with the best team of Bellmen who will start you smiling and feeling that Aloha spirit. Then your jaws will drop as you walk through to the lobby and be floored with how absolutely stunning the views are from all directions. As you await your turn to check in you won't even mind the wait if you gaze at the perfect scene behind you. We wanted to thank Tanner and Scott who went above and beyond to make our room arrangements perfect as we were traveling with our teen boys. We didn't call ahead but they were able to move things around even though it was Christmas and they must be fully committed. You gentlemen were awesome! Our room had the view of the surfing beach and our boys had the view of the sandy beach and both were amazing. We had the sunset and they had the sunrise. You can't go wrong with either option. We left our lanai door open each night to listen to the sound of the waves lull us to sleep. We closed the blackout curtains and that was plenty enough to keep the lights from the resort from interfering with our sleep. Note that this will turn off the AC but the fresh Pacific ocean air in December was magnificent. We dined at all the restaurants that the resort had to offer and found that everything was delicious. No complaints except for the longer than average wait for our food at the pool. That might be one note we have for management that may make Turtle Bay perfect. I did hear a few staff complain that the kitchen leadership isn't there so maybe they should try to poach someone from a hotel in Waikiki to whip that in shape. I know places like the Marriott in Waikiki have their stuff down pat even when they are at full capacity. We hit the Lip bar every evening and we met so many amazing bartenders. You could tell how much they love working there and most have been there for a while. Our most favorite was Rosie who told us many amazing fun tales of Oahu and made great recommendations. If you don't want to stay in the resort for all your meals, as the resort is isolated -- in the best way possible -- from the rest of Oahu, you can do a quick drive 5-8 mins to the food trucks and have the best shrimp scampi you'll ever try at Giovanni's shrimp truck. Or drive the other way to Ted's -- their coconut chocolate pie is friggin to die for. Drive further down about 20 mins you'll find yourself in Haleiwa with tons of food options. With all that said, you definitely need a car when you visit Oahu or you'll find yourself pretty limited. Be respectful of the locals, appreciate their culture and don't be a A-Hole just because you can afford to stay at the Ritz Carlton and you will have the best time.

We stayed in the area over Christmas and New Years. Part of the reasoning behind booking there was expecting to give our children a New Years Eve they’d never had before. Well we were very, very disappointed. They put on a $500/ticket gala and that was it. We sat on a beach hoping for fireworks or just anything and got absolutely nothing. Meanwhile the sky was absolutely lit up with fireworks all around us and our kids were asking why we couldn’t see anything. We asked around a ton prior to NYE and were never given a clear answer. Mostly just “yes, there should be something” so that lead to us choosing to stay at the property rather then drive elsewhere. For a property as “elite and high end” as this there should be a clear and definitive answer to an event like NYE that families want to make spectacular for what’s usually a once in a life time trip. And some place like this should just be something else besides a “gala”. Kids do not want to go to a gala and families don’t want to have to pack up and travel when they’ve booked in a place like this. Do not come here to celebrate.

We typically stay at a Ritz Carlton when available. This was our first time at Turtle Bay and we had high hopes. Unfortunately it did not live up to our expectations for what we have come to expect for a Ritz Carlton and for then high prices they changed. We do not plan to stay here again after a very disappointing stay.