Aston Waikiki Beach Tower

The Aston Waikiki Beach Tower is not to be confused with the inferior Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel.  Remember that this property has the word “tower” in it and not “hotel” or you could end up at the wrong location.  Finding the Aston Waikiki Beach Tower was difficult because the unusually tiny entrance was impossible to see.  It wasn’t on the main street that the GPS says it’s on.  You actually have to turn onto Lili Uokalani and then keep your eyes open WIDE because the sign and entrance are small.  In fact, we passed it the first time and had to go around the block.

We stayed for 6 days and loved it.  The Aston Beach Tower is located right on the beach and there are different sized rooms offered with either a partial balcony view or full balcony view.  We opted for a two bed and two bathroom with a full balcony that stretched from the living room to the master bedroom, and from the 36th floor we had absolutely stunning views of the ocean and Diamond Head.

 The view from the back of the hotel was equally fantastic and I’ll never forget the beauty of the pink clouds rolling down the hills toward our hotel.

Check in was quick and the staff was friendly and professional.  Tomo (if I remember correctly) checked us in and then took us up to our room to show us around.  What a nice guy!  Our elevators were never crowded but there was a bit of a wait with being so high on the 36th floor.  The Aston Tower overall had a very upscale, intimate, and quiet atmosphere and was more similar to luxury condos than a hotel.

The hotel room itself was perfection!  We had a lovely kitchen, fully stocked with pots, pans, silverware, dishes, dishwasher, fridge, microwave, stove and oven.  And the hotel management also left a bottle of champagne and a box of Godiva for us in the kitchen!  We ran down to the ABC store (there’s one to the right AND left of the hotel, just a few steps away) and picked up some bread and peanut butter and jelly and snacks for the room.  Food is not as expensive as some people make it seem.  If you like, the hotel has a concierge grocery service that delivers groceries to your suite for a fee.

Housekeeping did an excellent job and they even washed the dishes for us!  They provided a turn down service and left a different dessert in our room each night like Godiva chocolates or Hawaiian cinnamon toast.  We had a washer and dryer in the room and the detergent was replenished everyday but you must provide your own dryer sheets.

Each room had a TV with over a hundred channels, the bathrooms were nicely designed, the beds were comfortable, the room always smelled clean and fresh, and it was always very quiet.  We never heard noise from another room or even from other balconies!

  On a few occasions, I talked to the concierge man for advice about shopping and restaurants and he was very knowledgeable and eager to help.  You can pretty much ask him anything.

The night we arrived happened to be the same night as the Honolulu Festival.  From our room on the 36th floor we saw people lining up along the street so ventured down to see what was happening and were so excited to watch the parade.  We normally kept our balcony doors open in the evening and one night we could hear music from a luau that was happening on the beach below.

 Waikiki Beach is right across the street and the guys at valet provided us with beach towels, free of charge.

We are a couple who prefers swimming pools to the ocean and we felt very disappointed in the poorly designed swimming pool.  It was located on the 4th floor in between two high rises which blocked all sunlight and created a very strong a chilly breeze.  The pool was supposed to be heated but with it being in the shade, it was uncomfortably cold and we couldn’t even leave our towels on the chairs without them flying off in the wind.

Besides the pool situation, I loved everything about our stay at this hotel.  The Aston didn’t have the typical hotel feel where there’s lots of tourists everywhere but instead was intimate, peaceful, and I felt right at home.