Hawaii Pet-friendly Vacations

Very pretty view of the ocean.

We were excited about Koa Kea but left feeling disappointed and short-changed. I visited in 2011 and had a great time, things have certainly changed since being acquired by Pacific Hospitality Group. Check-in was super friendly and the sunsets are beautiful, with amazing hikes nearby, but everything else felt like a huge cash grab. Rooms are overpriced and ours (a garden view) faced a wooden fence with zero privacy. The furnishings were tired. We had about 5 medium sized cockroaches in our bathroom too. Extras are charged for almost everything (tho the free sunrise yoga was free and great). There’s an aggressive email marketing system targeting upgrades, valet parking is mandatory at $40+ a day, and even “Luxury” poolside daybeds are extra, supposedly with great service, but we experienced none. In fact, we had to chase down our included fruit plate at the end of the day. Late check out at 1pm is $100, 3pm is $200 extra! The hotel hosted a free cheese and wine hour with live music which was a nice touch. The external watersports company is great. There aren’t nearly enough loungers around the pool, especially shaded ones, making it hard to enjoy what little there is in terms of amenities. The food is wildly overpriced — $60 for a burger and drove us to eat offsite. Koa Kea tries to present itself as a luxury boutique resort, but it doesn’t deliver. We won’t be returning.

My family and I stayed here for five nights and were pleasantly surprised to arrive to an upgraded room! Ren at the front desk was amazing and sent up some fruit for our arrival and was kind enough to gift two stuffed turtles for my two sons, she truly went above and beyond to make sure our stay started off right! The property was perfect for my family, lots of space for my four-year-old son to run around, the lagoon was essential, and the pool was always clean. We went during a week that wasn’t too busy so there was no issues finding lounge chairs ever, and we also booked a few daybeds during our stay, which were nice. The staff was always helpful and nice, and it was especially nice to have self-serve laundry on site. We’ll definitely be back!

Beautiful grounds, attentive staff and excellent facilities. Everything top-notch.

My stay at The Ritz Carlton O’ahu, Turtle Bay exceeded all my expectations! I arrived early and was anticipating needing to wait a bit to check-in to my room, but to my delight, my room was ready AND I received a free room upgrade to ocean view. I almost fainted when I got to my room and saw the view I had from my lanai! All of the staff was warm, welcoming, helpful, and knowledgeable about the island and activities. The staff went above and beyond to ensure that me and my family had the most perfect experience. The only thing I made note of is that there are people not staying at the property that come to visit, and they try participating in the activities that are exclusively for hotel guests - this happened twice for activities I was attending (lei making and hula dancing). I was surprised that non-resort guests were allowed to participate. That’s what our resort fees go towards, I believe. Anyways, that was minor in the grand scheme of things. This resort and the staff are top notch! I had the best time here and wept when I had to leave. I hope to return someday.

Great resort with shops within walking distance.

Beautiful grounds, attentive staff and excellent facilities. Everything top-notch.

My stay at The Ritz Carlton O’ahu, Turtle Bay exceeded all my expectations! I arrived early and was anticipating needing to wait a bit to check-in to my room, but to my delight, my room was ready AND I received a free room upgrade to ocean view. I almost fainted when I got to my room and saw the view I had from my lanai! All of the staff was warm, welcoming, helpful, and knowledgeable about the island and activities. The staff went above and beyond to ensure that me and my family had the most perfect experience. The only thing I made note of is that there are people not staying at the property that come to visit, and they try participating in the activities that are exclusively for hotel guests - this happened twice for activities I was attending (lei making and hula dancing). I was surprised that non-resort guests were allowed to participate. That’s what our resort fees go towards, I believe. Anyways, that was minor in the grand scheme of things. This resort and the staff are top notch! I had the best time here and wept when I had to leave. I hope to return someday.

Very pretty view of the ocean.

We were excited about Koa Kea but left feeling disappointed and short-changed. I visited in 2011 and had a great time, things have certainly changed since being acquired by Pacific Hospitality Group. Check-in was super friendly and the sunsets are beautiful, with amazing hikes nearby, but everything else felt like a huge cash grab. Rooms are overpriced and ours (a garden view) faced a wooden fence with zero privacy. The furnishings were tired. We had about 5 medium sized cockroaches in our bathroom too. Extras are charged for almost everything (tho the free sunrise yoga was free and great). There’s an aggressive email marketing system targeting upgrades, valet parking is mandatory at $40+ a day, and even “Luxury” poolside daybeds are extra, supposedly with great service, but we experienced none. In fact, we had to chase down our included fruit plate at the end of the day. Late check out at 1pm is $100, 3pm is $200 extra! The hotel hosted a free cheese and wine hour with live music which was a nice touch. The external watersports company is great. There aren’t nearly enough loungers around the pool, especially shaded ones, making it hard to enjoy what little there is in terms of amenities. The food is wildly overpriced — $60 for a burger and drove us to eat offsite. Koa Kea tries to present itself as a luxury boutique resort, but it doesn’t deliver. We won’t be returning.

I loved everything about the property The ocean view was most beautiful. I can’t wait to return!

The atmosphere is amazing, the views are wonderful, staff are extremely helpful and welcoming. Short walk to the ocean to watch the sunrise. Sunset was beautiful and could be watched from the main lobby. Sit and relax to live music. We were busy and wasn’t able to participate in the morning yoga or get out on the water with the Kayaks ): Breakfast was homemade vegan banana bread, fresh fruit and coffee - delicious. This eco friendly, chicken frolicking, animal friendly treasure is worth checking out!

My stay at The Ritz Carlton O’ahu, Turtle Bay exceeded all my expectations! I arrived early and was anticipating needing to wait a bit to check-in to my room, but to my delight, my room was ready AND I received a free room upgrade to ocean view. I almost fainted when I got to my room and saw the view I had from my lanai! All of the staff was warm, welcoming, helpful, and knowledgeable about the island and activities. The staff went above and beyond to ensure that me and my family had the most perfect experience. The only thing I made note of is that there are people not staying at the property that come to visit, and they try participating in the activities that are exclusively for hotel guests - this happened twice for activities I was attending (lei making and hula dancing). I was surprised that non-resort guests were allowed to participate. That’s what our resort fees go towards, I believe. Anyways, that was minor in the grand scheme of things. This resort and the staff are top notch! I had the best time here and wept when I had to leave. I hope to return someday.

When we first arrived, the staff seemed irritated that we asked if we could check in early. When they said no, we then asked if there was any way they could hold our luggage for us which also seemed like an inconvenience. The beds were small but comfortable. The strangest thing to me was the grab and go breakfast which consisted of a bottle of water and an apple, neither of which could be taken through security at the airport and both had to be thrown away. What a waste! The shuttle to and from the airport was really nice and being able to call and have the shuttle there to pick us up was a definite perk.