We’re back from Hawaii and back to reality. Our trip was great, and we really enjoyed the time off. We decided to stay at Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu. We booked the trip through Costco (read about our experience here). Our deluxe ocean queen room overlooked the pool area and the surfing side of the bay. When I was researching resorts, I couldn’t help but think how familiar Turtle Bay looked until I realized this is where “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” was filmed (though the resort doesn’t look entirely like it does in the movie).
Likes
I totally failed at taking pictures when we arrived because we’d been traveling for 15 or so hours, but the room was spacious, clean, and very nice. Overall, Turtle Bay is a great resort. It has tons of beachfront, lots of amenities (a spa, fitness center, golfing, restaurants, etc.), and is a beautiful property. We took advantage of the snorkeling, ordered room service, ate at the pool bar, and loved falling asleep and waking up to the waves crashing on the beach (though we weren’t overly keen on the very loud bird that woke us up our last few days). They also had a Redbox type DVD rental service where you could rent movies. We used this almost every day and made a (tiny) dent in our Netflix queue. The resort is over an hour away from Honolulu in normal traffic. We didn’t mind the drive and were able to see so much more of Oahu than if we had stayed in Waikiki.
Dislikes
The main thing we didn’t like about Turtle Bay is the cost. The rooms average over $300 a night, and you still have to pay for so much. The resort fee is $46 a day, and you have to pay for self or valet parking (so $61 and $66 with a car). The breakfast buffet (only a slight step above your nicer chain hotel breakfast buffets) is $36 a person and not worth it. The two times we ordered room service were $50+. If you stay there, plan to be charged for pretty much everything. The only free things I recall were the DVD rentals, the snorkeling (limited to two hours a day), and the filtered water in the lobby. I personally would’ve liked to have either more amenities included in the cost or to have paid less each night. We left with a bill of around $800 at checkout in addition to the cost of the trip.
Final thoughts
Turtle Bay is definitely worth consideration if you are planning to visit Oahu. Its location and views on the North Shore are hard to beat, but be prepared to pay for a lot of the standard hotel services. It also isn’t overly close to food, so either eat before you get back if you leave the resort, plan to eat on property, or stop at a grocery store to stock up on supplies.
Have you stayed at Turtle Bay? What were your thoughts?
