Aqua Bamboo & Spa

11/10/07

They call this Boutique?!

by dreammachi at Citysearch

After scouring through the net for a decent place, we settled on Aqua Bamboo Hotel. While the lobby appeared to be decent, the room sure wasn't. Cottage cheese on the ceiling (70's), outdated, cheap, faux classy furniture, and GAS stove... so outdated & abused (the paint job on it was peeling!), that I'm surprised they didn't get a better looking one from junkyard. The customer service and folks working there were friendly. They knew we were just vacationing, and I had no beef about them. Everything else was second-grade. The fold-out sofa has a BROKEN foundation; the bottom is completely broken. Our daughter even cut her leg on one of the springs. Why they didn't replace that, is beyond me. They should have charged whoever broke that sofa, replace with a new one, and move on. Instead, they're waiting for lawyers to contact them. Continental breakfast is pastries, bananas, and apples, no juice, or anything else. Coffee is $1 a cup. If I pay $30 for an oil change, I get free coffee and pastries at the dealer, but if I pay $130 for a room, I have to pay $1 for a cup of coffee?!? They really need to rethink that BOUTIQUE idea they're trying to sell. I've been to true boutique hotels, and this is NO WHERE close to being one. Only thing that resembles a boutique hotel is their flat-screen HDTV. Of course, none of the channels is in HD. Free WiFi actually got us rooms for the rest of our stay in Oahu. We were out of there in one day. Phew!!! Some good did come out of it. And they didn't penalize us for checking out early. That nice customer service part, does resemble what a boutique hotel should be. Parking is an underground basement that fit maybe 15 cars total. Ok if you're renting compacts and sub-compacts and willing to pay $18 a day! Windows and patio doors are so old that they don't shut out the street noise. No need to open windows, I'm already listening to the street symphony. Try hard to find a different place. Try very, VERY HARD.

• Pros: Great location!
• Cons: Poor sound insulation, NOTHING BOUTIQUE about this hotel, except HDTV.