The Twin Fin Hotel

The beach is right nearby, and the daily fresh towels, reusable water stations, and Beach Candy credits for chairs and umbrellas were all useful perks. The staff were still as warm and helpful as we remembered from our first visit in 2024, when we stayed in an Ocean View Jr. Suite with Lanai and had a wonderful time. This return visit was a letdown, though. We first booked a basic ocean view room and found it badly worn. We upgraded from a partial ocean view to a full ocean view hoping it would be better, but that room also felt tired. There was dust hanging from the ceiling, a loose wall outlet, paint chips around the room, and a very dated bathroom. Housekeeping had to come deal with the dust, and the room overall didn't seem properly maintained. The hallways looked run down too. I know Twin Fin is considered a 4 star hotel, but the current state of the rooms and hallways felt closer to a 3 star place. It has a lot going for it, and our first stay was great, but it needs maintenance and renovations. This stay was okay, just not what we expected. I'd give it 3 out of 5.

The hotel itself was nice, with good facilities, pleasant night views, and a short walk to Kuhio Beach. We also liked the beach towels and umbrellas, and took a Roberts Hawaii bus to Hanauma Bay. The Friday evening fireworks were a nice view. I liked the property, but the payment mess took over the trip. I paid in full through booking.com a month ahead. At check-in, the front desk said they hadn't received the money and wouldn't accept my voucher because of an internal payout dispute with the platform. To avoid being left without a room, I paid almost $1000 again by credit card at the desk. Afterward, Twin Fin and booking.com kept blaming each other. Twin Fin management eventually sent written confirmation that it had canceled the booking.com reservation and authorized a full refund through the platform. Even with that in writing, booking.com refused to issue the credit and claimed in writing that the property had denied the refund. I'm now having to dispute the charge with my card issuer. Twin Fin management and the front desk pushed the payment problem onto us on check-in day and left us to sort it out. They could have warned us earlier or canceled the platform booking before we arrived. If you stay here, I'd book directly. With a third party, you could get caught in the dispute and end up paying twice.

We walked everywhere from here. It's near the Zoo and parks, and just outside the busy shopping area while still close to it. The location was ideal, and we'd definitely come back. We stayed 10 days with our almost 2 year old, and saw lots of other families. Our room had a balcony, where we could watch the beautiful sunset. We chose to have the room cleaned every day or every other day. There was a pool where we picked up snacks and drinks on our first day. Towels and sunblock were available by check-in, on the same floor as the pool. The hotel entrance and valet are at street level, while reception is on the 3rd floor. You can also borrow up to 3 beach items a day from the store below.

The pool was very nice, and the cleaning and breakfast staff were great. Our room was clean and nice enough, although the balcony was too small for a chair. Check-in was frustrating. The reservation was under one person's name, so they wouldn't let me check in until the rest of our group arrived, even though I had the same last name as my brother and had ID. We waited 5 hours for them to get there. There was also a very loud party on our floor, 21, that didn't end until 10pm.