Welcome to The Twin Fin Hotel (formerly the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel)! The Twin Fin Hotel opened in 2022 after renovations. From rooms to restaurants and the location, here are the pros and cons from our recent family visit.
You know how much we love our family staycations. It would be silly to live in Hawaii and not try to enjoy an occasional weekend as a tourist ^_^
Our most recently staycation was at The Twin Fin Hotel. We booked an oceanfront room for two nights and had such a fun time (it was also good for family bonding haha). Here are our thoughts!
Where Is The Twin Fin Hotel?
If the hotel sounds familiar it's because this hotel was formerly the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel. They did a renovation and rebrand, and then reopened as The Twin Fin Hotel in November 2022.
What Does "Twin Fin" Mean?
The hotel is named after twin fin surfboards. These types of surfboards have two fins and are ideal for small surf. The waves at Waikiki Beach, which is located right in front of the hotel, has these type of "easy" waves.
Who Is The Twin Fin Hotel Ideal For?
The hotel is great for anyone looking to stay right across Waikiki Beach without having to spend a ton of money. It's a very casual, family friendly hotel.
It's not fancy. The rooms feel run down (even with the renovation which seems like a work in progress), but the prime location and views from the ocean front rooms are wonderful.
If you love going to the beach and don't plan on spending much time in the room, this hotel is ideal.
We saw many families during our stay, with both young and older kids. There were also couples and groups of friends, even spotted a bachelorette trip!
What Makes The Twin Fin Hotel Special
The location right across the beach makes it special!
They give each room "3 credits" a day. You can use those credits at a rental store downstairs called Beach Candy. Each credit allows the rental of one item free per day.
This include everything from surfboards to beach chairs, beach umbrellas, coolers, etc. It makes spending the day at the beach easy and relaxing. Otherwise you'd have to bring your own equipment and/or pay to rent.
Pro Tip: Go early for the beach equipment rental because they can run out.
Rooms At The Twin Fin Hotel
We originally booked an ocean view room with lanai. But at check in, I asked about the ocean front rooms with lanai. They said it was $35 to upgrade. We upgraded and it was 100% worth it.
Pro Tip: Book an oceanfront room. The whole point of this hotel is the location and especially the views. Without the oceanfront views, you can find a comparable hotel nearby for a lower price.
We spent hours sitting on the lanai and enjoying the ocean views and goodness was it gorgeous. We even got takeout from Maguro Brothers one night and ate it on the lanai so that we could enjoy sunset view from our room.
Now I understand why tourists think Hawaii is so magical! As locals we hardly ever take a time off to relax, enjoy, and really see our beautiful island.
The ocean view rooms offer a small glimpse of the ocean, but ocean front room had stunning views. It felt especially worth it because we're not "beach people." I love looking at the ocean from a distance but don't love actually going to the beach ^_^
Downsides
The main downside to the room was that it felt worn and not so clean. The hotel is marketed as renovated but it seemed more like a touch up as opposed to a real renovation.
The bathroom also wasn't cleaned (eep!) when we checked in. We called housekeeping and they sent someone up right away to clean it. Everyone we interacted with at the hotel was very gracious.
The rooms are on the small side. There was no table/desk or chairs (except for the lanai chairs) which made it hard if you need to do work. There was a small sitting bench that was placed near the lanai door.
Pool
There's a pool with plenty of lounge chairs and cabanas. It was busy but not too packed so you could always find a place to sit. The pool is located on the upper lobby right next to the reception area.
Water Bottles
They give two reusable aluminum water bottles at check in. There are a few water stations throughout the hotel for you to do bottle refills. Pretty neat!
Dining
The main restaurant is Tiki's Grill & Bar (popular with tourists). There's also a Wolfgang Puck Express, Cafe Glace (gelato and sorbet), and Kai Coconuts (shave ice and snacks). There's a gift shop / mini mart near the valet.
On the top floor of the hotel there's a breakfast restaurant called The Coconut Club. I believe it is only for hotel guests. Breakfast is $55...which sounds pricey until you learn that it covers the whole room. If you have two people staying in the room, then the $55 is breakfast covers two people.
You get to pick a breakfast entree. They offer 3 rotating options each day including loco moco, mochi waffles, and kalua pork (which local more commonly call kalua pig) benedict.
There's also a self-serve buffet area for coffee, fruit, pastries. The pastry highlight were doughnuts from Purve Donuts. It's a casual breakfast. Order and seat yourself...make sure to get one of the tables with the ocean views.
Aside from The Coconut Club we didn't eat at any of the other hotel restaurants. One night we dined at Suntory. Another night we got takeout from Maguro Brothers (a big sashimi plate from which we made little sushi wraps!) and ate dinner on the lanai during sunset. So enjoyable ^_^
Tips and FAQ
We saw rates ranging from about $250 to $350 in spring 2023. There's a resort fee. Hawaii hotels also charge GET and TAT tax.
There is plenty to do! The hotel has a pool and restaurants, and you're walking distance to pretty much everything in Waikiki (check out all the best Waikiki restaurants) and Diamond Head.
Yes! Make sure to book an oceanfront room. It is well worth the extra cost and will make your stay extra special.
The rooms are fairly straightforward. Toiletries are included (soap, lotion, etc) and there is a coffee maker. You can request a hot water kettle as well.
Check-in is 4pm. Check-out is 11am.
If you'd like a late check-out, it's worth asking the front desk. We asked the front desk the morning we were leaving and they offered a free 12pm check-out or a 1pm check-out for $30.
Valet only. The rate (as of this blog post date) is $50 plus tax per night. It includes unlimited in/out for hotel guests.
The Twin Fin Hotel: Info
- The Twin Fin Hotel | 2570 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii 96815 | 808-922-2511 | twinfinwaikiki.com
Hi Kathy,
Your post is super helpful. My husband and I will stay at Waikiki beach for a week next month but haven't booked the hotel yet. Waikiki has too many hotels. I couldn't make up my mind... However, I'm sure your info makes me move forward. I'll book "oceanfront" room at Twin Fin hotel. Thank you!
Aloha Miki! I'm so happy this post was helpful in planning your stay. Wishing you a very fun and happy trip to Hawaii! 🙂
- Kathy
very helpful, staying at Twin Fin on Friday 27th to the 3rd have a oceanfront room, looking for walking distance things to do
Aloha Scott! So glad the post is helpful. You're walking distance to a lot of great food and things to do. Have a fun trip! 🙂
- Kathy
Thanks for this post - we stayed at the Aston Waikiki on our 10th anniversary. Now we are older, we are bringing back family members from New Zealand and Australia to Waikiki. We loved the location and memories. Your post was useful, thanks so much!
Thank you, Leigh! I'm so happy the post came in handy. Have a wonderful trip with family 🙂
- Kathy
Hi Kathy: Good post. More useful information for people like me. Another hotel to consider for our next trip back home to HNL. In years past, we normally stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki, but we lost that connection so last year we stayed at the Aqua Palms but that was not so good. So if we choose to go back to HNL this fall, maybe the Twin Fin is something to consider. Since my wife and I have done all the touristy things to do in Honolulu, we are considering going to Kona this year and spending two days at one of those 5 star resorts (like the Kona Village) and then two or three days at the old Manago Hotel. That would something different and I think my wife would like it.
Hi Alan! Hope all is well! There are so many new hotel options in Waikiki...will try check out a few more this year and post about it. I love the Kona idea, it sounds so fun! ^_^
- Kathy