The Ambassador Hotel of Waikiki, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, (formerly Romer Waikiki at the Ambassador and before that formerly known as The Ambassador Hotel Waikiki), has undergone a multimillion-dollar renovation and rebranding to re-open its doors in October 2023. The hotel has 368 rooms, in a variety of configurations: studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, suites, bunk rooms, and a variety of view options, ocean view, partial ocean view, and neighbourhood view. In this post, we share a review of the Romer Waikiki at the Ambassador based on our recent stay. Please note that as of May 28, 2025 the hotel was acquired by Hilton Hotels and re-branded as “The Ambassador Hotel of Waikiki, Tapestry Collection by Hilton”

Location: 18/20

Romer Waikiki at the Ambassador is located along Kuhio boulevard at the Western side of Waikiki. It’s approximately a 12 minute walk to the closest beach through Fort Derussy Park, and also within walking distance to Ala Moana beach (about 30 minutes). There is easy access to the The Bus, and several Biki stations nearby. While not located directly on the beach, we found the location to be fairly  convenient to many of the things we like in the area.  

Bed and Sleep Quality: 15/20

We booked a partial ocean view room (with possible upgrade if available) as part of a grand opening special and received a corner room on the 12th floor at the North end of the tower (more specific detail on this in the next section). While Waikiki is generally very noisy, we were not bothered by much street noise, with the exception of some noisy garbage trucks below at 6am one morning. The biggest drawback was wind noise from the patio door. Much like the Wayfinder Waikiki (see review here), the Romer appears to have not replaced the exterior windows/doors which rattled noticeably when the winds picked up. Otherwise, the bed itself was very comfortable with great pillows, and the AC worked well.

Room and Room Amenities: 17/20

Rooms at the Romer Waikiki have been done in light colors with a subtle vintage Hawaiian style. The soft whites and pink, combined with our room’s corner location made the room feel very bright and airy, even despite its small size. At the time of our stay the room was recently renovated, and almost everything felt very clean and in good condition. We really hope that the hotel is able to maintain this, as we’ve notice this to be a pitfall of many busy Waikiki properties,

The interior of this room was definitely on the small side and had a slightly odd layout, but this didn’t bother us much and was made up for by a large exterior corner lanai with multiple seating options (a high top table, a lounger and a set of smaller chairs). Our room faced East, with views of the canal and mountains to the North and distant views of the ocean to the South.

As for other basics – the wifi was good, and a TV, Mini-fridge and safe was provided. We liked the Romer-brand bath products, and really enjoyed the 100% Kona Coffee (provided in individual pour-over packets) in the room (note that the hotel also brews this coffee and has it for sale in the lobby). We enjoyed the coffee so much that we actually went in search of this brand at Foodland!

Bathroom: 8/10

The bathroom was fairly well done, especially given the small space. There was a separate toilet/shower room (with a small window for natural light!) and a large counter/sink area adjacent to the bedroom.

Hotel public areas and amenities: 8/10

The Romer’s lobby was open-air, and its retro-Hawaiian vibe carried through to the 3rd floor pool area. Like all Waikiki hotel pool’s, this one is also very small. Refillable water stations were available, and there was a daily beer/sangria reception in the lobby from 4-5pm (included as part of the $45/day “resort fee“). At the time of our stay the gym and hotel restaurant were not open yet. Gym users could get access to the sister property gym though.

Resort fee warning – if you despise these mandatory daily fees as much as we do, you won’t be happy to hear that the resort-fee force is strong at Romer Waikiki. Other than the aforementioned daily drink, it generally includes basic things you’d expect at a hotel, and a few things most people will never use.  While this has become the norm in Waikiki, we really condone this practice and strongly encourage hotels to follow the lead of places like the Halepuna, where everything is included in one room rate.

Service and Staff: 9/10

All of the staff that we interacted with during our stay at the Romer Waikiki were extremely friendly, and actually seemed to want you to enjoy your stay (this is starting to feel pretty rare these days!). We had a few minor issues during our stay, but each one was handled well and quickly.

Overall Value: 9/10

The opening rates at the Romer Waikiki are currently very competitive with other options in the area (even when the resort fee is factored in). For us, the nicely renovated room, great lanai space, friendly staff and good location are a winning combination. We look forward to staying again on a future visit to Oahu!

Overall: 84/100

Would weleavetoday to go back? Yes

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