After her stay this past fall at The Ritz-Carlton Oahu, Turtle Bay, longtime travel advisor Adriana Horton now sees the 53-year-old property as a new standout in Hawaii’s luxury accommodation market.
“I absolutely loved the resort,” said Horton, a travel designer at Oklahoma-based Michelle’s Destinations, noting that the property competes with Four Seasons and Fairmont properties around the Hawaiian Islands, along with Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa. “I’ve been to all those properties on the other islands, and they’re fantastic. But this resort really made a substantial impact on me in terms of what it offers.”
Horton and I both stayed at The Ritz-Carlton Oahu, Turtle Bay in September while taking part in a Tourism Cares familiarity tour, traveling alongside several other U.S. travel advisors and representatives from the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau. And shortly after walking into the 450-room North Shore Oahu property, many in our small group of industry stakeholders were quick to agree that the hotel’s now open-air entry experience was dramatically improved during the resort’s $250 million renovation completed in 2023.
“What they've done with that lobby is amazing,” Horton said. “To be able to see right through it now on both sides to the ocean — that’s definitely a big change.”
Like many of the advisors I was traveling with during my stay, Horton has sold Turtle Bay to clients for a long time. But the impressive upgrades completed across the property — combined with The Ritz-Carlton reflagging there in July 2024 — have elevated the product substantially, according to the Hawaii specialist.
Work wrapped up in 2023 on a $250 million upgrade to all the guestrooms and public spaces at The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay.
Credit: 2025 The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay“If I was a honeymooner, and I wanted that absolute Hawaii experience, Turtle Bay — with those views and now all The Ritz-Carlton fixings — that’s the resort I’d be thinking of,” Horton said.
Epic Surf Spot
Surrounded by the Pacific, those Ritz-Carlton Oahu, Turtle Bay vistas are certainly a showstopping highlight of any stay, and the lanai of my west-facing oceanfront guestroom was a tremendous place to soak in all that natural splendor. A sizable chunk of my visit was, in fact, filled with just that: lounging on the comfy lanai furniture while marveling at the stunning blue of Hawaii’s ocean and watching waves break across Kawela Bay.
Former professional surfer Kaikea Elias, who is now the managing partner for surf school Jamie O’Brien Surf Experience, told me that the wave breaking right in front of the hotel pool bar at Turtle Bay is the best he has ever seen for learning how to surf.
“You can get first-time surfers into waves there that start really small with a very gentle takeoff,” Elias explained. “But by the time they get to their feet, the wave stands up, and then you’ve got a first-time surfer on an overhead wave. Some of the photos and media we get, people are just blown away when they see their shots, saying: ‘I rode that? Because it doesn't feel like it.’ Most waves that stand that tall — they're way too advanced for beginner surfers.”
Jamie O’Brien Surf Experience has been operating in Turtle Bay since July 2021, and the outfit operates the bulk of The Ritz-Carlton’s ocean activities there today, according to Elias, who says travel advisors can book everything from commissionable surf lessons and stand-up paddleboard excursions to sea turtle tours with his company.
Elias also notes that Jamie O’Brien surf schools offer surf lessons and experiences for folks with cognitive and physical disabilities up at Kawela Bay, out of the company’s Ritz-Carlton Oahu, Turtle Bay location — another commissionable activity agents can book for clients.
/First-time-surfers-can-enjoy-a-unique-learning-exp.jpg?tr=w-768%2Ch-432%2Cfo-auto "First-time surfers can enjoy a unique learning experience right in front of The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay.")
First-time surfers can enjoy a unique learning experience right in front of The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay.
Credit: 2024 Jamie O’Brien Surf Experience“We’ve had paraplegics from the waist down, and multiple guests who are quadriplegic,” Elias said. “We've had a lot of guests who are blind, guests who are non-verbal and people with disabilities where it just makes it impossible for them to stand up on the surfboard, like cerebral palsy.”
Elevated Experiences
When I spoke with Douglas Chang, general manager for The Ritz-Carlton Oahu, Turtle Bay, he was also quick to mention the resort’s long-running connection with Oahu’s rich surfing history, but he says there have been some key new developments since the property was reflagged last summer.
“What’s different is this relentless focus on incorporating the legendary Ritz-Carlton service standards into the authentic hospitality that was naturally here,” Chang said, mentioning that some of the staff have spent five decades working for the property. “All the ladies and gentlemen have gone through extensive training on what it means to deliver that anticipatory, personalized service that Ritz-Carlton is so well-known for.”
I’ve stayed up on Oahu’s North Shore at Turtle Bay more times now over the years than I can remember, but there was a noticeably new feel at the property on this recent visit — one shaped, in part, by my interactions with the staff. And really, it was that anticipatory nature of the service that Chang mentioned that felt new.
Horton of Michelle’s Destinations adds that the extensive renovation and subsequent reflagging make the product a good fit for just about any client who can afford the high-end rates.
“The big caveat is: It's not a cheap resort,” Horton said. “But if this is the trip of a lifetime or if you're on the higher end, I think it'd be great for families, for honeymooners, for couples, a girls trip — it would probably be good for almost anybody.”
Horton says that she has recently booked several different split-stay Oahu vacations for clients, starting with a few nights in Waikiki, followed by several nights up at The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay.
“For our clients who don’t want to get on a plane and go to another island, they can really experience an entirely different feeling of Hawaii just by staying on Oahu and doing Waikiki then Turtle Bay,” Horton explained. “You're getting that kind of lush resort vibe when you go to another island that you don't really get when you're in Waikiki, but you do have that up on the North Shore.”
