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Which hotel is best: Four Seasons Oahu at Ko Olina Vs. Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay? Four Seasons Oahu is one of the best Four Seasons in Hawaii. There are also three Ritz-Carlton hotels in Hawaii, which include Turtle Bay, The Ritz-Carlton, Waikiki Beach, and The Ritz-Carlton Maui.
If we summarise these two resorts in a quick paragraph, Four Seasons Ko Olina is better if you want a polished luxury resort with calm lagoon beaches that are ideal for younger children and swimmers. It’s more convenient for the airport and Waikiki attractions. Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay Resort is located on the North Shore and has a wilder feel. The beach is rougher but better if you love surfing, and the feel of the resort is more remote and less commercial.
Whichever hotel you choose, book your stay at this Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, or other luxury hotel in Hawaii via our luxury travel concierge for extra benefits and perks, including free breakfast, resort credit, and a prioritized room upgrade.
1. Location: Four Seasons Oahu Vs. Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay
The location is probably the biggest differentiator between Four Seasons Oahu and Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay.
Four Seasons Oahu at Ko Olina sits prominently on the shoreline of the exclusive resort community of Ko Olina, which houses multiple resorts, including a high rise Marriott, Disney’s Aulani Resort, some residences, a golf club, all set around four artificial lagoons, which offer protected swimming in calm waters, and loads of beach. While the lagoon beaches are calm, there are also surf-friendly beaches up the wild, rugged coastline from the resort, with natural beaches and plenty of surfing opportunities.
The resort is situated on the oceanfront and boasts breathtaking Pacific Ocean views and direct access to scenic lagoons ideal for swimming and snorkeling. Its prime location also allows guests to explore top attractions like historic Pearl Harbor, picturesque hiking trails, and world-class golf courses, making it a great choice for sightseeing.
Four Seasons Oahu at Ko Olina resort offers guests a secluded oasis away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki (where you will also find The Ritz-Carlton Waikiki Beach), which is 45 minutes drive away whilst still having the benefits of being in a busy resort area, including access to the Ko Olina Golf Club. The resort is also less than 30 minutes from Honolulu Airport, making it easily accessible. It is also often more affordable than other Four Seasons properties in Hawaii.
Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay is located on the North Shore, accessible via the incredibly scenic H-2 and Kamehameha Highway. This means its location is less convenient, being over an hour’s drive from Honolulu Airport (HNL) and about one and a half hours drive from Waikiki. However, it is near Haliewa and Laie, which are good places to go for local shops and restaurants.
The resort is, however, more beautiful because of its location on the North Shore. The mountains and greenery are graceful and yet rugged on the North Shore, and the beaches here are postcard-perfect but rougher, so less ideal for young children or guests who might fancy some peaceful breaststroke across the bay. On the North Shore beaches, you’ll be buffeted by waves and will endure a more energetic experience in the waves.
2. Style & Character
Four Seasons Oahu is a high-rise hotel with around 13 floors. It has 371 rooms and was originally an independent hotel from the mid-1980s that was rebranded as a JW Marriott Ko Olina before being reopened as a Four Seasons in 2016 after a huge renovation.
Because of its age, some design features, such as the atrium lobby with open-air sides, feel from the 1980s, although the Four Seasons refurbishment, which included adding an adults-only pool, has been a fabulous improvement, and the entire hotel feels fresh and bright.
Being a Four Seasons hotel, you can enjoy the highest standard of luxury at Four Seasons Oahu with beautifully manicured beaches and grounds, incredible staff who will help you in any way they can, and immaculate furnishings. The Four Seasons advantage is that all their hotels are run to an extremely high standard, and the consistency of upkeep and excellent service means you can always be confident about having a brilliant stay.
Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay is also a newly refurbished resort initially designed in the 1970s as a big block overlooking Kuilima Cove. The hotel towers into the sky with its six floors of concrete, overwhelming a pretty peninsula between two bays. But for all its blockiness from the outside, the inside offers a completely different perspective, with modern and fresh designs staring out through floor-to-ceiling windows across this picturesque cove.
The beach here is white sand, and gorgeous free-form waterfall pools and infinity pools border the hotel, softened by greenery and a spattering of palms. The entire resort feels very high-end, exclusive, and unique. The result is a stunning resort with tiered alfresco pools and dining areas, which taper down to the picture-perfect bay.
3. Beach & Pools
The Four Seasons Oahu at Ko Olina has four pools. The Ohana Pool is a circular family pool near the beach, surrounded by a pool bar and several restaurants. Adjacent and right next to the beach is a smallish kid’s pool with a stepped entry, hot tubs, and a spa lap pool with a fantastic view across the bay (pictured above). The most attractive pool is the adults-only pool, which was recently built and is infinity in design. This is a beautiful pool area with views across the lawns, which are punctuated with palm trees, and out to the ocean in the distance.
All the pools at the Oahu resort, with the exception of the adults-only infinity pool, are quite simple in style, with no fun slides, etc. Instead, much of the fun here is in the calm bay, where you can snorkel and swim and splash as if you’re in the pool.
Ko Olina has four artificial lagoons, and the Four Seasons’ beach area is a stunning patch of sand on the edge of one of these lagoons. Because of the lagoon design, the waters stay calm and are ideal for swimming, making them vibrant and busy. Families with young children will likely feel that this beach is safer for their children than the beach at the Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay, which can be wavey at times. The calm bay at Four Seasons Oahu is simply wonderful and a major reason to pick this resort as your destination hotel in Hawaii.
A beachfront boardwalk runs across the coast at Ko Olina and is lovely for an evening stroll, which is another reason we love this resort.
The beach and pools at Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay are stunning and feel more empty and natural than those at Four Seasons Oahu in Ko Olina. The pools are mainly situated directly in front of the hotel on tiered levels that lead down to the water. All of the pools are stunning, with freeform pools, lots of greenery, fake rocks, and a stunning infinity pool at the top with a decked terrace.
For the kids, two waterslides gush into one of the free-form pools, which helps make up for the more energetic waves on the beach at this resort. The beach feels more natural than the beaches at Four Seasons Ko Olina and is stunning, but the ocean is wavey and can be rough if you want a quiet swim or have young kids who need calmer waters.
4. Rooms
Rooms at Four Seasons Oahu are large, with a minimum of 640 ft². The rooms feel modern and beachy, with a wooden-floored entryway and tan carpet. The bathrooms are large, and the rooms have a large balcony with a sofa, two seats, and a table.
The rooms are nice, and the views from the higher-floor ocean-view rooms are tremendous. They look out over the Koh Olina resort-y beach. Many rooms have fabulous views and are high up in the sky.
The Four Seasons Oahu is a gorgeous and luxurious retreat inside, and its ground-floor rooms have terraces with plunge pools that lead out onto lawns or down the beach, connecting you to the glorious warm Hawaiian earth.
The rooms at The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay are all fairly generic, with wooden floors, a sofa seating area by the window, comfy beds, and big balconies. There is plenty of comfy seating on the balconies, and the decor includes a slightly jarring wave behind the bed with a marmite design (you either love it or hate it!). The furnishings and bathrooms feel modern and fresh, and there is little to choose between these and the Four Seasons rooms except that the Four Seasons rooms are larger.
The smallest rooms at The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay are 478 ft² which is small when you compare them to the smallest Four Seasons Oahu rooms with a minimum size of 640 ft², but all the rooms at The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay have full or partial ocean views whereas there are some resort and garden view rooms at the Four Seasons Oahu.
What is a differentiator at The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay are their Bungalows. There’s a very modern Ocean Bungalow that feels completely different from the rest of the hotel rooms, with white walls, a four-poster bed, and a classy living area that opens onto its own sea-view patio. These bungalows are right by the shoreline and are very special. There are also larger suites in the main building with fantastic views, huge balconies, and a modern feel, and are similar to the suites at Four Seasons Oahu.
5. The Club Floor
One particularly attractive feature of The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay is that the property allows guests who book into a club room or club suite to enjoy complimentary access to the hotel’s exclusive club lounge. Four Seasons Oahu doesn’t have a club lounge. The club lounge at The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay is probably the best club lounge in Hawaii.
This club lounge is particularly lovely because it has a wonderful outdoor terrace offering a fantastic place to watch the waves roll in. The decor in the room is warm and pinewood, and it has floor-to-ceiling windows and high ceilings, making the space airy and inviting. Oatmeal and cream seating is dotted throughout the room, and on the terrace, the seats are superbly comfortable, making them the ideal place to enjoy a drink in the sunshine or as the sun sets.
Guests with access to this club lounge enjoy five daily complimentary food and beverage presentations. A curated selection of offerings, including breakfast with Hawaiian coffee and fresh fruit, lunch, afternoon tea including sandwiches and salads, hors d’oeuvres, and evening handcrafted cocktails and flavorful bites.
Club floors often offer the best possible deal because, although the initial price is higher, you do not need to pay resort rates for food and drinks, which can save you hundreds of dollars daily. If your flight arrives early or leaves late, club lounge guests can take advantage of club lounge access both before check-in and after check-out.
There is no club lounge or floor at Four Seasons Oahu.
6. Food & Drink
Four Seasons Resort Oahu has numerous restaurants, all with an open-air setting and at least one side open to the elements. Some have seating in the grounds between the greenery and boulders.
Mina’s Fish House is a particularly lovely restaurant at the resort, set right on the beach. And Noe, the Italian restaurant, is set in the gardens surrounded by tropical plants and waterfalls, which is also rather nice. Beyond the hotel, there are plenty of off-property restaurants in Ko Olina.
The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay has many stunning restaurants, all offering incredible views. We particularly love the view from their Off The Lip restaurant, which overlooks the infinity pool and is out across the horizon.
The sunset pool bar is completely outside and is a wonderful place to watch the sunset, and the stars come out with a cocktail. More bars and eateries, all with an alfresco aspect, will keep you topped up wherever you are in the resort, although the resort is isolated so you are not near any off-property restaurants.
7. Golf
Four Seasons Oahu at Ko Olina offers guests access to the nearby Ko Olina Golf Club, a championship golf course designed by renowned architect Ted Robinson. Situated along the stunning western coast of Oahu, Hawaii, the golf course features lush tropical landscaping, panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, and challenging fairways and greens. Golfers can enjoy 18 holes of play, with strategically placed bunkers, water hazards, and undulating terrain adding to the excitement and challenge of the game.
The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay features two championship courses. The Arnold Palmer Course is a premier course offering a mix of Scottish Links-style front nine and a tropical back nine, with water hazards on 14 holes, including the iconic 17th hole set amidst the scenic Punahoʻolapa marsh. The George Fazio Course is another excellent course designed to challenge golfers of all skill levels. For a more relaxed experience, the resort also offers The Breaks, which is an 18-hole, 90,000 ft² seaside putting course suitable for all ages and Pitch n’ Putt which is A three-hole, par-3 course perfect for practice. 
8. Price
The best time to visit Maui and Oahu is during the off-season in Hawaii when the rates are cheaper and the islands are less crowded. Ideally, travel is spring (April to June) and fall (September to November, excluding Thanksgiving).
Winter in Hawaii can be slightly cloudier and wetter from December to March, but it is a popular time to travel simply because the rest of the Northern Hemisphere is so miserable and cold. If you stay in Wailea on Maui, you have the most chance of sunshine as Wailea is on the sunniest coastline.
Pricing is reduced at all the hotels in the lower season. November and early December often offer the cheapest time of year to visit. The key is to book your next Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton stay via our concierge, as we can give you free loyalty-style benefits, breakfasts, room upgrades and perks.
When comparing pricing, Four Seasons Oahu is usually the cheapest Four Seasons hotel in Hawaii and is cheaper than the Maui Four Seasons.
9. Conclusion
Ultimately, all hotels in Hawaii tend to have a slightly dated exterior, but the interiors of both Four Seasons Oahu at Ko Olina and Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay have been beautifully refurbished and the height of these hotels means that the views commanded from the rooms and communal areas are incredible.
Four Seasons Oahu has the advantage of a calmer beach, a glorious adults-only pool, and larger rooms. It also enjoys the Four Seasons level of customer service which is exceptional at all Four Seasons branded hotels. The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay is located in a more remote location so it feels more unique and has similar pools plus two small water slides. The base rooms at The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay are, however smaller than those at Four Seasons Oahu and the beach is rougher. Both resorts are fabulous, and we are nit-picking to find fault with either. If you can why not stay at both to see both sides of the island of Oahu?
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