Pilila’au Army Recreation Center

On December 5, 2015 I was invited to spend the night with one of my lady friends. The first thing that I had to do was accompany my lady friend to the office to get registered as a guest to spend the night.
Once that was done it was time to head on over to the cabin. My friend’s cabin was in the same building as another person’s cabin. The building was known as Molokai. Inside the cabin there’s the living room with a couch and a flat screen on the wall mountain side of the room. There’s also access to the patio via the sliding door. The dining area had a table with three four chairs. There was a air conditioner in the dining area too. Pass the dining area was the kitchen. There was the microwave, stove, oven, coffeemaker, refrigerator, and the toaster was hidden in one of the drawers. The kitchen cabinets had the plates, pots and pans, and glass cups. The top drawer had all the utensils needed for dining.
Beyond the living room there were two bedrooms. One bedroom had a queen size bed while the other bedroom had two twin size bed. I slept on one of the twin beds. I noticed there was a ceiling fan and a air conditioner in the room.
The bathroom was next to one of the bedrooms. I noticed that the shower stall had a soap dispenser mounted on the tiles.
Overall I wished I could have enjoyed spending more time in the cabin. Housekeeper even showed up before 10am to drop off some extra towels.
The cabins are within walking distance to the beach. Surfers, stand up paddle boarders, and other beach goers were enjoying the early morning waves. People can enjoy watching the sunset and on some nights people can even stargaze.
If my friend does stay in the cabins of Pilila’au Army Recreation Center then I would definitely stay over again.

Cabins are air conditioned and newly renovated. We love it here. Great for family fun in the sun.

Thank you thank you to Precious and Shontell who work the front desk. These ladies were so nice and helpful and made our stay in the cabins worth every penny. I had my baby shower at the cabins It was great! cabins are not huge but just enough space. We stayed on the surf side if you have kids I recommend to stay on the other side the surf side had lots of rocks but the other side is good for swimming. We enjoyed our stay and the staff. Thanks so much Precious for your hospitality we will definitely be coming back!!!

Excellent place for the kids to swim. Great for me and hubby to surf or SUP, then relax with a beer or go up to the Sunset Café for their Kalua Pig Nachos or Rib Eye Steak. Sometimes service is excellent, most times, have patience, they’ll take your order eventually. The bathrooms on the grounds are not tended to on a daily basis, some days they were pretty disgusting that I called the office to notify them. It appears they are short staffed here, so the maintenance (trash cans) can be overflowing and the grass is dead, unless we get a nice down pouring of rain. The lifeguards are helpful with information. The housekeeping personnel are very friendly and helpful too.

As good as it gets for Waianae. Can’t beat the location right on the water for cocktails & dinner! Good for large groups or small. Louder on Thurdays-​Sat evenings as they have live music and dancing on occasion.

Just spent a week and could not of asked for better for the price! Staff outstanding, beach great! Food we prepared most days but the few meals we ate at the café was great! The only thing you need to bring is hand soap, hair care items. Each unit has a BBQ should bring charcoal and lighter fluid. And they clean each bbq often. Oh we bought 2 beach towels, which we never used because the Hawaii weather dries you so fast. Sand/​water shoes are helpful also. Can’t wait to return!

Awesome spot to go to the beach without being overcrowded. Plus, you can rent paddle boards & canoes normally without a wait. If you’re hungry they have a wonderful open air beach side restaurant.

Love the live music every Friday and Saturday nights. The band reminds me of Kalapana, Kachi kachi music and island reggae mix.
Like the fish tempura and garlic fries. They even got Lechon and tomatoes for pupus. You can have an appetizer for main meal.
Locals love to bring thier families and set up potluck near bar area to listen to the music.
Come and get a front view of the most spectacular sunsets in the world. No two are ever alike.

Went to this beach for a day trip. Awesome beach, cove protected, split by a rocky wall. One side completely calm, excellent for snorkeling. (saw a turtle).The other side, a little more wavy for boogie boarding. Super nice Lifeguard staff… gave my daughter a 10 minute paddle board talk through… ate lunch at the bar… pretty good food. Overall awesome experience.

Its really nice here. I did not know this was here. This is why its great to meet people u never know where u could end up.

Great views! absolutely beautiful area.
We stopped in here on our way back from the harbor for some much needed refreshments
you need military base access but I was with active duty personnel so we got in with no issue, parking was a hassle but hey — it’s the beach.
The food, service and atmosphere were great. It was a Saturday afternoon and not too busy, not too dead, just right for us. At 2 pm they have drink specials: $ 3 beer!

Beautiful beach, hate the drive, kinda weird that it’s in such an area. Drove out of gate to grab lunch with my husband, 2 year old and 4 year old. At the traffic light 2 women and one child in a stroller and 3 children under age of 5 years old walking alongside of stroller And came across a car booming his vulgar rap music at the stop light and all the way out of Waianae! !! So annoying. We pulled over so we didn’t have to expose our children to that crap! Seriously, this may be a lame complaint but geez this was the most run down vehicle with absolutely no class. No sense of respect for families with children, no sense at all. Yeah I get that your from that area even born and raised bruddah but your not the only one and you’ll get respect when you start Givin it!

If you are looking to stay on the Leeward side, this is a great place. I stayed one night because that is all they had available. I prefer the Barber’s Point cottages, I like the set up there better, but these cabins are great too and for a really good price.
If you are doing an early morning dolphin snorkel cruise, this would be a great place to stay the night before. It is right by Waianae Boat Harbor.
Also, go check out Ka’ena Point; the trail is a great hike/​walk with awesome views.

You can’t beat the prices for paddleboard rentals! The beach isn’t enormous but it’s big enough. It’s a great place to spend the day if you have a military ID. You may also find a $ 325 pair of Gucci sunglasses in the water that I lost when I ate it on the board. So enjoy!

Sometimes you just have to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and relax. This is why we decided to get together with a couple if friends and come to this place. It’s cabins are air conditioned and fully equipped with everything you need to be comfortable. Two bedrooms, comfortable beds and furniture. The kitchen has pots and pans, utensils, plates, cups, coffee pot and refrigerator. The tv is a good size so there is no squinting. There is a bar and restaurant incase you like to have a couple if drinks. Base access is required. There is lots of parking for guest. So plan your next relaxing get away to clear the mind and heal the body with lots of rest.

Notice: Base access required. This is a military facility and there is a gate guard checking IDs upon entry. That being said, there is nobody stopping anyone from parking elsewhere and entering the recreation area via the beach… which is PUBLIC (meaning anyone can use it to some of you who seem to think you’re «entitled» to your own portion of beach).
Gorgeous beach day on Pokai Bay! Parking is kind of cruddy, but once you’re here, it’s nice. There is an Express Mini Mart where you can buy some beach gear, snacks, and drinks. Right next to it is MWR, where you can rent stand-​up paddleboards, kayaks, and some inflatable kids thing (you take it out into the water and jump off of it per the lady at the front desk).
There is a lifeguard station. I kept making the comment that there wasn’t much of a beach in some areas — near the rock wall, there isn’t much sand, so during high tide, there isn’t really too much beach area to lay your stuff down. We watched a few people scrambling as the water rushed up over and into their belongings. Likewise, we witnessed a few sandcastle building toys get washed away out into the bay. It looked like further down left and further down right there was more sand to spread out on, but right by the parking lot there wasn’t much room.
Head up to the Sunset Café for some Kalua Pig nachos… HOLY YUM.
It didn’t seem crowded here at all. Considering you’re about ~30−40 miles from tourist central (Waikiki), the beach is pretty quiet compared to others. Don’t let the fact that it’s in Waianae scare you… Waianae isn’t anything to get all bent out of shape over.

The fact that this is in Waianae scares a lot of people away. First of all, I will say this only once. Don’t bug anyone, and they shouldn’t bug you.
We have always been impressed with Pilila’au army recreation center. This was the first beach cabin we’ve stayed in. We reserved the studio unit. The floor is tile. The kitchen takes up one side of the cabin and the bed was in the center, backed up against the bathroom in the center. The TV was mounted across from the bed. It was clean and quiet all weekend. We never felt unsafe for a second, even when we were walking back from the restaurant towards the gate. Sure, you might feel a little out of place at Tamura if you didn’t come prepared, but keep that in mind and hit up Sack N Save on the way here.
There really isn’t a nice restaurant around here so expect to cook the entire time you’re here. However, the beach wasn’t crowded and we never had to wait for rental equipment. We have rented a kayak and stand up boards from here. You have to carry them down a small flight of stairs, but they are good quality and super cheap. Both times we’ve visited, the water has been calm, perfect conditions for some relaxing water activities.
I do wish there was a way to limit public access to the cabins just in case. Beaches are public on the island and anyone can walk on base from the beach. Maybe install the cac card enabled turnstiles and leave one entrance with a guard to check dependent ID’s? I wonder if they would receive more business if they improved on the safety conditions.

I only give this 2 stars because of the location and the view. The cabin itself was actually pretty dirty. We stayed in the big O-​6 cabin with a bunch of family and were sadly disappointed. The bathrooms were not clean and felt the need to wear our slippers in the showers and throughout the house. Everything needs a good renno and cleaning. Stuff on the floors and the walls that a good swipe of a mop or vacuum or windex would fix. The beds were at least clean, despite being was too soft. I would not stay again, but hear the smaller cabins are actually nicer, which seems a little backwards but whatever. Take a day trip out and enjoy the beach, but otherwise wouldn’t recommend staying out there.

I spent 3 days here and was very impressed. We had a cabin close to the water. The units, bedding, and towels were very clean. The kitchenette was equipped with everything you need. They do have a small restaurant/​bar serving breakfast lunch and dinner. Beautiful view while enjoying your meal.
The staff in the restaurant is hit or miss. Certain bartenders need to step up on their customer service. We had dinner there one night but arrived a little after the kitchen had closed. One waiter told us the kitchen was closed and walked away.
I went up to another waiter and he was very pleasant and attentive gave us a menu and had us seated. For the other waiter «big mistake» our waiter was wonderful and we left him a very nice tip for going the extra mile.
Definitely will be going back its a nice romantic get away close to home.

I don’t like the drive! Couldn’t relax at Pilia’au Army Recreation. It’s not secluded,
Didn’t see any MP’s walking around. It’s right next to residential homes. There is a restaurant and bar, and mini store.