waikiki beach Resort recommendations

[Kkb0517]

we are thinking of spending a few days at Waikiki beach with a rental car to do some other Honolulu area attractions (diamond head crater, iolani palace, Pearl Harbor, etc) before heading over to aulani. It seems like Hilton village is a popular one, has anyone stayed there (and have thoughts to share) or liked another resort they have stayed at there? Thanks

 

[eeyorefanuk]

We have stayed twice at outrigger Waikiki beach. 2 adults

Lovely hotel. Quite a "calm" hotel

Situated to shops and restaurants

Dukes restaurant

Right on the beach

 

[JCornell]

We haven't stayed yet but we are booked in Doubletree Hotel Alana. It's one block from Hilton Hawaiian Village, had a great rate when we booked, and, unlike most of HHV, has queen beds instead of doubles.

 

[alohamom]

Hilton Hawaiian Village is situated just where the Waikiki hotel area begins so it is kind of far from the main drag of Kalakaua Avenue but it is walkable and there is a cute little trolly that runs through the area you can take too (for a fee). I have read on these boards as to the pools being cold there so be warned if you are going in the winter months. Actually here is a trip advisor link addressing that same issue https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUser...aikiki_Beach_Resort-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html

As far as resorts go, I am personally not a big fan of staying in Waikiki so we have not done it much but over the years we have stayed at the Hyatt Regency a couple of times, the Sheraton is good but pricey and last year we tried the new Hyatt Place which was ok but not great. The Outrigger chain that eeyorefanuk mentions is excellent value in my opinion because of the beachfront location but both hotels have tiny pools.

 

[kdonnel]

We have stayed at the Royal Hawaiian. It was a very nice resort. The Sheraton next door would have been more our speed but it and all other Starwood properties were booked and we were wanting to use Starwood points. The Royal Hawaiian seemed to be in a great part of the beach and the Royal Hawaiian Center mall was just behind it. We were walking distance to everything we wanted to do at Waikiki.

 

[wanderlust7]

We've stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in the Lagoon tower and liked it a lot. It's a huge complex with lots to do - several pools, lagoon with pedal boating, penguin feeding, fireworks on Fridays, Starbucks (if that kind of thing is important to you ) and Lappert's ice cream (yum) on site. It is kind of on the edge of Waikiki, but the pros to that would be quieter beach and probably faster drive out of Waikiki (you don't get stuck in the traffic of the main drag).

The HGVC Grand Islander just opened (beginning of this month) and I saw a grand opening special rate. There is a surface lot across the street from the complex that may have cheaper parking.

 

[buffettgirl]

If you don't necessarily want something beach front, the Embassy Suites on Beach walk is fantastic. They have a free breakfast (full breakfast buffet) every morning and free drinks and snacks in the early evening. It's situated in a great spot for walking everywhere.

Another is the Ilikai, but I haven't stayed there personally, just know a few who have.

 

[nkereina]

We spent 3 nights in Waikiki to do sightseeing in that area and check out the scene. We decided on Waikiki Beach Marriott for several reasons. We did not have a rental car and were able to walk or take the Waikiki Trolley everywhere, it was a great location. It also had recently renovated rooms. And, it was a cheaper price point than a few of the other resorts we checked out - including Hilton Hawaiian Village. We did pass by the Hilton a few times, but it's at the far end of the strip. The traffic in the Waikiki area can be bad, so I would think being walking distance to the "strip" would be important for anyone. The Marriott is more of a standard hotel, while the Hilton is a resort with many things to do internally. The kind of place where you could spend the day without leaving. That's not what we were looking for during the Waikiki portion of our trip, we just wanted a place to come back to after being out and about all day. So IMO, depends on what you intend to do in Waikiki.

 

[Midoria]

I wouldn't stay at a resort if you plan on being out everyday. A nice hotel will do. I second the suggestion of the Outrigger.

 

[Loveallthingsmouse]

We enjoyed the Outrigger Waikiki Beach on our last visit, was very convenient, enjoyed the beach there and restaurants. We have it booked already for our next visit.

 

[mouseclick1]

Another vote for Outrigger. We loved the food/drink options, location was great, and the staff was very friendly. I would definitely recommend the hotel.

 

[ImDMous]

We stayed at the Moana Surfrider, which looks like it's now a Westin. It was beautiful, but we booked it through Costco so I have no idea what the "regular" price was. It was also at least 10 years ago. Basically, I'm no help.

The time before that we stayed at an Outrigger, don't remember which one but it was just fine and walking distance to the beach.

 

[nkereina]

We stayed at the Moana Surfrider, which looks like it's now a Westin. It was beautiful, but we booked it through Costco so I have no idea what the "regular" price was. It was also at least 10 years ago. Basically, I'm no help.

The time before that we stayed at an Outrigger, don't remember which one but it was just fine and walking distance to the beach.

We stopped in the Moana Surfrider for a drink. The bar with the banyan tree in it is amazing! The resort is also in a great location for being walking distance to many things. It did feel a touch more upscale than our hotel, the Waikiki Beach Marriott.

 

[longboard55]

Yes the Moana Beach Bar is amazing- maybe the best place on earth, but there is a difference in Waikiki compared to Maui and Ko Olini. In Waikiki people tend to visit all the hotels and not just stay at one all day. Also more people go to the beach and less to pools. So we always go to the Moana Beach Bar, and the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai Bar, and eat at Dukes at the Outrigger and the Shorebird at the Reef but we never stay at any of those hotels. In Waikiki you can get away with a less expensive room. I would try to stay on Kalakua

 

[GeneralTso]

I can't say enough to praise The Royal Hawaiian! It is like old Hawaii, done perfectly. It's the huge pink resort, right on the beach. Even if you don't stay there, it's well worth it to visit. Don't miss the famous Mai Tai bar. It's right on the water and you get an awesome view of Diamond Head.

 

[Euchre_U]

We just returned from 9 days on Oahu, with 8 days / 7 nights being at Aulani. We had a rental car as well. We also went to Oahu in the first of February and stayed on Waikiki. My wife had a business conference in Honolulu, and I found a really good airfare so we went together. A couple of options not mentioned above -

1.) We stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Kapolei (right next to Ko 'Olina where the Aulani is located) for two nights. This is a brand new hotel, and it's really nice. Easy to get onto / off of the H-1 interstate, and the hotel is attached to a brand new open-air mall in Kapolei. There are lots of good restaurants (albeit mostly 'mainland' restaurants) in and around the mall - 5 Guys Burgers, CPK, Applebees, etc. There is an L&L and a sushi place in the mall also. The hotel has a good breakfast included. The pool at the hotel is nice, ableit on the smallish side. There is a lagoon at Ko Olina (2 lagoons down from Aulani's lagoon) that has public parking and is real nice. We went to the lagoon there prior to moving over to Aulani. They have fresh water wash stations, shade, and nice sand (not great, just nice). Ko Olina is 5-10 minutes from the Hampton. Waikiki is probably 30-40 mins by car, depending on which end of the beach you wanted to go.


2.) The Aston Waikiki - an older hotel on the east end of Waikiki. This was the conference hotel for my wife's meetings. The hotel was good (not great), but it is just a short walk across the street to Waikiki. Hotel prices were $230-300 per night at the rack rate. You could probably do better with AAA rate or maybe calling the hotel directly. We were on the 22nd floor. The hotel has a funky elevator system that took us 2+ days to get used to. The only room complaint was that the bathroom was a bit dated. Valet parking was around $25/night, but the valet's always had our car ready with 5-8 minutes notice / telephone call prior to leaving the room. There was also a "resort fee" of around $20/night - that got you the WiFi, a morning paper, in-room coffee, access to the gym/fitness room, etc. We did not eat at the hotel restaurant nor swim in the pool. We did get morning coffee and iced tea at the restaurant. The tea / coffee was good, and the prices were in-line with "mainland" prices. The pool looked very nice; the hotel had an excellent beach towel and beach chair service included. There were a bunch of restaurants within walking distance, but we had a car so Leonard's Malasada shop, Koa Pancake House, a Safeway grocery store, and a bunch of other local and "mainland" restaurants were within a 5-10 minute drive.


Sorry if these were rambling thoughts, but both of these hotels might be worthy substitutions if would you would want to consider them.

Thanks,

Kurt H.

 

[Kkb0517]

Thanks everyone!