Hawaii (State of) Hotels

The Marriott in Waikiki great: Hawaii

by chuckb97

Located across fron the beach. Staff very friendly, rooms very nice, pool good, location great ,and priced fairly.
Pucks restaurant next door priced right

Marriott Hotel: Heavenly Haven in Hawaii

by travelingteri

Miramar: Location & Value

by flatland

it was a decaent hotel at a very good price. The rooms are a little dated but for less than $100/ night in Waikiki we were very happy. It is located a block from the beach and right beside the International Marketplace. We never ate at the on site restaurant. We elected to eat at a few off site locations. Several times we bought pastries from the bakery down the street and made coffe in our room while we got ready for the day. Every morning I would get up and go for a run along the beach. Great way to start a day in Hawaii. Would recommend if you are looking for value.

westin maui: westin maui

by alysiaparadis

my family and i had two connecting rooms with a mountin view, the staff was excellent. but we like our privacy and wanted larger rooms. so after speaking with the front desk they upgraded us free of charge the there top suite that had 4 balconies, a living room, dining room, kitchen, an amazing walk in shower that could fit at least 20 people, jacuzzi tub. complete stereo system with complimentary cd's. they also stocked the fridge with water bottles and fresh pineapple daily. and the view was unbelievable, the room was on the top floor, and we could wacth the sun rise and set from any room. the main entrance leads you to a lagoon with waterfalls, fish and flamingos. there's three pools, jacuzzi, water slides, and a massage area at the top of it all overlooking the ocean. the beach was a 30 second walk from the hotel, and it is also next to a little shopping mall where they gave nightly shows of Hawaiian dancers. luckily when i went a store was closing at the mall and i was able to buy pearl jewelry at 90% off. and sold most of it when i came back. i spent 200$ and made 4,000$ pretty good deal. it was definitely the best hotel i've ever stayed in.

Patey's Place: Great Hostel on the Big Island

by CoastieGreg

This was my first time in a hostel and i met so many people from all over. Drinking excessivley with Peter from Finland, watching four Danish girls walk around in the underwear in the dorm, or just laying out and reading a book on their hammocks this is a great place.

Short walk to beaches, kona brewing company, bus stops.

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel

by Anjin-san

Royal Hawaiian Hotel, also known as the Pink Palace of the Pacific, is a hotel located at 2259 Kalâkaua Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. One of the first hotels established in Waikiki, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel is considered one of the flagship hotels in Hawaii tourism. It opened its doors to guests on 1 February 1927 with a black tie gala attended by over 1,200 guests. The hotel quickly became an icon of Hawaii's glory days. It was the Hawaii residence or Western White House of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and boasts the bar that invented the Shirley Temple cocktail (as does Chasen's restaurant).

With the success of the early efforts by Matson Navigation Company to provide steamer travel to America's wealthiest families en route to Hawaii, Captain William Matson proposed the development of a hotel in Honolulu for his passengers. This was in hope of profiting from what Matson believed could be the most lucrative endeavor his company could enter into. Matson purchased the Moana mansion, fronting the Ainahau royal estate. Christening it the Moana Hotel, it opened in 1901 as the first hotel in Waikiki. With its overwhelming success, Matson planned and built the Royal Hawaiian Hotel which opened in 1927.

During World War II, the Royal was closed to tourists and instead served as a place of rest and relaxation for U.S. submariners. While the Royal Hawaiian's lush tropical garden was (and still is) tranquil and poetic, on the beaches fronting the Pink Palace (sometimes referred to as the Pink Lady) one saw reminders of the war with rolls and rolls of barbed wire planted in the sand. President Franklin D. Roosevelt at times conducted Presidential business from the Royal Hawaiian, and it was the first facility to be dubbed the "Western White House".

The hotel was sold, along with the rest of Matson's hotels in Hawaii, to the Sheraton Corporation in 1959.

The Royal Hawaiian closed on 1 June 2008 for a complete renovation. The property reopened on 20 January 2009 as a member of The Luxury Collection division of Starwood Hotels.

The Cottages at Kaneohe Bay: Do the Cottages

by Callahanrd

Its a real cottage. Ours was an 'A' frame house with a loft. No frills, check in get a key drive to the cottage. Would recommend it a hundred times over....

US military only. Nice little cottage on the rocks on Kaneohe Bay. Wonderful for a couple or small family beach within steps. Nothing fancy but absolutly wonderful.

The Mauian: Great Little Gem in West Maui

by monsterjay

Located just north of Kaanapali and Lahaina in Napili. This is a great choice for accomodations on Maui's West side of the island. Conveniently close to busy Lahaina but still away from the crowds. Upon arriving it should be noted that there are a couple of the rooms that they are renovating and remodeling. Facility doesn't look to be the best from the outside but the rooms were totally redesigned and remodeled similar to a fancy boutique hotel that one would fine sprucing up around their own downtown area.
Many of the rooms had half kitchen areas, full walk-out patios, brand new furniture and bedding, and all rooms are just feet away from the Napili Beach where one can find some good body boarding and snorkeling. Breakfast was also provided in the mornings. Don't expect all the bells & whistles here that you would find at your five star hotel. Do expect warm hospitality, brand new rooms that will make your jaw drop at what a steal it was on a per night basis.

Hotel gave you free breakfast from 7:30am to 9:00am. Beach towels were provided as well as key to access beach chairs to lay out. Bathrooms were amazingly clean and brand new, excellent location as you are literally only 15 minutes away from Lahaina. Much quieter part of town instead of the high volume and highly priced hotels you will find in Lahaina. Also about 50 yards from the hotel is a nice little convenience store and also Snorkel Bob's which has amazing snorkel rental equipment and deals, and takes excellent care of each person that walks thru their doors.

Hale Kona Kai Condo Rental: Fall Asleep and Wake up to the sound of the waves

by Beladante

If you are about exploring local living in Kona and not about luxury accommodation – this may just be the place. Convenient, well priced, great location, amazing views.

A friend and I stayed in unit #403. It is an ocean front 4th floor unit.
The decor was cheesy and the units are old and small. But that did not matter what so ever. We dragged the living room stuffy chairs into the Lanai and all the time spent in the apartment was in the Lanai.

I booked the room via property Management Company and the service was extremely courteous and reliable. When we arrived, we were welcomed by a friendly receptionist and were given some great tips on great beaches, restaurants and attraction.

The view was awesome. Looking down we saw the waves hit the rocks and create beautiful splashes of water. We even saw some sea turtles. Straight ahead - the endless Horizon. We could see ships sail into town.
The best of all - the sun sets aren't a myth but an amazing striking reality.
Never turned on the TV or radio even once. The Master Bedroom window was facing ocean front and you just fell asleep to the sound of the waves.

What also makes Hale Kona Kai attractive is its proximity to town. It is the closest condo to the town center, still having its quite ocean front charm. Every morning when I woke up, I took a lovely walk into Hugo's Cafe - a quaint and hip coffee in the day/bar at night ocean front place with friendly bar tenders.

Great for young at heart, adventurous, and romantic getaway.

Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki, Oahu: Waikiki hotel without the madness

by paul.mac

Experience:
Great location. Great service. Great view. We stayed at this hotel during the last full week of 2008, including Christmas, for 4 nights while visiting family on Oahu. I tried to research hotels with limited time and settled on this hotel primarily because of location, cost and room size.

The hotel is right next to the Pacific Ocean. In fact all of the rooms have view of the ocean. No garden view, mountain view, parking lot view here. When you come out of the elevator on your way to guest rooms, all the rooms are on one side of the hallway. The other side of the hallway is large windows through which you can view the mountain side of Honolulu. It was nice not having to walk through a dark hallway to get to the room. I really think this layout is a major plus of the hotel.
If you book a cheaper room, you will get a room between 5th through 10th floor. Even these all face the ocean although your view of the ocean is blocked somewhat by the small boat marina. Also all rooms face the ocean so you don't have to worry about someone looking into your room through the window.

Because of an issue at the 1st room (6th floor) we were in, after 2nd night we asked and were given a new room on the 18th floor. My wife and kids were having major allergy issues in the first room. The allergy symptoms went away when we were out of the room visiting family. It was either caused by trees/bush right outside of our window or cat hair from past guests. My guess is the cat. Anyhow we asked for and the front desk gave us a new room on 18th floor. Basically the issue wasn't the hotel's fault but they responded in a positive way immediately.

When we got to the 18th floor, the view of the ocean got much better.

Food:
We had breakfast buffet in Prince Court Restaurant in the hotel one morning and it was pretty good. The restaurant is on 5th floor btw. When we went it wasn't too crowded and were seated right next to the window. There's the usual breakfast stuff plus menu catering to Japanese/Asian tourists. Kids enjoyed fresh fruit.
I discovered Marina Front Cafe on the last morning we were there. You can pick up something quick to eat or coffee. If you are in a hurry to go on a tour that leaves early in the morning Marina Front Cafe would be a good choice. There is a Starbucks and McDonalds across the street from the hotel also. While in Hawaii, you should try McDonalds for some of the items that are available only in Hawaii.

We didn't try it this this time but a few years ago I was in Hawaii, we tried shave ice in Prince Court Restaurant and it was awesome. It was a bit pricey for 'shave ice' but it was beautifully presented and the ice was very smooth, which according to my wife is a key part of a good shave ice.

Room size:
We didn't get the suite but the room is still pretty good sized. I think its rooms are larger than other Waikiki hotels. About 420 sq ft. And the Bathroom has separate tub, shower, and enclosed toilet area with a separate glass door. Pretty useful when you have kids. Because of the tub I'd recommend this hotel for families with little kids that need to be bathed by parents.

Parking:
We valeted our car for $22 (?) a day. Self-parking is $15/day I believe. They had different rates for visitors without room reservations. But in case you have visitors coming to the hotel in own car for some reason, they can use metered parking facing the boat marina.

Negatives:
-Furnitures are dated. I think the TVs are about 10 yrs old. They probably won't replace the TVs with wide aspect LCDs any time soon as the Entertainment Stand doesn't have the room.
-Not much to do at the hotel itself. At Hilton Hawaiian Village you can just walk out of the building and see tropical gardens, fish ponds, sandy beach, penguins etc etc which are good enough to entertain little kids and maybe even adults for awhile. But at this hotel, there is the nice airy lobby and view from the hotel and that's about it. You could walk over to the Hilton Hawaiian Village by following the sidewalk which takes you through the Hilton Lagoon and than the grounds of Hilton Hawaiian Village. It's about 5 min of walk to get there.

Lastly, we were there when the entire island of Oahu lost power for 12 - 24 hrs. All elevators were out of service when we pulled in 30 minutes after the blackout started. We were bracing ourselves for the walk up to our room on the 18th floor but thankfully they got one elevator working in both of the 2 towers in time. I heard the next morning that Hyatt had no running water during the blackout. Not our hotel.

All rooms have view of the ocean. If your floor is low enough, most of the view is taken up by the small boat marina.
Not in the middle of Waikiki but near enough that it's quiet. Within walking distance of the Ala Moana Mall.