The rooms at the Outrigger don't cost all that much less than our room at the Ali'i Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village - but I thought there was NO comparison. The decor and furniture looked cheap compared to the Hilton. The "city view" double room I saw was so tiny there was only room for a small table between the two twin beds. Very tiny bathroom, too.
In another larger room (a suite) with partial ocean view, the balcony seemed very narrow. The balcony also gave the feeling of being slightly tilted and too open or unprotected (I'm not saying it WAS dangerous) - so no one really wanted to stand out on it. It just wasn't comfortable.
Then there was the 20-something party going on in the next room which was so bad the hotel finally threw them out. I know, it's not the hotel's fault, but the experience was not positive.
The lobby is plain, but the restaurants were fine - service was friendly and the beach-front setting was lovely, especially in the evening. The food at Chuck's Steakhouse was surprisingly good.
The shop in the lobby that sells Hawaiian shirts had some great deals on men's silk shirts on the sale rack. A friend who lives on Oahu and joined us for lunch actually bought a couple of shirts because they were so nice and such a great price.
The Hotel is directly on the beach - but be aware that the Waikiki beach isn't really the best in the world. It is rather narrow, and the sand is coarse.
