Hawaii hotel recommendations?

roxysmum123

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 1, 2011
We're doing a Royal Caribbean cruise from YVR to Honolulu - looking to stay a couple extra nights in Honolulu before coming home - any hotels worth checking out? Aulani is not an option nor of interest for us. Looking for something closer to the main area for ease of travel.
 
How many people do you have? Are you looking to stay near Waikiki? They seem to film a lot of Hawaii Five-O scenes at the Hilton there.

Also wouldn't be a bad idea to see if there are any Airbnb/VRBO condos available.
 
What is your budget and do you think you will have a rental car?

The area of Waikiki within the city of Honolulu is packed with hotels and is part of a busy, bustling city so parking fees are really, really high. Like $45-50/usd/night high so a rental car cost is something I always consider when people ask for suggestions.

You have ruled out Aulani area but you can also consider staying up in the North shore if you do not want to stay in the city. It is like night and day as far as how tropical and beachy it. I talk to people all the time that tell me that they did not enjoy Hawaii as much as they thought they would and those people are always the one who only went to Waikiki. Not that Waikiki isn't fun, there is some great shopping and dining, but there is a real issue with homeless people and drugs in and around the area, the pools are pretty small in most hotels and you have to drive in and out to see the rest of how beautiful the island of Oahu is. It is only a very small part of one of the Hawaiian islands you can visit and it tends to turn some people off. Just truly depends.

Some of the hotels I suggest are

Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach (not Outrigger Reef but it isnt bad either)
https://www.outriggerwaikikihotel.com/The reason I suggest this hotel is that is directly on the beach, it is central within Waikiki and it has a fairly decent standard of rooms for the price. The pool is quite small.

If being directly on the beach is not important but being close to the beach is then I think the Waikiki Marriott is a great option. It is directly across Kalakaua Avenue from the beach so a very quick walk
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/hnlmc-waikiki-beach-marriott-resort-and-spa/
If a great pool is what you want then you could look at the Sheraton Waikiki. It is in an ok location, not as good as the ones above but it is a lovely hotel and is on the beach
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/hnlws-sheraton-waikiki/
OR you could look at the Hilton Hawaiian Village BUT really do your research on this place. READ REVIEWS. It is located just at the beginning of the Waikiki stretch and it is almost a little city unto itself. There are many towers and they all share the pool areas, some being on the beach and some almost a block away. They have pretty good pools but the super pool is not heated which is fine in the summer but in the winter is can be disappointing, especially if you choose this hotel for the pools. The beach here is ok but kind of reef-y. There is a man made lagoon though, which is fun to splash around in but can get kind of scummy
https://www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com/

There are off beach budget options too like

The Holiday Inn Express
https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/honolulu/hnlka/hoteldetail
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/hnlkugi-hilton-garden-inn-waikiki-beach/?SEO_id=GMB-GI-HNLKUGI
but these are a bit of a walk from the beach. They make for an affordable Waikiki home base for touring from


If you have any particular hotel in mind, ask away and I can give you my personal opinion on it
 
you can also consider staying up in the North shore if you do not want to stay in the city.
Good advice here. We stayed in an Airbnb on the North shore and while the apartment itself wasn't the greatest I couldn't ask for more with regards to the location. It's very relaxed up there.
 


Good advice here. We stayed in an Airbnb on the North shore and while the apartment itself wasn't the greatest I couldn't ask for more with regards to the location. It's very relaxed up there.

A fantastic place to stay up in the North Shore is the condos that are part of the Turtle Bay resort.
This is just an example of a couple of the kind of rentals you can get, there are lots of them right on the resort grounds.
Keep in mind the surf in the winter months makes it really hard if not impossible to swim at most North Shore beaches but in the summer they are incredible
https://www.vrbo.com/645327?noDates=truehttps://www.vrbo.com/949081?noDates=true
 

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