This is a tough hotel to review. There are good and not so good things and we've stayed there twice now... as in, after the first time, we stayed there again 2 years later. We have family who live in Honolulu so we visit every couple years.
Our latest stay wasn't quite as good as our first, though it was nice to see that our favorite shops and restaurants were there both times. We also stayed about 3 weeks, so read the review with that in mind. Short stays, you likely won't notice things as much. And, keep in mind that the overall vacation was still fantastic.
We went as a family. 2 adults and 2 children, 5 and 10.
The location is truly hard to beat so I'll discuss that first. I think the value for location cannot be understated. We have never rented a car in Waikiki and generally chose to take the bus (which is cheap and very easy to do there) or Uber/Lyft depending on the time of day.
-Beaches: It's a very short walk to Kahanamoku Beach and the Hilton Lagoon (5-10 min). Heck, it's a short walk (10-15 min) to Fort DeRussy Beach and Waikiki Beach as well. You definitely have a selection. Bring snorkels. Not far from shore are areas with sea turtles and beautiful fish.
-Playgrounds: Ala Moana Shopping Center is nearby. Our kids seemed to really enjoy the custom designed play structure outside Target as well as a handful of outdoor local playgrounds on the other side of the shopping center.
-Food: You're in a fantastic spot for food. Hands down. If you want to stay close, right next to the hotel you have Da HI Brew for coffee and breakfast sandwiches in the morning and Vietnamese, sushi, and more in the small mall next door. The hotel does have "its own" restaurant which is Korean with American breakfast. We never went for breakfast but the Korean was great and the staff were fantastic. Waikiki Brewing Company has been there for a few years now and they became a staple for good beer and food, as well as a place that has a kids' menu. Kan Sushi (AYCE) is nearby and while it doesn't rank at the top for me, it's worth going once or twice. There are smaller restaurants nearby if you're willing to explore.
-Food 2: Now, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fantastic food truck park less than a 10 minute walk away. You could easily spend the entire vacation only eating there and I think you'd be happy with that choice. There are tables to eat at, or you can take your food to the beach or back to the hotel.
-Food 3: There are restaurants a further walk away. We went to Marugame Udon for late breakfast (noodles!) probably 2-3 times per week. That's about a 20 min walk, and right across the street from the International Market Place, an area which has other places to eat.
-Shopping: Okay, so I've already mentioned two large malls: Ala Moana and International Market Place (which is right next to the outdoor touristy Duke's Marketplace). Those are fine and dandy. If you want authentic smaller shops, there are some in the area, including at the Hilton Village (which is the next block over), but you'll likely have to go further by bus or car for those. Then again, we didn't go there to shop, so it wasn't a dealbreaker for us.
-Other: It's a short walk or bus ride to anything else that matters. We tend to enjoy going to things such as Diamond Head or the Foster Botanical Gardens. We take a "circle island tour" each time as well to see other parts of Oahu. The weekly Hilton Fireworks are a 3-5 minute walk depending on your speed and the traffic light timing.
Amenities:
-Pool! Despite an ocean, sometimes you just want to jump into a non-saltwater pool, even after spending a day at the beach. It's clean, big enough, and nice, with plenty of seating. For those without children, remember that some people staying here do have children... and they'll be in the pool.
-Laundry. The machines are fine and not overly expensive. We prefer to travel light so tend to do laundry while on vacation. Having laundry on site is a big win, and one of the main reasons we chose against some other hotels nearby who didn't. It's also next to the pool, so it's easy to start your laundry and go for a swim.
-Refrigerator and microwave in room. We stayed for 3 weeks and did not eat out for every meal. Plus, we had leftovers. It's not a kitchen, but amazingly some nearby hotels didn't have this and it would have been a QOL issue for us.
Room:
This is where I wish things were better.
Bathroom:
-Between our first and second stay, such as with many hotels, they switched to "fixed" shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and even the lotion and handwash. The bottles are stuck to the wall or counter. This would be okay... if they remembered to check them. We resorted to tracking down the cleaners or calling the front desk more than needed throughout the stay. The shampoo and conditioner were both empty when we arrived, and they don't fill them completely when you ask for more, so we actually had to ask a few times during the stay. It would have been nice if they switched to bottles with the clear strip so the cleaners could easily see how much is left. Or, better yet, maybe they could just fill to the top every once in awhile.
-The hand soap (also almost empty when we checked in) was annoying, and I feel crazy writing this. The sink is all the way to the right of the bathroom counter. The soap is attached to something all the way to the back left of the counter. My younger child couldn't actually reach it without standing on the toilet. Eventually we asked for some bars of soap (which the front desk had) so that there was something he could reach easily. If a kid can't access soap, they just don't use it!
-Shower: Good water pressure! Always hot on demand. I really wish the drain had some sort of cover or hair catch so it didn’t get clogged so easily. There was an old clothesline in the shower which is fantastic near a beach for hanging your clothes, but it no longer “locked” so wasn’t that great.
-Ventilation: No. I think there was a pretend vent in the shower, or at least it wasn’t turned on.
Room:
-Temperature: I'm probably a little picky here, but I really wish the cleaners didn't turn the AC on full blast whenever they cleaned. I don't want to have to put on pants and a sweatshirt every time I get back to the room. I set it to a temperature for a reason.
-On the other hand, the room's air was quite stagnant. You get hit with that stale smell on entry. Had it both times. I suppose I sort of expect it for an island hotel so it wasn't that big of a deal.
-Cleaning... This is where they lose at least two stars. They didn't clean every day the first week. I understood when hotels did this during the pandemic, for multiple reasons including lack of staff, but I'm not sure why it's still that way. We requested daily cleaning after this. The cleaning they did do was very superficial. For example, there was a urine smell in the bathroom when we arrived and we realized it was because they don't clean behind the toilet. And, the shower curtains weren't installed or designed to block some of the high pressure water which would leave a puddle behind the toilet. Gross. We usually just left a towel on the floor behind the toilet. The beds were arranged so that there was an area that wasn't easily cleanable without moving the bed. They don't move beds to clean. One of our 12 pillows (why so many?) fell into a giant pile of dust bunnies. Never mind the actual dust bunnies hanging on the wall when we checked in, and trust me when I say we’re not particularly discerning people. There just happened to be enough that we noticed when walking in the room. The bed linens weren't changed without requesting it, and even then, sometimes they just changed the sheets and not the dirty duvet cover. We typically moved all our luggage, etc., so that they could wipe the tables and clean the floors, but even when the beds were made, the floors weren’t always vacuumed.
-Beds: Some of it was included in the cleaning section. However, the beds are comfortable and there were zippered mattress protectors which was nice to see.
-Other: Window opens enough to let in some air without children falling to their deaths? Check. AC/Heat works? Oh yes. Hangers? Weirdly, not enough. I’m not sure why they were so stingy on these. Staff were kind and helpful.
Cost: This is where things get sticky. The price was fantastic for Waikiki. We booked through Chase, which was a little cheaper than any of the hotel websites, and significantly cheaper than going directly through the hotel. The price went up significantly the closer we got to our dates and I wished I had booked a week sooner. There were cheaper hotels in the area, but they didn’t have the amenities required by us. One probably had nicer rooms, but no on-site laundry. Another had laundry but no pool. The only others nearby with both were $50-100 more per night, or further away. Location was very important to us.
TLDR: Room was okay. Bathroom always felt a little dirty and the soap/shampoo were empty on arrival. Standard cleaning was lacking. Lack of ventilation in the bathroom and room lead to an always stale and wet smell so we had the window open most of the time. Amenities and the fantastic location make up for it though. Remember, most of your day is not in the hotel. If you are a stickler for having a modern, and clean-feeling hotel room, you might choose to look elsewhere. If we go elsewhere in the future it will be because of our typical length of stay (3-4 weeks), and therefore wanting a kitchen. However, in reality I foresee us staying a third time and hoping some of this stuff is worked out for a better experience.
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