Reccommended Hawaii Hotels?

furythree on 18/09/2013 - 03:43

Hi All

Going on a honeymoon in Jan-14 to hawaii

i already booked the flights, but have no idea in terms of activities or where to stay

I was looking at Hilton resort for around $229/n
but the reviews said that they charge daily taxes ontop and the resort itself is an additional few hundred dollars (all as hidden fees that you pay at the door)

The other hotels such as marriot have gotten bad reviews because of the aged decor.

And i dont know recognise the other chains as i dont travel much

The Hilton looks really nice though (has the beach, pool etc)

Can anyone provide recommendations?

Cheers

Travel

Comments

  • Ganda on 18/09/2013 - 06:52

    Hi,

    We were in Hawaii a few months back and stayed at the Waikiki Parc Hotel. We couldn't have asked for anything more. The rooms were clean, customer service was exceptional. Pool on the roof, laundry facilities, free wifi in rooms. Location was great.. We were one street away from restaurants, the beach and some great shopping. I wasn't aware of any additional taxes there. You may need to tip here and there but that's expected everywhere I guess. Let us know how you go

    Website is http://www.waikikiparc.com/

    • Orgazmo on 19/09/2013 - 14:08

      +1 Waikiki Parc

      Stayed there also and couldn't really fault it.

      The way I see it, are you going on holidays to stay at the resort/hotel? Or are you going to actually see the location you're visiting? If you want to explore, just stay at a nice clean place like Waikiki Parc that will be cheaper and just visit the other resorts for a look if you want. I walked into a few hotels asking for directions and they were very helpful even though I wasn't a guest.

  • Hoju on 18/09/2013 - 07:13

    What islands are you going to?
    We honeymooned across all the major ones and stayed in the Hyatt chain. Not worth the money on Oahu but absolutely amazing in Maui and Kauai.

    • furythree on 18/09/2013 - 13:10

      I am only staying for 4 nights (because we are going to the rest of the US as well)

      so i am uncertain if i can fit in travel between islands into our schedule

      but since i havent booked yet i guess it is possible to fly into OAHU and travel directly to a hotel on another island

  • pax on 18/09/2013 - 08:17

    We stayed @ Queen Kapiolani http://www.queenkapiolani.com/ @ Waikiki when we went last year and was good.

  • ELH05 on 18/09/2013 - 08:31

    Highly recommend the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel - right across the road is the beach. breakfast included (simple but enough to get you through). Request a high floor & get stunning views over Waikiki Beach. Perfect location for walking up & down the main streets of Waikiki. We stayed in a junior suite and was areally big room.

    If your going to Maui, I highly recommend the Westin Kaanapali for a bit of a splurge. Abut you will definitely need a hire car in Maui - everything is very far spread.

    Enjoy Hawaii - cant wait to get back there !!!

  • backpaqer on 18/09/2013 - 09:02

    If you're looking at the Hilton you must be looking only at Oahu. If you book through a hotel booking site like Agoda, HotelClub, HotelsCombined, Wotif, etc you will be able to see clearly if the rate they are quoting includes absolutely everything and they will tell you if there are any other charges. If I see any hotels quoting prices that hint at excluding anything but I want to stay at that hotel - I go straight to a booking site instead. Don't like surprises.

    • tonester on 18/09/2013 - 09:32

      there are 7 hiltons in hawaii - http://www.hiltonhawaii.com - but yes for $229 it's likely oahu's hilton hawaii village :)

      for booking sites check out the links and comments in http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/115415#comment-1576067

      Hilton Best Rates Guarantee
      http://hiltonworldwide.hilton.com/en/ww/ourbestrates/overvie…

      in terms which islands, big island has the most variety of hawaii – beach, volcano, rainforest, coffee, historic ruins, whales, turtles - with molokai and kauai being worthwhile side trips

      the best guide books are http://www.wizardpub.com

      14 Perfect Days in Hawaii
      http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/12198

      • furythree on 18/09/2013 - 13:11

        i wanna see volcano so is that oahu?

        • fertiliser on 18/09/2013 - 13:37
          +1

          if you want to see volcano you should go to the big island (also known as Hawai'i)

        • furythree on 18/09/2013 - 14:48
          +1

          im so confused now lol

          but either way, i could always just stay in OAHU and do day trips out right?

        • backpaqer on 19/09/2013 - 08:19

          Well it is a 45 min flight.

        • furythree on 19/09/2013 - 09:49

          holy jesus

          so you cant travel between islands that easily?

          damn

        • backpaqer on 20/09/2013 - 08:20

          Inter-island transfers are easy, but best done by plane and then get a helicopter once you are near where you wish to be. Unfortunately adding plane trips to your itinerary also means adding in check-in time, security screening time, getting bags time - stuff you don't want to do on a holiday (unless you have a private jet - and then you can do Crocodile Dundee impersonations! "That's not a knife…THIS is a knife!")

          My personal impressions of the islands of Hawaii are:
          1) Kauai - Fantasy Island, Elvis Island - the prettiest of the lot
          2) Oahu - Retiree Island, quite over developed, lots of tourist traps, northern beaches were full of fat, frail pensioners. The botanical gardens are nice, Pearl Harbour is nice, we rented a Cadillac and drove around the island in a day.
          3) Maui - Chill-out Island, this is my pick to go back to, has everything - I rented a motorbike and took the road to Hana…insane number of hairpins and bridges, and very scenic - like the Great Ocean Road on drugs. They have great golf, dining and I think the tourist pick would be getting driven up to the top of one of the dormant volcanos (there's two on Maui) at sunrise and racing the sun down the side of the mountain on a bicycle (it's a nice easy road and you don't have to pedal at all). Whale watching is also big on the cards - so big that the roads with ocean views have MINIMUM speed limits to stop people driving slowly rubbernecking at the whales.
          4) Hawaii (big island) - haven't been there, so no comments I'm afraid at this time.

          Don't pick a cheap, resorty hotel - unless you really like ukeleles, they seem to pipe kitchy Hawaiian music through their PA systems 24/7. I was prepared to do nasty things to anyone spotted playing one by the end of my trip.

        • furythree on 20/09/2013 - 09:43

          thanks will definitely research mroe into this

          i figured Oahu was the retiree island…but the flight from NY landed directly there
          So ill have to buy another ticket to transfer

          so is it Kona or Maui that has the volcanoes?

          i am edging toward maui at this point, but how long does it take to get back to Oahu airport?

        • tonester on 20/09/2013 - 13:30

          only big island, where kona and hilo are the main towns/cities, has active volcanos with flowing lava

          maui's are dormant so aren't anywhere near as interesting/exciting

          inter-island flights are about 45min

          as mentioned earlier, check out http://www.wizardpub.com (now http://www.hawaiirevealed.com)

  • Foxtail on 18/09/2013 - 09:03
    +2

    Been there many times, grab an apartment at Outrigger Regency on Beach Walk, about 100m to beach but tones of room and no crowds, king size bed & full kitchen, large balcony and close to everything and quiet, about USD$1750 for a week. Hard Rock Cafe 100m and main drag 2 blocks.

    Hire a ABC stretch limo for 3.5 hours with tour guide driver for $200 see beaches etc. Don't forget the huge Waikele shopping outlet (brands so cheap and real), has bus return for $10 (need to book (808) 922005), have a feed at Chilies while there its behind Macca's. In town must have feed at Cheesecake factory and your lady can bargain shop at Forever 21 after. Hilton Hawaiian Village a must for a beach front drink (fab bar) and feed, day or night, see fireworks there Fridays. At Ala Moana try out Bubba Gumps, lots of food fun, can keep a glass.

    • mparf on 18/09/2013 - 10:07

      All that sounds amazing- now I want to go!

  • Foxtail on 18/09/2013 - 10:43

    mparf, picked up 2 x Y (economy) seats on JQ - SYD/HNL/SYD last week with luggage, exit seats and QFF points for $750 each for mid May 2014, a real bargain, currently about $800 less than Qantas.

  • Cheshire Cat on 18/09/2013 - 18:10

    Stayed there in mid August. Our hotel was overbooked so we got bumped up to the 'modern Honolulu' luckiest bump of our life. It was a fantastic hotel up the marina end of Waikiki so a bit away from the crowds, shares a big lagoon with on of the hiltons and has a restaurant on site that's owned by one of the iron chefs. Exquisite food….we ate there 2 of our 3 nights (it was a stopover for us as well)
    Fantastic pool and adult only lagoon. Concierge, close to the big shopping centre etc. was a great place.

  • loiloi on 19/09/2013 - 11:32

    If you are only there for 4 days, I think that the Hilton is a little out of the action in terms of location.

    I would definitely recommend the Sheraton Waikiki.

    http://www.sheraton-waikiki.com/

    It is right on the beach front, the entrance is off the main street a little but very convenient to get everywhere you will want to visit!

    • furythree on 19/09/2013 - 13:47

      is that on oahu?

      • loiloi on 24/09/2013 - 12:51

        Yes it is.

  • anawth on 19/09/2013 - 12:39

    Stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian village and it was great. It's the size of most Sydney suburbs though.
    Hot tip: If you're going to drink a lot, don't leave the new mrs to walk home by herself while you get on the 'tropical itches' with some random old guy from Chicago. This will end in divorce.

  • Foxtail on 19/09/2013 - 13:01
    +1

    I do hope that's not from experience anawth:)

  • vegemite2008 on 19/09/2013 - 13:22

    If you have kids, stay at the Hilton Hawaiian village.

    There are several food outlets outside the resort. Food is expensive inside but the resort is amazing.

    They even have a minizoo inside the resort.

  • furythree on 19/09/2013 - 13:48

    How does one travell between islands?

    and which island has the volcanoes?

    If i stayed on the main island, would it be difficult to go see the volcanoes?
    i dont really wanna do any shopping
    mostly relaxing, eating, sightseeing

    • 777 on 19/09/2013 - 17:51

      Travel between islands is easy but you have only 4 days
      The volcanos are in the Big Island, and at the tip of the island
      The nearest airport are at least 2 hrs drive and you can only enjoy fresh lava at night
      Driving back assuming you hiring a car from Hilo there is lot of sulphur that sticks to your windscreen and if it rains even worst gets milky so plan it accordingly or get tours booked

      In my opinion stay at Royal Kon resort and see, white sandy beach, black beach, visit Ranches in up north and volcanos for sure

      As you said you are going to mainland, Waikiki Honolulu is not much different to any other major US city with exception of legendary Waikiki beach and submarine from front of Hilton
      Or else break the trip in halves

      • 777 on 19/09/2013 - 17:57

        Also mentioned above for shipping, do at mainland, say in at Los Angeles, that's the case
        Probably you don't want to carry around the stuff and is much cheaper
        And Goodluck with all the plans

    • baer on 19/09/2013 - 18:01

      Don't go to Oahu, you'll be bored. Get a transfer flight straight to the big island. Stay in Kona where it is sunny, and go see the volcano. Driving a hired jeep, taking a boat or catching a helicoptor ride are all fun ways to see the volcano.

    • SydStrand on 19/09/2013 - 20:49

      Don't take boats between islands. Do what the locals do and take domestic flights.

  • ELH05 on 20/09/2013 - 08:23

    Baer - Bored on Oahu - What the ???? Oahu is a great island to visit - hire a car, drive around the island - it's stunning !

  • Foxtail on 20/09/2013 - 09:53

    Agree, sun, surf, dine/wine, excellent eateries,a real nice trip around island, sit on the balcony glass in hand and watch the beautiful sunset or fireworks Friday nights. Even if no shopping hard to find a gal that doesn't, and its a good place for that too.

    • furythree on 20/09/2013 - 10:26

      are you referring to OAHU?

  • Foxtail on 20/09/2013 - 10:33

    Yep, love the place always have great time there.

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