$100 a night? $500 a night?

I think you might like to stay in Waikiki your first visit. We enjoyed it our first visit which was also in November; didn't find it overly crowded as it is somewhat off-season (we were there second week before Thanksgiving; we stayed at the Outrigger Reef which we enjoyed.

It also depends on if you want to be in the heart of the action, close to Waikiki Beach, the shopping, nightlife, restaurants, museums, Pearl Harbor, Iolani Palace, Bishop Museum, etc.

If you want the quiet life away from the tourists, I'd go with a B&B but you'll probably need a car to get around.

And the traffic is TERRIBLE! You may be in paradise, but not on the roads. I've stayed in Waikiki multiple times and house sat in Kailua on the windward side for a month. I agree that Waikiki would be a great choice for you.

Waikiki would be a great choice IF you want that atmosphere -- it's very different from other parts of Oahu. I happen to like it (I haven't found anything to dislike in Hawaii yet ), but I'm sure others would find it too "dense" (not so much crowded with people (although there's that, too -- I read somewhere that the Cheesecake Factory in Waikiki is the number 1 producer in the chain), but dense in the sense that there are long blocks of hotels, shops, etc.) I'd suggest you google "Waikiki" and then click on "Images" -- the pictures will give you a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about.

I *love* Waikiki, but then I like a city with a beautiful beach.

My personal favorite budget hotels are Waikiki Sand Villa, The Breakers, The Royal Grove, Hawaiian King. For mid-range price I like Queen Kapiolnai or the Outrigger Reef. The high-end hotels include Halekulani, Royal Hawaiian, Moana Surfrider, the Hyatt, New Otani.

But since you mention "mass of humanity" perhaps you want to stay somewhere more quiet outside the city?

budget and length of stay would be helpful. Waikiki is good for a few days in IMHO...Lots to do and still relax if you want to. Also been there in Novemberfor a few days but it was thanksgiving and really enjoyed it.....More info needed from you.....

We have found best of both worlds, Wakiki and B&N like accomodations: Hilton Hawaiian Village Timeshares.

Right in the Hilton Hawaiian Village and can literally walk out the Timeshares to Hilton beach, shows, Hilton Hawaiian Buffet on the Beach, Hilton Village shopping with all the comforts of home/condo.

HHV Timeshares are found on VBRO, 1-2-3 bedrooms with views of the beach/ocean front, mountains, lanai come with their own concierge to help w/luggage, fetching cabs reservations, etc.,
http://www.vrbo.com/search/keywords:Hilton%20Hawaiian%20Villag

Yes, more info would be helpful. Staying for 3 nights, 11/11 - 11/14, on our way to Australia/New Zeland. Would prefer mid budget & mid-range hotels. Sounds like we should stay on Waikiki and not get a car. Surely there are tours to go on outside the city?

Yes there are ALL kinds of tours outside the city, around the island, even to other islands.

Suze,
Thanks for posting your favorite hotels. I just made reservations at the Waikiki Sand Villa for March 2013. I am happy with the rates and thank you again!

cd, You're very welcome. I hope you enjoy your stay. I know I did. If you want to see a few photos of my room, the pool, the view... I have a review on Trip Advisor (suze2you from 2009).

cd: Recent visitors to The Waikiki Sand Villa seem to have made the claim they were bitten by bedbugs. (see Brian C.'s recent review on TA hotel reviews) Any hotel can have bedbugs though. Just check the mattress there as carefully as you would at any other hotel.

I agree with suze: I think the Trip Advisor hotel reviews are quite helpful.

Oh no! I will check it out!

bowsprit, I don't know what you're agreeing with me about. I have never said TA reviews were helpful. I rarely read them myself because I think they are often bogus. People who never post on the forum show up as "one time wonders" with horrible stories and complaints. I only mentioned them for CD specifically because I have several snapshots of the hotel posted along with my review.

And yes I have heard of bedbug comments about that and many other Waikiki hotels but I had nothing like that happen to me. The place was very clean and well kept. It's a modest budget hotel but they do a lot with what they've got.

suze: LOL! I assumed since you WROTE a review for TA you would want people to read it and get helpful information from that review, right? OK, so I guess it's only Your review that you wrote and posted on TA that's helpful. Sorry, my mistake.

Perhaps the quality of the hotel has deteriorated a little since your stay in 2009.

Thanks for the head's up Bowsprit. I spent a lot of time following up on this and found that Honolulu is full of bedbugs! I did cancel the Waikiki Sand and after lots of research reserved another hotel. Here is a link I found that alerts to bedbugs in Honolulu hotels if a report has been made: http://www.raveable.com/hi/honolulu/bed-bugs-in-hotels/l1910

Suze, thanks anyway, you just didn't know.

Every place with a lot of visitors is going to have bedbug issues. The trick is to find a place that seems to be committed to taking care of the problem! Good luck and check for bedbugs!

Correction: I should have written that every place with a lot of visitors has the potential to have bedbug issues.

Cathy1944, the Aston Waikiki Circle is a midrange hotel that is in a wonderful location with great views from the oceanfront and oceanview rooms. You can see what the views are like here http://www.worldisround.com/articles/334335/index.html
The rooms have been updated since then.
Aerial view showing how close it is to the beach http://www.hawaiirevealed.com/free-travel-info/oahu/oahu-resorts/waikiki-area/waikiki-circle

No the hotel hasn't "deteriorated". It's a budget tourist hotel (tour busses full of foreign tourists stay on lowest floors daily, and why they have that lame continental breakfast included). Yes I had read of one person who had the bedbug problem. I had a great stay, no negative experiences, the room was $67/night on a promotion at the time.

I absolutely understand cd's decision to stay elsewhere.

bowsprit, Some TA reviews are valuable, but plenty of them are not. From the 1-time-wonders complaining about ridiculous things. To those planted or highly encouraged by the hotel's management. Or negatives ones posted by competition. All this together makes the TA 'star rating' systems notoriously inaccurate. And yes I do post my own reviews there sometimes, I don't see that as a contradiction.

The heart of Waikiki can be noisy. Look at Ilikai and Queen Kapiolani.

With only three days to sightsee, I would suck up the parking fees and reserve a car for airport pickup. You don't have time to waste waiting for The Bus, or to be dropped off far from where you want to go. I'd take part of a day to drive around Oahu's beautiful east and north shores, too.

A problem with tours is that many are geared to non-English speakers. (Plus obligatory rest stops and the lengthy stop at the driver's auntie's cousin's Giftee Shopee. LOL)

I read a lot of TA reviews. A picture is painted if one reads a range of reviews of a property. The TA rating system is flawed but the reviews, and the pictures that sometimes are posted with the reviews, are very helpful. They're just one more tool to use while finding the right hotel within your budget. I don't pay much attention to the reviews that are too glowing or too negative or the 'one offs'. I think TA's reviews are worth looking over.

The best part about TA hotel reviews are when people post their own photos. I love that feature.

Me too, suze.

I always look at the travelers' own photos and have even commented on here that people do so when I find something particularly appropriate. For ex., the pictures of the grounds at the Marriott Waiohai in Kauai are very very accurate and I've said so on here - I'm sure that's true for other hotels as well. The pictures also give you a better idea of the general ambiance than the "professional photos" do - for ex., if half the pix show a room full of upholstery with pink flowers, and chintz gives you hives LOL, you might want to stay elsewhere!

cd:

Thanks for the report about bedbugs!!!!!! Wow, I did not realize it was so bad there. And thanks for the link to check the hotels that have had reports. I better start doing some research.

You're welcome Cathy. We're staying in the Aston Waikiki Circle. That report states they have not had a bedbug report in over a year.