Karina, have you checked VRBO.com for condo's?

Can we assume you are coming from the west coast? Five nights is a pretty short stay.

I'd want Maui in January. It's whale season. Weather should be good from Kahana on south. Ocean would be best off South Maui.

(If you could come in early December, you'd find rock-bottom rates for lodging and rental cars.)

Have you looked at the budget hotels in Waikiki? Places like: The Breakers, Waikiki Sand Villa, White Sands, Queen Kapiolani, and The Royal Grove are all decent places with rooms in the $80-150 range.

Dear ChiSue

The poster asked about Honolulu. You have a habit of trying to second guess posters that ask specific questions trying to make them second guess themselves. This is not always helpful. What about this post makes you suggest not going to Honolulu? Why do you continually insist that people should change their flights and island choices?

suze is very knowledgeable about affordable housing on Oahu. I have no experience on Oahu, but think that she can give you very solid advice on budget travel and getting some good bang for your buck.

Happy Trails!

Here's another one. For an apartment you can look at Pat Winston's units located at the Hawaiian King hotel. We had a decent 2-bedroom there in January one time at a very good rate.
http://www.winstonswaikikicondos.com/

With the disclaimer none of my suggestions are 5-star resort, all basic modest local-style hotels. But all in convenient locations and clean, serviceable, reliable places to stay.

If you are still considering a condo--when we were in Honolulu in Feb 2012, we rented a condo at the Ilikai Marina. The building is just past the west, I think, end of Waikiki overlooking the Ala Moana boat harbor. It is quieter there than in the middle of Waikiki but is a really easy walk to Waikiki. The building has parking – unlimited in and out – for $20/day—a good deal for there.

From the tiny balcony in each unit, you can see Duke’s Lagoon, which is in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village complex (the building with the huge mural on its side that’s in the opening credits of Hawaii 5-O overlooks the lagoon). It’s an easy walk from the Ilikai Marina building to the beach walk that goes along Waikiki. One evening we walked down to Tropics Bar and Grill in the Hilton—had some dinner and watched the sunset.

Here is the unit we stayed in http://www.vrbo.com/148073 It was very nice, the photos are quite accurate. Here are a couple of other condos in the same building that look good to me-- http://www.vrbo.com/349168 http://www.vrbo.com/361188
And there are a few others—just go to vrbo.com, then Hawaii: Oahu: Waikiki: Ilikai Marina. You can put your dates in and it will show what’s available.

The balconies are really small—big enough for two chairs and a tiny table (great for coffee in the morning watching the city and the marina wake up). The closest supermarket is a Foodland at the Ala Moana shopping center – maybe a 5 minute drive away. http://www.alamoanacenter.com/

Hi Karina- I lived in Hawaii for several years. You might want to take a look at Hawaii Resort Hotel. http://www.waikikiresort.com/ My daughter and I stayed there in May of this year. Very clean and reasonable, only a block from the beach and Kalakaua Ave to catch busses and a couple blocks from the zoo. Lots of nearby restaurants and ABC stores to pick up souvenirs and food staples.

A condo will be the best value. I think the ones mentioned by martym are a good choice.

Do you have a price range per night that you want to spend?

I agree, it's easier when we know a price range. I've never found VRBO condos to be cheaper than the hotels I mention, and often they require a stay longer than only 5 nights.

karina, have you checked hotwire prices for your dates? in mid-Jan, there are several Waikiki hotels less than $100/night. To help you figure out what which hotels they are, check betterbidding.com

Earlier this month we stayed at the ilima. We had a nice big room with a kitchen.

Hello everyone,

A BIG thanks for all your feedback! These are great jumping points for my endless search.

I would like to spend no more than $125/night on condo or hotel. I know this is really low, especially since it's high tourist season in Honolulu. No luck yet finding accommodations for this price. I might reconsider if it's really not working out.


Thanks again,
Karina

Have you tried the Ocean Resort Hotel? It's a couple of blocks from the beach, and you need to be on the 14th floor or higher to have an ocean view. Most rooms have kitchenettes, and they were reasonable a couple of years ago.

The hotels I mentioned in my post at the top of this thread are all in that price range. No vancancies any of those places?

I've had really good luck with Castleresorts.com
In Waikiki they have rentals with the Waikiki Shore which are condos right on Waikiki Beach. They also accept AAA/CAA.

Maybe check out this deal?

http://www.tripalertz.com/deals/detail/501-Wyndham-Royal-Garden-Honolulu-HI?utm_source=Beat%2Bof%2BHawaii&utm_medium=onsite&utm_campaign=BoH%2BWyndham%2BRoyal%2BGarden&friend_u=4963

I've stayed here before, and all the rooms are renovated and comfortable. Laundry room and wifi are free. Parking is not free, so if you have a car, you might want to add another 25 per night in parking if you can't find street parking (a rarity in waikiki anyways)

I also highly recommend another condo, which I've stayed at before and staying again in March 2013. The owners are super nice and the rate cannot be beat. I like the free parking and the location was great. The building is older but the unit is renovated. I notice there is no availability in January though but maybe you can keep it in mind for another trip.

http://www.vrbo.com/289228