We are looking for a nice hotel for 3 nights in Honolulu. It will be following a week on the Big Island at the beach, so we are more interested in restaurants, museums, history aspect of things. Price range $200-$400 (just to get some options on the table). Don't need a resort, but a comfortable place to base exploring. A friend recommended the Waikiki neighborhood but I am open...thanks

We liked the Outrigger Waikiki Beach,, location is very central.. rooms are standard , but the location on the beach is perfect and we loved the beach facing bar and restaurants.. We also liked we could sit on the patio which is right on the beach in lounge chairs and just step onto sand ...

We also liked the Sheraton Waikiki Beach..

There are so many hotels to choose from but we really like staying right on the beach.. and we only rent a car for a day or two to tour the island.. so being central is great and we can walk everywhere. We love waking up to that view... it never gets old.

We have also stayed at the Outrigger Reef but we didnt like that the pool is hidden in a courtyard .. no view of the beach.. and you have to walk through the building to get to the beach.

We have not stayed at the Moana Surfrider.. but would if we could afford it.. same with the Royal Hawaiian .. both older hotels with alot of history and great locations on beach.. but we cant pay that sort of money to stay in them .. we'd have to book the worst rooms at minimum , and wed rather spend the money on great dining.

I'm a Oahu born girl---given your stated preferences for history, restaurants, and culture I would reccomend avoiding Waikiki entirely. Waikiki is 100% tourist oriented and you won't find much that's authentic or local---also the prices are very inflated. Instead I highly reccomend renting an apartment in the downtown area (look for downtown, Kakaako, or Chinatown as the area descriptor) ---locations on ward avenue , Ala Moana Blvd, Bishop st, or Bethel street (just past Ala Moana ) would all be good bets. These locations will put you in easy walking distance of the best restaurants on Oahu (most are in chinatown, or on king street) and you can take a bus from Ala Moana shopping center or downtown (ala kea street) to pretty much anywhere on island. Hope this helps!

Does it need to be beach-front?

And yes I recommend Waikiki/Honolulu because it's central and has the most options for lodging and sightseeing.

History aspect: Pearl Harbor, Bishop Museum, Iolani Palace, etc.

As a tourist, we usually go where tourists go - at least on first trips. Waikiki was fun for us on our first couple of trips to Oahu and we stayed at a couple different Aston hotels with good satisfaction for price, location and quality. A number of years ago the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel was nice and pretty affordable for the location - beachside, walking distance. I just checked and it's listed as 3 stars and under $200 / night. When we stayed there it had been recently remodeled...but it's a while though.

That all being said, a decade plus later and many trips in between, we'd never choose to stay in Waikiki now. The advice from Trail and Tide is solid (as should be expected from a local resident). Waikiki has changed since the early 2000's and is very upscale and fancy - and crowded. We were really turned off by our last visit - about 5 years ago or so.

But, for a first trip? My bet is you'd have a great time.

While most of my trips to Hawaii now are for a month-long stay on Kauai, I've been to Waikiki many times, usually as a several day stay right in the heart of Waikiki. Great restaurants, great energy, lots to see and do. My favorite hotels are the Royal Hawaiian and the Moana Surfrider, both beautiful historic hotels. You shouldn't expect to have the same experience on Waikiki as you would have on Maui or Kauai, it will be different, but still fun.

There's really only one actual "resort" (Hilton Hawaiian Village) so you don't need to worry about that part. There are only 7 hotels (plus Hale Koa military) that are actually ON Waikiki Beach.

Thanks everyone, this is so helpful. We don't need it to be beachfront as we will have just finished a week at a VRBO on the beach in Big Island...but I do think we want a hotel for this part of things - a little bit of splurging after the vrbo. I shall look at all the excellent suggestions

You might not need something beachfront but I would definitely recommend booking one. It’s the view of Waikiki beach that makes the location special. Sheraton Waikiki or Moana Surfrider (historical hotel) are the hotels we usually stay in. I would have been sorely disappointed if I had taken the advice of trailandtide and stayed elsewhere.

If you don't have to be beachfront The Hyatt is across the street from the beach and has wonderful views. I'd still rather. pay more and be able to walk out onto the sand! The view of Waikiki is special - it's so active - watching the surfers and all of the people on the beach. You also see Diamond Head.

I enjoyed downtown Honolulu and Chinatown, but no way would I have wanted my hotel there!

If you want to be a nearby but a little out of the central Waikiki grain, you could look at the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel or Lotus Honolulu at Diamond Head.

I agree suze, if they are just there for 3 nights I would want to stay at Waikiki or near the beach. You don't need to worry about driving and can just hang out at the beach or take a quick cab or Uber to tourist places that are too far to walk to.

There are a couple of gorgeous condo buildings between Ala Moana shopping center and Ward theater that might work or near the SALT complex in Kakaako are all pretty good.

The location of this airbnb is pretty good:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/23524931?location=Honolulu%2C%20HI%2C%20United%20S tates&children=0&infants=0&adults=2&guests=2

Its about a 5 minute walk to the SALT complex in Kakaako---lots of good local food (gastro pubs, excellent coffee, brunch places) and they host some local music/art events a few times per month. From here the culinary scene downtown is about a 15 minute walk, Ala Moana Mall and beach park is a 20 minute walk, and you can walk to Waikiki in 30 minutes or so if you wanted. If you have a car it's only a 5 to 10 minute drive to get onto the Pali to head to the windward side or a 5 to 7 minute drive to get onto H1 towards the north shore going west or Hawaii Kai going east.

Basically, I personally think it would be hard to go wrong with an airbnb or vrbo between Ala Moana and Kakaako SALT ---especially if it's within a block or two from the ocean---your money will get you much nicer accomodations than going the Waikiki hotel route.

if you do decide to stay in Waikiki---id personally stay in one of the Hotels close to either the Zoo or to the Mall so that you aren't trapped in Waikiki traffic if you decide to stay there. Also if you must eat in Waikiki (generally I would say avoid this if you can) creampot is good for breakfast and genius lounge is good for cocktails and a casual dinner.

If choosing a vacation rental, make sure it's legal NUCreport.pdf

I agree that downtown has better restaurants but it's very easy to get around. When we stay in Waikiki we do most of our eating outside of Waikiki.

Thanks everyone, today we pulled the trigger and booked a room at the Kahala. So appreciate everyone's advice.

The Kahala is in a nice area, quiet but still close to Honolulu. You'll want a car.

Congrats on booking! And nice choice The Kahala is in a nice area with a more local vibe than Waikiki. I would second the reccomendation to rent a car if possible however. Here's my local insight on the cool stuff near Kahala:

*note I'm factoring in a little traffic/picture taking into the driving times---they may actually be shorter a fair bit of the time...but double these times on weekdays from 4:30 to 5:30pm

Hiking: Wiliwili ridge in Waialae Iki (10-15 min drive) and Kuliouou ridge in Kuliouou valley (20-25 min drive) both are intermediate hikes (bring at least 1 large water bottle per person, a small snack like nuts, and good hiking shoes, and both are better hiked early to avoid midday heat). Both of these trails will take you to the ridge of the Koolau mountain range and offer panoramic views of mountains, oceans, islands in the distance---very dramatic views for the effort required
---skip diamond head hike---its very hot, very crowded, and the views are comparable or better nearly everywhere else lol). Both hikes are 3.5 to 4.5 hours roundtrip (factoring in time for photos and snacks) with mostly moderate incline---there are a few steeper sections that will give the lungs a good workout
Kalawahine trail/Pauoa Flats trail: 35-45 min drive (depending on how you like driving winding roads)---relaxed/easy hike through rainforest---overlooks Nuuanu valley---lots of connected trails if you want a longer hike. 1.5 hrs roundtrip (without connecter trails) pm me for driving instructions if you want

Lighthouse Hike---35 min drive approx, easy paved hike, beautiful views of Waimanalo and Kailua Bay---very dramatic at sunset--- can probably hike this in under 40 min roundtrip---but sufficient time for photos might easily add another 20

Swimming/Snorkeling:
for snorkeling ---definitely go to Hanauma Bay (best snorkeling on island, closed on Tuesdays (I think),best to get there early, reapply your sunscreen every hour or two---trust me the Hawaiian sun is brutal)---30-35 min drive from Kahala

for swimming: Sherwoods/Waimanalo beach (40-45 min drive)...the key here is to drive Kalanianaole highway into Waimanalo and then take a right turn at the McDonald's and park at the end of the street gorgeous beach, great bodysurfing

For food:
I think I mentioned Chinatown previously...but the Kahala is also close to another local food hub area in Kaimuki ... Kaimuki is about 10 min away from the Kahala and has a bunch of awesome smaller local restaurants
1. The Curb---great coffee!

2. Leahi Health--- amazing acai/ fruit bowls and smoothies

3. Via Gelato---great gelato...new flavors daily---some of the best are the yuzu, li hing mui, and passion fruit

4. 12th Avenue Grill--- great "americana" farm to table restaurant with an emphasis on local ingredients, good wine list

5. Town-same owner as 12th Ave, has won many local food awards, slightly more upscale than 12th

6. Mud Hen Water--- farm to table, lots of asian/hawaiian influence, emphasis on small plates

7. Hale Vietnam--- solid Vietnamese restaurant

8. Sprout---really good sandwiches ---perfect post hike snacks

Try not to use sunscreen in the water, it's killing reefs. Spray on sunscreen mostly hits the sand, and is bad for turtles and other creatures.
plenty of ways to cover skin while snorkeling

i agree about a car rental for the Kahala location.

Thanks so much Trailandtide for the tourist and restaurant recommendations - we will have probably four dinners and three days worth of sight seeing - we will want to spend a good part of one day at Pearl Harbor, but then would love recommendations for history and nature/gardens for the other two days, as well as any other restaurant ideas. so excited to be finally getting to Hawaii!