Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Anyone have an opinion on the Marriott Ihilani?

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Anyone have an opinion on the Marriott Ihilani?

I made reservations (using points) at this hotel? I have two kids (b9 & g7). Should I stay here? What is there to do? Is it good for kids?

We stayed there for our honeymoon last March. It was very nice and new...beautiful rooms. There were only 2 drawbacks to consider if you want to stay there though. The Ihilani is pretty far from Waikiki, so if you want to do touristy type stuff (pearl harbor, polynesian cultural center, diamondhead, etc), you gotta drive. Plus, there aren't many non-hotel restaurants near the hotel. You can drive a couple exits south, and find a outlet mall with tons of restaurants around. It was fine for us, since we were really only in Oahu to see Pearl Harbor and then move on to Kauai. Also, the beach has very small waves (it is a lagoon area)...probably good for young kids, but we really wanted to see some nice waves. Overall, it was a great hotel, but keep in mind those 2 things when making your decisions.

just remember many of the sites mentioned in Jill's post are on the tourist route in the unpleasant sense of the word IMHO. The best sites are Bishop Museum, Iolani Palace, Heaui North Shore, Alii birthing grounds on the way out to NS. This is if you are here to learn about Hawaiian culture not just US history on a foreign soil. Polynesian Culture center is a theme park, not a serious look at Polynesian societies. I think its name is very deceptive so I thought I would warn you. There are also many other places of scenic beauty throughout Oahu that will take some driving from your resort. Makapu Lighthouse, Pali lookout, Sunset beach, Waimanalo, Lanikai, Sacred Falls. All of these and more will be a trek from Ihilani. I think if you will only be on the Island briefly, Ihilani palace is a great spot. I know people on the island who go here for spa days and love it. Another place to consider is the Manderin Oriental in Kahala. I would not fret over missing Waikiki but I would over missing the excellent restaurants in Honolulu and China town. That is only a problem if you don’t want to drive.

Cheryl, It all really depends on what you'd like to do with your time on Oahu. If your family is more interested in spending time on the beach and just relaxing, the resort will be perfect. The beach is manmade, but seemed to me to be a really comfortable place to enjoy the weather and water. The snorkeling isn't that good, but there are still some colorful fish and marine life in and around the lagoon. It's not crowded like Waikiki, making it easier to keep an eye on the kids, there are enough beach chairs for the guests, and the hotel provides rafts for floating on the water. As other posters have pointed out, it's about 45 minutes from Waikiki, which can get to be a bit of a drive if you're planning on going out there everyday. But, we felt that an afternoon in Waikiki was enough for us to see the strip and do some shopping. Perhaps you can allocate a full day for Waikiki so you can see the great "touristy" sites (I mean, some of them are fun and you are a tourist, right?), so you can complete your Waikiki visit in one day. The one thing that was a bit irksome was that most of the tour providers and activities are located closer to Honolulu, so we had to drive there whenever we wanted to do something like a dinner cruise or organized tour. If you're planning on doing your own sightseeing by car, I don't think it should be a huge problem. Probably the best thing to do would be to get a good map of the island, think about where you want to go, and see how your family feels about the drive between the Ihilani and your destination site. I also agree with Jill that there aren't a lot of non-hotel restaurants near the hotel, but the nearby town of Kapolei has some chain stores and family owned establishments where you can eat more cheaply than at your hotel and provides kid-friendly food. It's only about 5 minutes away. Have a great time there. I thought the Ihilani was a wonderful hotel with great rooms and good service. We had originally tried to get rooms at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental, but in the end, were very happy with our choice regardless.

This is a beautiful resort, and most people find it to be more what they hope Hawaii will be. Restful, quiet and not in a concrete jungle. There aren't waves in the lagoons, but they are great for rafting and swimming, and this is the only hotel using the lagoon, so there are lots of chairs! You are actually closer to the North Shore than you would be in Waikiki, and closer to Paradise cove luau, if thats on your list. You are probably equally close to the Arizona memorial and to activities on the windward side (use the H-3) if you take traffic into account. On top of all that, which will you like better.... free (points) room at Ihilani or minimum $100 per night in Waikiki?

Just remember it is not a choice between Waikiki and Ihilani. There are a number of areas that are outside of Waikiki that will provide you with comfortable accommodation away from hustle and bustle. Kahala Mandarin is one, Hilton Turtle Bay another, Condos are all over the island and can give you a break from the tourist track. You don't always have to rent for the full week either but for kids I found this worked better than when we split weeks. As for the tourist track I don't know what the above posters are talking about I find that most of attractions are spaced all over the island, Byodo Temple windward side (birds eat out kids palms)(many coi fish also to feed while you look at beautiful temple), Waimea Falls Park (authentic hula)(reproduced village settings)(rare plants, flowers), Sacred Falls Park, Heaiu are on the North Shore. Bishop Museum (many child centered exhibits), Arizona Memorial are closer to Ihilani. The state fair goes on out there also as well as a flea market at the football stadium. You can find cheap souvenirs here, t-shirts and your general junk kids love that will be sold at a higher cost in Waikiki. Iolani Palace, Queens summer residence, Missionary house, Honolulu Academy of Arts (frequent craft fairs in property in front), Blaisdale frequently with fairs and events for entire family are all in Honolulu. Depending on when you are there some times Univeristy of Hawaii has great cultural festivals. Not sure where you are from but this can be colorful and fun To me the area around the Palace gives you a sense of independent Hawaii and I can’t imagine not introducing a young child to this but not everyone cares about history on every vacation. It is our 50th State and I think the info you learn on these tours is important. I traveled with kids (8-11-12) this summer they loved Sea life park, Hanama Bay and snorkeling in general. They also loved hiking, exploring the candy isle in the Japanese store Daie. Buying candy not knowing what it was as the writing was not in English. They liked going into all Japanese stores in general which was fun. I can imagine that they would also like the zoo, aquarium in Waikiki but their mother my sister wanted to get out of Waikiki the minute we checked into the Hilton Hawaiian Village. We had just been on the North Shore of Kauai so I guess Waikiki never stood a chance with her. I come from a city and I don’t mind but there are more attractive areas on the island. Bottom line with kids I would be closer to attractions not necessarily Waikiki. I found breaking up our stay between North Shore and Lanikai (Kailua would also work well) was the best option for exploring Oahu. Just would have liked longer stretches (week) in both places. Get to know Oahu and you will find yourself ranting pn like this also it is a highly under rated island.

Take Sarah's post with a grain of salt. There is a reason some of the places are the busy - they are also the best experiences. You'll just have to anticipate crowds for popular places. The state has closed Sacred Falls - too much danger of additional rock slides. The Bishop Museum and Iolani Palace are O.K. for culture on display. If you want to see culture performed go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We love it, have an annual pass. The Pali lookout is a great spot. So is Sunset Beach and the Byodo-in Japanese temple.