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Going absolutely bonkers trying to find a decent hotel in Waikiki for under 100. There are a lot of them. Trip advisor.com driving me crazy with conficting reviews of places

Going absolutely bonkers trying to find a decent hotel in Waikiki for under 100. There are a lot of them. Trip advisor.com driving me crazy with conficting reviews of places

Old Sep 19th, 2004, 08:39 AM
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maletas
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Going absolutely bonkers trying to find a decent hotel in Waikiki for under 100. There are a lot of them. Trip advisor.com driving me crazy with conficting reviews of places

Basically, I want a decent hotel from $75.-$100 in Waikiki. Now there are really a lot of hotels in this range and they must be ok. So many that its drives me crazy. I've read the tripadvisor.com reviews and even when hotels were rated top notch by the majority, there would be one or two that would describe a hotel as a disgusting pit! Who to believe? More importantly, where to stay? HELP!!!!!!
 
Old Sep 19th, 2004, 09:40 AM
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Maybe you should read Biddingfortravel.com and thoroughly understand how to make an informed Priceline bid. Then you can bid for a Waikiki 4-star in the 90-100 dollar range and hopefully be pleasantly surprised.

Any regularly priced room in the $75-100 range in Waikiki has the potential of being a dump. But you can check the Ohana.com website, they do have some budget properties.
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Old Sep 19th, 2004, 11:36 AM
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The Hawaiiana is an old old 2 story hotel built around a pool area, short walk to everything, about 5 blocks to the beach. It is a favorite of many because of the true-Hawaiian hospitality. Request a discount and they usually reply with 10percent off the rates listed on their website.

I have also heard that the Waikiki Hana is a decent budget choice.

www.hawaiianahotelatwaikiki.com
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Old Sep 19th, 2004, 12:17 PM
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Eighteen months ago I had the same problem. I solved it by reading all of Utahtea's posts on the NPs in southern Utah and decided to go there instead. We leave Wednesday for San Diego and then on to the parks.
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Old Sep 19th, 2004, 12:24 PM
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I use Trip Adviser but not exclusivley for advice becuase it, too, makes me crazy.

I have stayed in Waikiki 50+ times which means I have had multiple stays at many hotels. Some rooms have been fantastic, some total dumps---all at the same property. For example, one of the best rooms I have ever had in Waikiki was at the Reef and one of the worst rooms I have had was at the Reef. It depends on how full they are upon arrival, what category you have booked, and the mood of the desk clerk when you check in, LOL.


Last fall we stayed at the wonderful, venerable Jasper Park Lodge and then at the Banff Springs Hotel in CAnada. We had a fantastic upgrades both times. On Trip Adviser some people who had stayed in standard rooms at these same properties were disgruntled while we were overjoyed with our gorgeous suites; their review and our experiences were complete opposites.
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Old Sep 19th, 2004, 12:42 PM
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Thank you folks! A bit of luck seems to be involved unless you pay the big bucks.
 
Old Sep 19th, 2004, 10:09 PM
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When are you going, maletas? Are you looking only at hotels right on the beach? Do you require a big pool, a restaurant, a kitchenette?
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Old Sep 20th, 2004, 02:35 AM
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Hi, Im going in April. No, I don't require a pool or a restaurant but I would actually love to have a kitchenette. I like the area of Kapiolani park. The Queen Kapiolani has some great deals but very mixed reviews so I am a little leary of that property. Queen Surf Condos might fit the bill and its in that location. Thank you
 
Old Sep 20th, 2004, 04:29 AM
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I was in Waikiki about a month ago. Found a wonderful place for $70/day within walking distance to the beach. Like 3-maybe 4 blocks.
Called: Aston Aloha Surf Hotel. (Or just try Aloha Surf in Waikiki) Do a Google on it. I had a refrig, coffee pot, Color cable TV, A.C., and micro. Parked my rental car under the hotel in garagefor $8/day. They had a fantastic free breakfast in the morning. Swimming pool. Laundry. The room was pretty nice. Clean and modern.
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Old Sep 20th, 2004, 04:52 AM
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I have had the same problem sorting out the personal reviews of hotels and restaurants. I noticed that often the sort of review seemed to be linked to where the person was from.... People from the midwest, and small towns gave more above average reviews... New Yorkers and others from large cities were the most critical.. Now when I read a review, my boyfriend always asks me where they are from FIRST! Has anyone else noticed this?
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Old Sep 20th, 2004, 07:15 AM
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Have also stayed at the Hawaiiana and enjoyed it. It is an older place but well maintained.
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Old Sep 20th, 2004, 07:42 AM
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I actually think tripadvisor offers a good form of free entertainment! It can be so funny how one review "It was absolutely paradise" is followed by "I wouldn't send my dog there!". And, yes I have noticed some trend on where the people come from. Ha! (I will keep these remarks to myself) Basically, you need to go with the majority of reviews. Even with 5 star establishments you will have someone who has a bad experience and may not be real objective. Some people are just plain negative! But, when you are looking at budget hotels you should expect a larger number of negative reviews of course. There will alway be those with cavier dreams but happen to be on a beer budget. Keep an open mind and look to see if the negative remark is repeated over and over and if that specific problem really even matters to you!!
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Old Sep 20th, 2004, 07:44 AM
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I did forget to mention in my reply the hotels I would recommend. Try the Ohana Royal Islander (under 100$, one block from beach), the Ohana Waikiki Tower is nice and a block from the beach and has kitchenettes. It might be a bit over $100 though.
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Old Sep 20th, 2004, 09:27 AM
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I've noticed that some Trip Advisor reviewers have not researched either the city or type of establishment they're staying at. Thus, you find reviews from people who are outraged that the $100.00 hotel they stayed at in downtown Manhattan wasn't like the Ritz (and they had to pay for parking on top of it!). OR reviews from people who spring to stay at a 4/5 star resort, then are shocked at the price of food/shops on the resort's property. Hawaii is one of those places that draws these sort of reviewers.

Your best bet is to go with what the majority or more knowledgeable travelers have to say. Posting at Fodors is a good start too. Good luck!

Cats



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Old Sep 20th, 2004, 11:05 AM
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maletas.

We were also leary of the Queen Kapiolani because of the mixed reviews but we stayed there anyway this summer because we could get a two bedroom "penthouse" for a great price. We did not have high expectations which was good. The room was clean and the staff was nice. We loved the location and the view of Diamond Head couldn't be beat. The hotel is run down and on our last night the AC in the room literally gushed water. They ended up having to refund our money for that night because they couldn't fix it. I still don't regret staying there because the price was right and it was only for two days. However, I would not want to stay there any longer.
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Old Sep 20th, 2004, 11:26 AM
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maletas, a few years ago, I took my two kids to Hawaii for the first time. I had the same problem as you, but didn't even realize it until we got to our hotel! The reviews I'd read about the hotel were a little mixed, but most seemed good, so I went ahead and booked. When my kids and I got to the hotel, it was horrible. Even though we were there under a vacation package deal, the hotel gave us the option of moving our reservation to another hotel in the same chain just down the street. They let us take a look at the room they would have put us in and then we were SURE that we didn't want to stay there. Luckily, the hotel we went to instead was MUCH nicer and the room was great (upper floor with a nice beach view). The two hotels/rooms were like night and day.

Sorry I can't remember which chain it was (Aston?), but I sure felt like we lucked out. We would have been sorely disappointed if we'd had to spend our trip in the original hotel.

Good luck!
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Old Sep 20th, 2004, 11:32 AM
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I stayed in the Queen Kapiolani over Christmas last year for $73.00 a night,and while it is a bit rundown, I would stay there again.While my room didn't have a great view if you can snag one of the rooms overlooking Diamond Head you will be very pleased.
The best reason to stay here is that you are only two blocks from the beach,and across the street from Kapiolani Park.
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Old Nov 8th, 2004, 09:53 AM
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I just started to research hotels for a return to Waikiki this winter. This month's issue of Arthur Frommers Budget Travel has an article on exactly this subject (hotels under $100 in Waikiki).

The Hawaiiana Hotel was recommnended to me here on Fodors and I stayed there last November and really enjoyed the place. Nothing fancy but 2 pools, nice gardens, low-rise, well-kept, good low-key atmosphere. A couple blocks from the beach. Good restaurants on the same street. May just have to return there!
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