Trying to plan our first trip to Hawaii for September- package deal through Pleasant Holidays. Seems to be cheaper as airfare alone from east coast is outrageous. Planning to spend 10 days- 5 on oahu and 5 on kauii. Cost is a big factor for us. Looking at Ohana Reef Towers and Aston Islander on the Beach or Kuai Coconut Beach Resort. Will these "economy" hotels be OK? Do we need a car if we're staying at Waikiki? Do we get "city view"/"garden view" rooms or do we splurge for ocean view? Any tips, hints or words of wisdom would be appreciated. We haven't made specific plans so we are open to suggestions and have time to incorporate changes. Thanks!

I took a Pleasant Hawaiian tour to Oahu and Kauai several years ago. They put us in the Pacific Beach Hotel in Oahu, balcony with good view of ocean. It's the hotel with the Huge aquarium in the lobby. Right across from Waikiki. On Kauai, we stayed at the Island on the Beach. This was before the storm that wiped out a lot of Kauai back in the 80's or early 90's. Think we went in 88. But I loved the location of Islander and room was great the the nice part, we had oceanfront room. Islander has a little shopping center near by and other hotels. As for a car in Honolulu, others will have other opinion, but in mine, i would say not. To me the wakiki side is like los angeles or any big city. Tour buses can be signed up for in the hotel, or take the city bus. We took it as far as the oceanarium place. The streets have such long names, that if your giving driving directions you will have missed it by the time you give the driver inst. We saw more on a tour in one day than my sis, when they went and rented a car. They kept getting lost in the city. Suppose if you use car to go south and around island would be ok.
While in Kauai we did stop at the Coconut Beach for the torch lighting ceremony. It looked like a nice place. Now Remember that was in 88 and since the storm I would think places would be newer. Let's see what others have to offer. But I've since been to HI about 5 more time, mostly Maui, and Kauai is still my fav place. Not so much hustle and bustle...

Amber take a look at some condos. We rented the aloha unit last summer in Hanalei http://www.hanaleihouse-kauai.com/information.html

Also check out Hanalei North Shore Properties. Seem to remember seeing deals at a Century reality also, $400 for a week for 4 people. Airfare is bording on illegal at the moment but I of course think it is worth it. Have a great trip let us know how things are going with your planning.

Waikiki call ilikai condo desk get the number from front desk. You will miss not having a car on Oahu much more breath taking beaches on the Windward side of Oahu. If renting is costly think about biding for your car, check out bidding for travel to read stories of other rental bidders.

That was the Ilikai Hotel who has a condo desk on the second floor.

There is much to see on Oahu than just Waikiki. Residents here don't even like to go to Waikiki since it's such a contrast to the rest of the island. Rent a car for at least part of your stay on Oahu. TheBus is good within the city but is terrible for the outskirts of the island. Tour busses will only take you to spots that have a lot of other tourists around. You can't beat being on your schedule anyhow.

Amber,

Did essentially the same itinerary for our honeymoon last October. Stayed in Kuaui at the Islander on the Beach. It was a nice property and we really liked the location. It made for an easy drive to both the north and south shores. We drove as far out onto the island as possible in either direction on different days and still were able to return at a reasonable hour. The beach usually isn't swimmable, but Lydgate State Park is just to the south and has good snorkeling. There are also some underrated hikes nearby - liked the views from Sleeping Giant - and not too strenuous either. Be sure to have breakfast at Eggbert's in the shopping center across the parking lot. And as everyone else suggests around here, get the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook by Doughty and Friedman (www.wizardpub.com) - it was invaluable - so many great things we would have missed without it!

We also stayed at the Ohana Waikiki Village, which I believe is right by the Reef Towers on Lewers Street. It was a good location, close, but not on the beach. We did without a car the first few days, walking around waikiki and taking the bus to local sights like the Bishop Museum and Pearl Harbor. We then rented a car and drove out around the island. I would recommend doing this, if even for one day to get a feel dor the rest of the island - we visited the Dole Plantation, watched surfers on the north shore, had shave ice at Matsumoto's (sp?) - beaten only by the shave ice at JoJo's in Waimea, Kauai - etc., etc.

Sorry for the length, but this is just a fraction of what it's like. Have a great time.

Amber,
Looks like Kevin could have written my reply!
We've stayed at the Islander for all 10 of our visits and found it to our liking. Def NOT a 4 star hotel. Yep. Economy hotel.
We call it our favorite little 1.5 star hotel in the world. We're already booked for our 11th visit in 206 mo' days. Nice little pool bar (The Sand Bar) and since we go Dec/Jan you can usually see the whales, dolphins playing off in the ocean and you can usually count on a seal napping on the shore during a winter visit and a sea turtle swimming by in the shallows.

The only time we had a problem there was around 3 yrs ago when they were remodeling the place but Aston made it all "ono" for us on the next trip.

If you book, try and upgrade to an oceanfront room as they have micros, coffee makers, etc. But if you don't like to hear the ocean waves all night long, get the garden room.

Check out some of the ratings for the place on the "Rants/Raves" section and they are pretty much on the mark. Good AND bad points but at least you know going in.

Can't wait to walk up to Coconuts for some lobster raviolis! Or sushi at Kintaros or Lemon Grass. Or a massive pupu platter at Pac Cafe. And Eggberts Royal Pancakes before hike up The Big Fella (aka Sleeping Giant).
Mahalo,
Kal

Amber,

I just love it when Pleasant Holidays tries to put people up in the Cocnut Beach Resort. See, the only people that would stay there are the ones that got a great package deal (just like the one my wife and I got last year and looks the same as the one you got this year) Here is my run down of the place. RUN DOWN! The smell of mildrew drifts through the faded halls of the late 80s color and brillance (you know teal, pink color combos). The hotel staff is about as courteous as a coachroach offering no real assistance with anything. We tried to get a drink glass large enough to hold more than two mouthfuls in our room and the response was that was the only size they had, even in the resturant! Forget about getting more than your shares of towels in a day. You would think that towels were worth their weight in gold given how stingy they are with them. Of course all of this leads to memorable games you play for survial. My wife and I had a game of "Steal the Towels" in which we would spot clean towels hanging on a door across the hotel and we woud "steal" them so that we could have more than two towels a day. All in all I equate the Coconut Beach Resort with the Biolxi Mississippi Holiday Inn. A nice place if all you need to do is sleep, but if you need anything else, just keep right on moving.

Other than that, Kauai was absolutely wonderful and we cannot wait to return in the not so distant future! Have a great trip!

Do 5 on Kauai and 5 on Maui. JMHO