Honolulu Strip
 

We are going to stay in Honolulu for 3 days before our cruise leaves. Since we are on our honeymoon, we are wondering if it is less nosier and less crowded as you go towards Diamond Head or does it matter? I would like to stay at a resort, preferably on the beach that is quiet yet has a little life too it. We don't want to stay to far from the action either. Prefer to be within walking distance of the action.<BR>Any suggestions? Thanks.

Mandarin Kahala is fabulous.BUT--cant walk anywhere.Hilton Hawaiian Village is the otehr Honolulu Resort.Plenty to do there without leaving.Or the Halekulani is truly exquisite right in Waikiki.

We have stayed at the Sheraton Moana on Waikaki Beach. Ask for a room in the historic building - facing the ocean. Rooms and view are wonderful. Do not do the city facing rooms - much noisier. It is a beautiful hotel right on the beach and close to everything.

I would love to stay at the Halekulani but we were looking to spend more when we go to Kauai. Out of curiousity, what is the average room rates? <BR>Have to look into the Sheraton, never thought of it.<BR>Thanks.

I would not suggest Hilton Hawaiian Village in summer to anyone. August in particlar, the pool gets packed and the hotel could care less. When I was there they started selling tickets to attract even more people to crowd the grounds .<BR><BR>On a honeymoon I would skip Waikiki altogther. If Crowds are any kind of an issue head to the Kahala Mandarin. Don't care will be back for many other trips by all means live it up in Waikiki. Just don't expect seclusion expect it to be what it is a city beach.<BR><BR>Winter months in Waikiki are not so bad but if you are the kind of person that is coming to Hawaii for wide open spaces than I doubt you will ever be happy in Waikiki. I enjoy it but I don't take friends who have an issue with conjestion, crowds, over activity walking the beach late at night early morning. Not something I don't feel comfortable doing everywhere. Don't ask me why I would feel safer on a city beach over an isolated and unaffected town beach.

Wanda:<BR><BR> The Halekulani &quot;rack rate&quot; for ocean view rooms is $440. I'm sure that with a discounter or online service you can get it for less. This is not exhorbitant by Hawaii standards (Four Seasons rack rates for ocean view are closer to $600). <BR> The Halekulani is first rate, but based on what you mentioned in your post, you might consider the much less expensive New Otani, which is close to Diamond Head and faces a nice, but less crowded stretch of the beach.

Wanda Sheraton Moana is my favorite hotel in Waikiki. I have stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Royal Hawaiian, Moana, Ilikai. <BR><BR>I love the Moana has a 20's cruise ship feel to it. Moana is quieter in its lobby but the restaurants I visited were as busling as anywhere in Waikiki. And I found the service to be less than what I experienced at the Moana. I have friends that live on Oahu. They think the best bets are the Ocean View rooms at the Royal Hawaiian old wing but say livelyness and welcome quality at the Moana can't be beat. The strip is also closer to the Moana so you can walk and then return the the hotel without stretching out across the be the way you do at the Royal Hawaiian.<BR><BR>Want to see if any Starwood hotel promotions are on for either of these hotels. Sometimes they will offer a 35% discount just for signing up.

Meant to say the Royal Hawaiian is quieter in its lobby <BR><BR>you don't have to stretch around the bend at the Moana the way you do at the Royal Hawaiian to reach the main shop restaurant strip.<BR><BR>

Hmmm. Our wedding is in March so we will be going to Honolulu mid-March. There is no way of avoiding it since the cruise leaves from there. I am used to the crowds and tourists. I work in NYC so I can deal with it however I do not want to deal with it on my honeymoon. If there are resorts further away from the 'main' strip, still being on the beach we wouldn't mind that.<BR><BR>NYC you mentioned the New Otani. Is this within walking distance of the Hilton? What I am getting at is it possible to walk from say Diamond Head to Hilton Hawaiian?

when i got married, it was generally the bride's family who planned (and paid for) the wedding, and the groom who was responsible for the honeymoon.<BR><BR>either times have changed, or these poor guys don't have a clue what they're getting themselves into.

Wanda, walking distance is subjective; see:<BR>http://spotlighthawaii.com/oahu/waikikimap1.asp<BR>for the scale, or better yet<BR>http://spotlighthawaii.com/oahu/waikikimap2.asp<BR>Look at the right extreme for pointers to the W hotel (consider!) and Otani Kaimana which is off the map.<BR>See http://kaimana.com/kaimana_welcome.htm<BR>http://www.starwood.com/whotels/search/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=1246<BR>http://www.yahoo.com/r/mp shows any hotel if you paste in their address.<BR><BR>So bottom line, the W or Otani is somewhat secluded but walkable to the near or central parts of Waikiki. But not casually walkable to the other end of Waikiki where the Hilton Hawaiian Village is. <BR>

Old timer things have changed! Many couples pay for the wedding themselves including the honeymoon! <BR><BR>JT thanks for the information.

Go to Priceline, bid 3 star hotel, Waikiki West, $50 a night. You have a great chance of getting the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani. Look at www.biddingfortravel.com to see that everyone has been getting this deal. I got the deal as did two of my friends, and we all bid separately.<BR><BR>

Wanda.....agree with nyc...the New Otani<BR>Ocean Views, nice, great food in the resturant on site.<BR><BR>It is located on the south end of Waikiki....within walking distance, but a bit further than most of the other hotels.....<BR><BR>Tried to get the link for Waikikik map but it would not work...Search Map of Waikiki....the one that is <BR>www.ifa.hawaii.edu./ifa/pdf/map_waikiki/pdf is good map showing alot of the hotels.

Lila &amp; Russell thanks for the info and tips. I am also doing research on skyauction.com. In hopes we can get a good deal on the hotel stay.<BR>Thanks everone.

I firmly agree with the poster who suggested you go to Priceline and bid for Waikiki West. You will likely pay less than $100 per night. I have never gotten a bad hotel through Priceline!

Walking distance is indeed subjective. However, it is a fairly long walk from Hilton Hawaiian Village to the base of Diamond Head (30-40+ minutes would be my guesstimate). Hilton Hawaiian Village is huge - even walking through it is a bit of a walk. The Halekulani is great. Moana Surfrider is in the same general area. Ocean side rooms will be quieter.<BR><BR>For a quieter area consider the 'W' hotel (run by Starwood - same chain that owns Sheraton). It is located at the base of Diamond Head and has only 30 rooms or so. The area is quiet and a large park is across the street. Hotel also houses a trendy nightclub and fabulous restaurant. It is walkable into the the Waikiki area with resturants, etc. (about 10-15 minutes).

I thought Diamond Head area was great because of quietness and park behind. Only 5-10 minutes walk to start of main drag (Hyatt, Sheraton Moana). 40 mins to Hilton as said is about right - but don't dawdle. W looked good, but thought for the price they charges, it is not great value -e.g the views are pretty non-existent as buildings are in front and to the side. New Otani also looked pretty nice with good views from various rooms. Stayed at Marc Diamond Head - inconsistent rooms as each different. Paid $118 as building work (from 9 and no earlier) for fantastic views - but views below say 9th floor would be rubbish, except for those directly overlooking water. BeachBoi is totally correct re Mandarin.

Nick thanks so much for your feedback. A friend just got back from staying at the Halekulani and got a deal that I have not seen or heard of.<BR>She had what is called a Refresher Package. It included breakfast for 2, in a garden view room for $245/night. She was there from 12/20-12/23.<BR><BR>If we can get that same rate for March, I would definitely not mind staying there! However, my fiance says it would be better to stay at the HHV for ease of traveling and to be closer to everything. We looked at the W on-line and it was perfect for seclusion and privacy, it seems but the rates are pretty high-rack room rates.<BR><BR>I looked at priceline and visited bidfortravel.com. It looks like many people got a good deal on the rooms that they received. However, we don't want to chance it for our honeymoon. Thank you all for your suggestions and comments. This has really helped us in making our decision much easier. Happy New Year! <BR>

Hi Wanda<BR><BR>HHV has you walking out of What I guess would call their encloser. I remember that being a hassle after a night in Waikiki. If anything the Halekulani is more central and there is only a walk outside of the front lobby. The W is a couple of blocks but it is not so bad. <BR><BR>I would think you would get great rates in March Jan/Feb Summer school breaks being higher months.<BR><BR>Diamond Head is a great area btw but March is pretty quiet even in Waikiki by summer standards.

Sarah<BR>Just curious--&quot;the pool gets packed and the hotel could care less&quot;.What could a hotel do?

PS I visited but did not stay in a condo at the old colony surf which is the current W hotel. I was completely floored by the wall to ceiling open window on the Ocean Front unit. This alone is worth a stay.

Hi Boobie I will try to take your sign on serious with that kind of a sign on:):)<BR><BR>Other hotels when at full capacity operated differently. First of all they have a pool or pools that can handle all guests. I was at the Hyatt Regency this past August when it was sold out no shortage of lounge chairs you did not have to worry about swimming with your eyes closed and bumping into someone. This was my experience at HHV. <BR><BR>Also HHV did things to complicate the matter. At check in we had a line that was roped and mazed if that makes sense. There must have been 50-75 people a head of me. This was at about 11am early for their afternoon check in. People were checking in that just came with some large group. We missed out on promotionals our class warranted.<BR><BR>Then to make matters even worse they started to charge for a show they had in the past shown for free. They want to make money I don't have a problem but lurring even more bodies when the lobbies were absolutely swarming already. Really felt like I stayed in a shopping mall or airport that time. Never ever again in August at HHV.<BR><BR>Wanda a different experience in the off season of March. I have visited but not stayed many times during March at is has been wonderful. Still for a honeymoon I would go to the W or the Moana love both those hotels.

Sarah: How many times have you been to Hawaii? I see why everyone loves it so much. The repeat visits I hear are better than the first.<BR><BR>I have much to research with thanks to all of you. I will let you know of our decision once we have booked the hotel.<BR><BR><BR><BR>

I lived on Oahu for 3years, 93-97 and I have been going back to Kauai every summer after. I think I skipped 1 after I moved back to NYC. On my first trip back I went to Oahu stayed at the Moana for just 3 nights (Martin Luther King Holiday), did not tell a soul in my office fearing crazy lady chuckles from the peanut gallery.<BR><BR>Yeah I don't know what it is I do love Hawaii. But here is one hint I tell everyone about travel. Never place your hopes too high. If you have absolutely no expectations everything will be a pleasant surprise. <BR><BR>Oahu was my first exposure to Hawaii. I know people complain of conjestion/crowds and I am not always sure what they were expecting from a city beach. My first experiences were very good. Coming from the East Coast, but have traveled considerably I was still loving Oahu, including Waikiki! <BR><BR>

Sarah I have never seen crystal clear water like in the Caribbean or in Hawaii so I know I will be in awe at everything I see! And I completely agree with you on not making my hopes up too high. Once I get there I am sure I will be surprised at every corner I turn.