aloha

Cathy1944, the Aston Waikiki Circle is a midrange hotel that is in a wonderful location with great views from the oceanfront and oceanview rooms. You can see what the views are like here http://www.worldisround.com/articles/334335/index.html
The rooms have been updated since then.
Aerial view showing how close it is to the beach http://www.hawaiirevealed.com/free-t...waikiki-circle

suze

No the hotel hasn't "deteriorated". It's a budget tourist hotel (tour busses full of foreign tourists stay on lowest floors daily, and why they have that lame continental breakfast included). Yes I had read of one person who had the bedbug problem. I had a great stay, no negative experiences, the room was $67/night on a promotion at the time.

I absolutely understand cd's decision to stay elsewhere.

bowsprit, Some TA reviews are valuable, but plenty of them are not. From the 1-time-wonders complaining about ridiculous things. To those planted or highly encouraged by the hotel's management. Or negatives ones posted by competition. All this together makes the TA 'star rating' systems notoriously inaccurate. And yes I do post my own reviews there sometimes, I don't see that as a contradiction.

ChiSue

The heart of Waikiki can be noisy. Look at Ilikai and Queen Kapiolani.

With only three days to sightsee, I would suck up the parking fees and reserve a car for airport pickup. You don't have time to waste waiting for The Bus, or to be dropped off far from where you want to go. I'd take part of a day to drive around Oahu's beautiful east and north shores, too.

A problem with tours is that many are geared to non-English speakers. (Plus obligatory rest stops and the lengthy stop at the driver's auntie's cousin's Giftee Shopee. LOL)

Bowsprit

I read a lot of TA reviews. A picture is painted if one reads a range of reviews of a property. The TA rating system is flawed but the reviews, and the pictures that sometimes are posted with the reviews, are very helpful. They're just one more tool to use while finding the right hotel within your budget. I don't pay much attention to the reviews that are too glowing or too negative or the 'one offs'. I think TA's reviews are worth looking over.

suze

The best part about TA hotel reviews are when people post their own photos. I love that feature.

Bowsprit

Me too, suze.

sf7307

I always look at the travelers' own photos and have even commented on here that people do so when I find something particularly appropriate. For ex., the pictures of the grounds at the Marriott Waiohai in Kauai are very very accurate and I've said so on here - I'm sure that's true for other hotels as well. The pictures also give you a better idea of the general ambiance than the "professional photos" do - for ex., if half the pix show a room full of upholstery with pink flowers, and chintz gives you hives LOL, you might want to stay elsewhere!

Cathy1944

cd:

Thanks for the report about bedbugs!!!!!! Wow, I did not realize it was so bad there. And thanks for the link to check the hotels that have had reports. I better start doing some research.

cd

You're welcome Cathy. We're staying in the Aston Waikiki Circle. That report states they have not had a bedbug report in over a year.

cd

You're welcome Cathy. We're staying in the Aston Waikiki Circle. That report states they have not had a bedbug report in over a year.