justinpatrie

I will be on Oahu for 7 nights in late March/early April and am in the process of choosing hotels. Ideally, I'd stay at the Halekulani all seven nights but figure I would save some money by splitting up my hotel time between a cheaper 4-star and a top-of-the-line 5 star. I've narrowed down my choices. For the first 4 nights I'm thinking about the Hyatt or the Hawaii Prince. For the last 3 nights, the Halekulani or the Turtle Bay. Any suggestions on which to choose? The Hawaii Prince seems newer and has better reviews particularly in the service category but it's not as centralized to Waikiki restaurants/services and does not have a lanai. I worry about some of the negative service reviews regarding the Hyatt. The Turtle Bay is enticing with its new renovations but I've been meaning to try out the Halekulani for some time. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Tinam

How about the Halekulani for 4 nights and Turtle Bay for the remainder of the time. The location is totally different as is the experience. Turtle Bay is so very remote and all of the rooms have balconys/lanais. The Prince is newer but the location is a looong walk from the shopping/restaurants of Waikiki. It's much more a city-like atmosphere. How about the "W" or the Sheraton Waikiki... A much better and quieter area! Anywhere you stay, you'll have a blast!

justinpatrie

I considered the W and the Sheraton Waikiki. The W was ruled out because they do not have any rooms with 2 doubles and the Sheraton seems to have the worst reviews of any of the major 4-star chains in Waikiki. Besides, I stayed at the Royal Hawaiian once and was so thoroughly put off by the quality of the hotel for the price that I swore to avoid Starwood's Waikiki properties from then on. Furthermore, I've had family members have terrible experiences at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani.

Four nights at the Halekulani and 3 at the Turtle Bay would be amazing I'm sure but again we return to the issue of price. The reason I'm thinking abou the first 4 at the Hyatt is because they have a fourth night free program and the last 3 for the Halekulani makes sense as their rates drop significantly when April rolls around. I'll be in Oahu on the 27th to the 3rd of April.

Patty

I've stayed at the Hyatt twice and have not had any service issues. And if you have a room with RC access, the RC staff there is excellent! What type of negative service reviews have you read about? Of course, I'd expect the Halekulani to have a higher standard of service. The pool area at the Hyatt is very small and the pool itself is tiny. I don't know if that matters to you.

Could be a nice change to stay outside of Waikiki for a few days too.

dfarr

We stayed at the Hawaii Prince because of the great nightly rates you can get through Priceline. Ocean front on Waikiki for <$90. (rack rate $405) True it is a bit out of the way but they have a shuttle service that is very convienient and stops at several places on Waikiki as well as several shopping areas. The Prince is very quiet, elegant and away from the crowds.

Patty

And if you decide to stay a few nights outside of Waikiki, you may want to look into the Kahala Mandarin or JW Ihilani. The Kahala is close enough to still access Honolulu/Waikiki dining.

justinpatrie

Thank you for all the replies.

Dfarr, that's good to know that the Prince has a shuttle.

Patty, I read the poor reviews in the "Rants and Raves" section on the Fodor's site. The average rating for the Hyatt is 3.5/5 compared to 3.8 for the Hilton, 4.0 for the Hawaii Prince, 4.1 for the Marriott and 4.4 for the Renaissance Ilikai. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about the Kahala...

dfarr

There are very informative reviews at tripadvisor.com on the hotels you listed.

justinpatrie

Thanks Dfarr, the tripadvisor reviews were very informative. I'm now leaning toward the Hawaii Prince over the Hyatt and the Halekulani over the Turle Bay. The Hyatt had several reviews complaining of noise from Waikiki and out-dated rooms/hallways. I have nothing against the Turtle Bay but after reading rave after rave for the Halekulani I simply must see what the fuss is all about.

plemonss

I think that the Hyatt has just gone through renovations, and the ewa tower is now complete. They are now working on the diamond tower. I have heard that the new sections are much nicer.

kerikeri

i'm no activist or anything- but i researched turtle bay before my trip and this web site came up about a noisy strike there- a labor dispute and the afl-cio has it on their boycott list. i am going to be there (hawaii staying in waikiki) this week- but boy i wouldn;t want to encounter pissed off people on vacation...