We are planning a July trip to Hawaii and need some help picking a hotel on Oahu.

Most of the postings talk about romantic/honeymoon-type hotels, but we have 2 boys (ages 10 and 12) - which means our priorities are a little different!

We are looking at the JW Marriott or the Madarin Oriental - but my husband is a little leary of the prices since we would like to get two rooms.

Can anyone make any other suggestions that would provide.....?
- good R&R
- good service and very nice/luxury accomodations
- a nice beach area
- a good pool area
- near Waikiki, but away from the noise, traffic, and night life

Thanks!

I suggest booking the Sheraton Waikiki via Priceline for about $100/night. More info at http://www.biddingfortravel.com/.

Keep in mind that the JW Ihilani isn't near Waikiki if that's important to you, it's a good 40 minute drive away.

You may want to look into the W Honolulu which is located on the east side of Waikiki toward Diamond Head. This area is much quieter, but I haven't stayed at the W personally.

Not sure if you're willing to give up some luxury in exchange for space and convenience. If you are, then take a look at the Aston Waikiki Beach Tower--VERY NICE condos across the street from Waikiki Beach. I absolutely LOVED it. Nearer the park/zoo, but still within walking distance of all activities and shopping in Waikiki. We (me, my husband, two kids and my parents) stayed in a two-bedroom condo there last summer. King bed in one bedroom; two twins in the other; sofabed in the living area. My 4 and 8 year olds loved the space--we loved the full kitchen and washer/dryer. We were upgraded to an oceanfront unit--and the views from the lanai (although across the street) were "to die for." It's not a resort--in particular, the pool was small and cold. But my kids preferred the sand and beach across the street anyways. Service was excellent. Free valet parking--and the attendants were SOOO helpful. It's also located close to Kapahulu Avenue where we ate or picked up food a lot--Ono's, Leonard's, Zippy's, etc.

The Mandarin Oriental is a fabulous hotel. They have a great pool, wonderful beach & the rooms are very spacious & well-appointed. The staff there is genuinely friendly. It also is quite near Wakiki but located in a quiet, mostly residenial area. It is a world of difference from being on the much more crowded and hectic Wakiki strip.

The Hawaii Prince

What about the Hilton Hawaiian Village? It's a great place for families, with nice pools (several of them) good beach location, and nightly outdoor entertainment. Good food; they have several restaurants. Shopping is right on the grounds. Shuttle buses to the sights stop either at or very close to HHV complex. It's a huge resort on Waikiki. I've stayed there twice now and would not hesitate to go back again.

Both of your choices are good. The Ihilani has a larger area of grounds. They have kid programs too. The Kahala is more intimate. They have dolphins. And they are closer to town.

I second the Hilton Hawaiian Village...there is a nice stretch of beach in front of the hotel and plenty for your boys to do. Look into the rooms in the Ali'i Tower.

My sister in law just stayed at the JW Marriott with her three kids. She said the rooms were the most spacious she has ever stayed in. She also noted that the lagoons at the hotel were perfect for kids to snorkle in. Good luck!!

The JW Marriott is a long drive through miserable traffic from Waikiki. If you're looking for a getaway resort where you'll spend most of the time at the resort, it would be a great choice (as would the newly-renovated Turtle Bay Resort). However, if you want to be near Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village may be right for you. It has a pool and shopping complex that will keep you and your boys entertained, and it's walking distance to the action of Waikiki. You can select a variety of rooms at the Hilton, including timeshare condos that they sometimes use as hotel room. The W Honolulu has great rooms but no pool, though its only a minute walk to Kamaina Beach off Waikiki. And it's a 5 minute walk to Waikiki's nightlife. The Mandarin Oriental is about 10 minutes from Waikiki and is as luxurious a place as you'll find. The dolphin lagoon is special.

Wayne, I am not original poster, but I am wondering why traffic between Ihilani and Honolulu is so bad. Are there times of day that are better than others? We are staying there 2 nights in March. I thought we'd head into Waikiki our second night for dinner - I thought it would be okay late afternoon because we'll be going against the flow of traffic out of city. Then our third day we plan to get up early(since we are coming from EST) and do island circle tour counter clockwise. I am thinking that getting up at sunrise everyday will be easy for us since our bodies will think that is 11:30 a.m.!
We are not big city people and this resort looks absolutely wonderful which is why I chose it. My husband loves to swim in clear clean water. I have read a few reports that Waikiki isn't so clean. The lagoons look awesome! Sure hope we don't spend too much time wasted in traffic!

The reason that the traffic is so bad is because there's a high concentration of population in this area of western Oahu and there just aren't that many roads/highways. So what you find in general is morning eastbound commuter traffic and afternoon westbound commuter traffic. If heading into Waikiki for dinner, you'll be going against the flow of traffic for the most part, but as you get close to Honolulu and through that area, it's usually a mess. Plan on it taking about 45 minutes to an hour to get to your Waikiki destination in the late afternoon.

We stayed at the Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club which is next to the JW. Most of the time we were there it only took us about a half hour to get to Waikiki (just don't travel during morning rush hour). If your boys like to swim in quiet lagoons with no waves the JW is the right spot, if they want to surf in the waves you'll have to go to Waikiki. Personally I'd pick the Hilton Hawaiian Village nice pool and right on the beach.

my favorite is the Sheraton Moana. Not sure how your priorities are different with the two boys. I have traveled with kids we had 1-2 days in a pool but with the pacific it is not so important to seek out pools. Marriot is in Waikiki is nice. If you are looking for seculsion then I would suggest Turtle bay.

In terms of the Hilton in Waikiki, not a good idea. They jam pack that hotel and the pool has a public pool feel to it. This usually only happens during high school breaks but it does happen and the hotel could care less about diminshed services to quest.