We will be visiting Oahu in May and would like to stay in a quiet condo or hotel away from Waikiki. Cleanliness is our number one concern. We will be driving to all the attractions, so a central location would be nice – but we need to be near restaurants. We are on a budget and would welcome any recommendations for moderately priced places. Near the beach would be nice, but not necessary.

Have you looked at the Kailua area on the windward side? It's 30 mins from Waikiki, 20 mins from Honolulu. The beaches are fantastic and there are a bunch of vacation rentals (houses, cottages, rooms, bnbs but no condos). We stayed at Kailuana a couple of years ago (the back cottage) and loved it. Not really cheap though...

There are also some condos/hotels on the east (towards diamond head) end of Waikiki.

Check out the Oahu Revealed guide book for more info.

Kim

Kim

Kim,

I am looking around at rentals in the Kailua area. Can you tell a little more about Kailuana? I looked at the website. It looks nice. I'd appreciate any other detailed info that you can think of. What was the beach like? Did you snorkel there? Was the house comfortable? Was it okay sharing the property with another rental?
Mahalo,
Bill

Hi Bill,

The cottage behind the main house is a little funky but perfectly functional. You can tell it started out life as something smaller and has been added to over time. The caretakers (daughter of owners) really put in a lot of nice touches (nice linens, hawaiian cds) and were very fast to replace a broken lounge chair. They encouraged us to bring the chairs to the lawn in front of the main house also since that is a shared area.

When we were there a group of sisters were in the main house but it didn't feel crowded having them there.

Kailua beach is heavenly - very long for nice walks and a reef shelters you from big waves. I wouldn't snorkel there though - lots of windsurfers and the ones that use parachute (not parasailing but windsurfing hanging on to a parachute - can't remember what they're called) They're fun to watch, especially the novices!

Kailua town is a nice place, lots of restaurants and everything else you'd expect in a residential area. We almost felt like locals since there are so few visitors in the area. Very friendly, such as stopping traffic to let you turn left.

You might also check for rentals in the Lanikai area - a bit more upscale, beach is a bit smaller but so picturesque!

Thanks Kim!
-Bill