kwil

We will be in Oahu for 4 days for a little getaway before heading over to the Big Island for Thanksgiving with family. We have never stayed on Oahu before and are having a hard time deciding where to stay. We aren't really into crowds. We love nice beaches with good swimming and just laid back hanging out. We also like driving to different little beaches. For example in Kauai we love staying in Hanalei vs Poipu or Princeville.

What would be a good base for us? From the little research I have done, I'm considering the Kahala Resort, Turtle Bay, or maybe the Ihilani? My concern with Turtle Bay is being stuck eating at their restaurants for every meal? We could also do 2 nights/2 nights. Any advice regarding which would provide better access to beaches, etc would be appreciated.

Is it just totally weird to go to Oahu and not want to stay in/on Waikiki?

lcuy

If you can afford it, I think Kahal is a much better choice. In November the waves might be too big to swim at Turtle Bay, and It really is quite remote, so you'd probably have to eat there more than you'd like.

Ihilani and the lagoons are beautiful, but the drives to different, but safe, beaches will consume a lot of your time.

Kahala is on a nice beach. It is just a brief drive around Diamond Head to Waikiki, or close in the other direction to the shopping and dining in Kahala and Kaimuki. It is very easy to get from there to Hanauma Bay, the East side or even out to the North shore for a beach trip.

It isn't odd to not want to stay in Waikiki, but usually the people who feel most strongly that way are those who haven't been there.

beth_fitz

The Kahala Manderin is an awesome place to stay but is a little pricey.

Personally, I love Turtle Bay and being away from the craziness. We spent 3 days at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and then 4 days at Turtle Bay and those last 4 days were the best.

kwil

Thanks for the advice. I'm sure that staying in Waikiki would be fun but my husband is seriously not a crowd guy. If it were up to him we would be camping on some empty beach somewhere.

MelissaHI

It's not the Kahala Mandarin anymore...it is the Kahala Resort.
http://kahalaresort.com/

My second choice would be the Ihilani....love the food there!

dusty56438

Oahu is not that big.

If you stay at Turtle Bay, Haleiwa is about 10 miles a3way. Several good restaurants there. Polynesian Cultural Center is only 5-6 miles away. Turtle Bay Resort is about an hour from Honolulu.

Kahala Resort & Hotel is only 5 minutes from Waikiki, yet it is isolated.

JW Marriott Ihilani is about 30-50 minutes from Honolulu depending on traffic.

Lots of info:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=34812564

travelinwifey

Have stayed at both, we found (only in our opinion) that the restaurant choices were not very good by the Turtle Bay. The beaches, however, make the stay worthwhile. When we drove from the airport and back between TB it was 90 minutes with traffic.

When we most recently stayed at the Ihilani the drive between HNL and the resort was an hour during busy travel times (we have friends that live in HNL).

Out of the two we prefer the Ihilani because they have a Roy's, movie theatres nearby, more places to eat w/in a 5-10 minute drive. We enjoy Zippy's which is an inexpensive Denny's type chain that serves food with an island flair.

We did also stay at the Kahala several years ago and checked out after one day, the pool was really small and the hotel/beach area was too busy for us.