One island, three hotels... Oahu
 

This isn't a trip report, as such, just a reflection on my Oahu trip of this past week. I never book more than one, maybe two, different hotels when coming to Oahu on my annual visit to meet up with friends from fodors. This trip, I booked THREE different hotels, two nights at each one, for my 6-night visit.

I started on the west side of the island, at Ko Olina. I booked two nights on points at the J W Ihilani. What a gorgeous suite I got!!!! By far one of the best I've ever had anywhere! I'm a platinum with Marriott, so I usually get upgrades at check-in. This upgrade blew me away. My junior suite was the size of about 3 or 4 typical hotel rooms. My view was of the ocean and the lagoons and the pool. Awesome view! I had a huge balcony where I spent loads of time, just relaxing, reading, doing emails, etc. I am not a sunbather so loved that my balcony was shaded most of the day.

After my luxurious junior suite, I knew I'd be taking a drastic step DOWN when moving into the central Waikiki area (not beachside) to the Marriott Courtyard. I've stayed at this hotel before, and it was not bad. This time, on check-in, I was upgraded to a one-bedroom suite in the building on the north side of the property. This is a Courtyard, not a J W, so the suite was NOTHING like what I had experienced at Ko Olina. I was told that my suite in the north building would be quieter than the main building. NOT! I never set foot on my balcony, which faced a noisy street, and had a parking lot view, with construction equipment across the street. In the past I had been given a room in the main building overlooking the pool. A better view, and quieter than what I got this time. I complained about my livingroom TV which worked about 1 out of 10 times when I tried to turn it on! Grrrrr.... but internet was fast, and free for me because I am an elite. While in this location, I did my island driving rather than sticking around at the hotel. This room was only for sleeping!

My last two nights were spent on Waikiki Beach at the Marriott Resort. Upon check-in I was upgraded to a deluxe ocean view room in the front tower. Although not nearly as spacious or luxurious as Ko Olina, the view was comparable, and the balcony, although not even half the size of Ko Olina, was shaded most of the day and a very pleasant place to relax, read, do emails, etc.

I wish the JW Ko Olina was located a bit closer to the 'action' of Kalakaua Avenue and Waikiki Beach. It takes a good half hour (depending on traffic) to get from the west end of the island into the main shopping and dining locations. I'm a shopper, and I plan my list of places to shop and people to include (many are freinds in Bangkok, who will never see Hawaii in their lifetime). I have been told that a huge mall (to be bigger than Ala Moana??) is going to be built on the west side, just a few miles from the J W. That, and the Waikele Outlets and surrounding shops, will make it more appealing for me to return to Ko Olina in the future.

I will probably give up on staying at the Courtyard, although it is in a pretty good location for shopping the west end of Kalakaua Avenue, which is maybe 2 blocks away. This stay was just too disappointing to give it another try.

I will, for sure, return to the Marriott Resort on Waikiki Beach. Even though this is a busy place (always WAITING WAITING WAITING for an elevator) the shopping nearby, and up and down Kalakaua, plus the view of the beach, and the shaded balcony, will draw me back here.

My wish would be that my suite at Ko Olina would be located on Waikiki Beach!!!

We recently stayed in the K tower at the Waikiki Marriott Resort and Spa for 11 nights and love this hotel. We had a sunset, ocean front view on a high floor and enjoyed every aspect of this property too. I don't remember waiting for an elevator but this is a huge hotel. We really enjoyed dkSteak and Sansei Sushi in the hotel too. I am intrigued by the JW Ko Olina.

I really don't care that much about where I stay in Hawaii - as long as I can get in and out easy enough - and if it has a great view - so much the better.

my objection to the marriott in waikiki is the size of the bathroom. Tiny, tiny, tiny and no bathrobes provided for the common folk. Perhaps a platinum might get one but i like having that available. The balcony is a nice touch but you can practically reach across and shake hands with your neighbor - very small. Good location however and a great Thursday night Hawaiian entertainment. Ocean isright in front of you which is nice too.....

You are right, Shar. NO bathrobes, even for a platinum like me. That certainly DID surprise me! And yes, the bathroom is quite small. The bathroom/dressing room at the J W Ko Olina (jr suite) was bigger than most hotel ROOMS in their entirety.

My balcony at Ko Olina seemed more 'private' unless I would get and walk around from one side to the other, and then I could look down on other balconies. The Waikiki Marriott Resort balconies are not nearly so big, but the same amount of furniture is packed into the space anyway. I didn't think that the balconies were quite that close together.. I always take note of just how close my neighbors are before leaving my balcony door open during the night.

you are right, the balconies are not THAT close but very tiny and I cannot praise the thursday entertainment venue. Nice to sit at the bar andhave a small meal and drink and listen to the locals play some great hawaiian music.

Thanks for the reviews. I've been unable to find anything nice, newer, *south* on Oahu too -- other than the 'way out west' Ko Olina.

The bathrooms at the Waikiki Marriott are not huge. I did appreciate that the sink and dressing area were separated from the shower area so we were able to get ready at the same time. Smaller bathrooms left more square footage for the rest of the room, which was huge.

I didn't make note of the absence of robes until it was brought up here! That would be a nice touch; I wore a sarong nearly 24/7. The balcony was great. They're designed so that you don't 'see' your neighbor although you may hear your neighbor. We didn't leave the door open after the first night because a bird flew in and perched its little self on top of the flatscreen! The entertainment by the pool was great. We'd stay here again. It's a very nice hotel and the K tower is 'new'.

Did you look at Trump's new hotel? The Halekalani? Both very beautiful properties and more upscale than any Marriott.

Re: the bird flying in... I had similar, but it only got a few feet from the balcony door before I saw it and shooed it away. I loved having the screens on the "wall of sliding doors" at the J W Ko Olina. I wish more hotels would include them!!

Interestingly enough, we heard nothing but poor reviews and complaints from 2 parties who left the JW Ko Olina and stayed, instead, at the Waikiki Marriott! Isn't that odd...?!

<<<Interestingly enough, we heard nothing but poor reviews and complaints from 2 parties who left the JW Ko Olina and stayed, instead, at the Waikiki Marriott! Isn't that odd...?!>>>

Were the complaints about the hotel, or about the location? We stayed at the Marriott Ko Olina resort (the timeshare) a few years ago, and while we loved the resort, we did <i>not</i> like the location, and would have preferred being in Waikiki. We didn't like the drive west (ugly until you entire the resort itself) among other things.

The drive IS a bit of a pain, and there is very little in the Ko Olina area. But the J W itself was really great, IMO. I'm glad I had a car so that I could venture out. I would not want to be 'stuck' there without wheels.

I wish the J W was in the location of the Waikiki Marriott!! Now THAT would be super.

If you are over that far - drive up the west side - and see "West" Makaha. We stopped at Izzy's favorite beach - and also did some snorkeling near there. :)

http://www.lyricsmania.com/take_me_h...kawiwoole.html

Actually - it's a pretty drive and most people hardly ever explore it. http://tinyurl.com/93nqk62

We loved the Waikiki Marriott and are going back with a group in February!

I've also stayed at all 3 properties (though not on the same trip!) and agree the Ihilani has the best rooms. Even the regular rooms are quite large. Ours had an ample sitting area and the balcony was long enough to accommodate a chaise lounge and table and chairs. The hotel is currently closed for renos until mid-Nov.

I've used the Courtyard for one night stays and it used to be a good use of the category 1-4 certificates (unfortunately it's now a category 5). It's fine for a short stay.

I haven't stayed at the Waikiki Marriott in years and just read they're instituting a daily resort fee. I hope they'll waive that for elite members.

Next month we'll be staying at the Beach Villas at Ko Olina and the Embassy Suites in Waikiki. I haven't stayed at the Halekulani but love House Without a Key. Have to go there at least once every trip!