Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel?
 

Has anyone stayed here recently; since renovations were completed? DH and I are looking for a nice, romantic, but inexpensive place to spend our 20th anniversary. This place looks like it will fit the bill; the rooms look nice, they have 2 pools and a hot tub, close to the beach, etc. Yes or no? TIA

Terry

It wouldn't be my first choice. The location is good though.

We stayed there for 1 night in March. It was ok and the price was right...got it for $60/night thru a priceline bid.
The location is excellent. Within walking distance of the Hilton Waikiki Village and in the other direction is that nice shopping center.

The Ilikai is not on a beach, it is on the yacht harbor. Personally, I do not like its location, too far from central Waikiki.

Islandmom,

What would be your first choice?

Iceeu2,

What type of room did you have and in which tower? We are looking for oceanview or oceanview deluxe.

Terry

My personal favorite is Sheraton Moana Surfrider - not cheap. I've stayed at the Outriggers that are on the beach and they were nice, just small rooms. What other options are in your budget? There is a newly renovated Aston right across from Waikiki Beach that looks good. It's the one with Denny's in it.

Sorry mom, don't have a clue which tower we stayed in. The room was clean, but small and we did have a view. They told us they had us a nice room with a king sized bed, but when we got to the room it was only queen sized. But, no big deal...we were too tired to worry about bed size. You know you might want to try Hotwire if that is the area you want to stay in. They usually have really good rates for the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki....It is listed as the Waikiki Beach-Yacht Harbor area and is one of the customer favorites...not the resort marked one. The last time I checked it was around $100/night...You might post a question on here as I have seen that others have gotten this hotel thru hotwire, not sure about priceline.

Islandmom,

I have looked at the Moana, but it's just not in the budget. We would like to have oceanview, under $200.

Iceeu2,

I've looked at the Prince, but it is even further from the beach than the Renaissance; but it's still in the running. Priceline and Hotwire will only guarantee a standard room; not sure I want to hope for an upgrade. We definitely want oceanview. I did do a quick search on Hotwire and got 4* $150. I think the Prince is 4.5* so maybe they have sold their inventory?

I've considered the Aston Waikiki Beachside, but have heard the rooms and bathrooms are tiny (I think that is the one Islandmom is referring to) and it doesn't have a pool. The Royal Garden looks nice but is several blocks from the beach. Hilton, Royal Hawaiian, Outrigger Reef, Sheraton Waikiki and Hanekulani are too pricey. The Outrigger Waikiki is booked for our dates.

At this point, I've looked at so many hotel websites, discounters, auctions, travel guides, etc., that my head is spinning.

Terry

Terry
Have you read through the bidding for travel website? It's all about priceline bidding and you might get lucky and get a really good rate thru priceline, but then again you don't have a room choice....Check the marriot's AAA and sr citizen rate if you qualify......another thing you might want to do is download travelaxe and let them research all of the places for you
The 2 websites I have mentioned are:
biddingfortravel.com
and
travelaxe.com
BTW, what are your travel dates?

Iceeu2,

I've been to biddingfortravel and really like their site, but it still looks like a crapshoot as far as getting upgraded to an oceanview room. Thanks for the travelaxe website. The program is really cool. I don't qualify for senior discount yet ;-), but when I turned 30 AARP did send me an invitation to join :-O We dropped out of AAA a few years back, it just never seemed to pay for itself. In doing some looking tonight, I actually saw a higher rate for AAA than for "leisure rate" for the same type room at the same hotel. Go figure. I like the Marriot, but it is a bit higher than the Renaissance. Maybe the terror alert being raised a notch will run prices down.

Terry

This new Aston has a pool and Wolfgang Puck's. I only know my local rates.... Most hotels off the main strip are not as nice. Isn't there a new "W" hotel too? Anyone stayed there? What about the Hyatt across the street from the beach? Or what are the Sheraton Hotels running?

http://www.astonhotels.com/oahu/prop...0am%20flexible

I think it is this one Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel.

Thanks, Islandmom. I checked that Aston. It looks a little too "hip" for us. We're rapidly approaching "old fogie" status. ;-) I've checked the W but it's too expensive. Do you know anything about the Radisson Prince Kuhio? We can get the Kuhio Club level (34th - 37th floors, separate key access, special amenities, breakfast buffet, afternoon snacks and honor bar) oceanview, king bed, for $199 with the 5th night free. They have a pool and jacuzzi and are 2 blocks off the beach.

Terry

Hi Terry,
Maybe one of these 2 hotels will do the trick:
Pacific Beach Hotel - $129.95 thru hotels.com
Park Shore Waikiki - $99.95 thru hotels.com
My friend, we are gonna find you a place just you wait!! You might as well go to the Ilikai, that's the one you really want..The night we got there they were having a poolside party that appeared to be fun.

Iceeu2,

I hope you're right, time's running out. I guess I just have Royal Hawaiian tastes and a Motel 6 budget ;-) I checked the hotels you suggested but the rooms just didn't inspire me. I know you don't go to Hawaii to spend all your time in the hotel room but, it is afterall, our anniversary ;-) So, I guess I'm looking for a little luxury and romance in a hotel room. I love the superior and deluxe rooms at the Royal Gardens, but that is farther from the beach than we want to be. So, I'm still searching.

What sort of decor did the room you stayed in have? The pictures on the website show a green/red tropical print bedspread and red overstuffed chairs. Does that sound like what you had? How was the staff? What was the bathroom like?

Terry

So sorry Terry, but I honestly do not remember the decor of the room. As I stated earlier, we were only there overnight. It was just ok...nothing spectular........If I were doing it over and staying several days, I would take my chance on getting The Prince thru priceline. Saw where someone got it for only $77. You are gonna have to take those champagne dreams and pay for them!! It will be worth it to stay in a nice resort, so go for one of those really nice hotels right on the beach in Waikiki. You might even get lucky and get a nice resort thru priceline or hotwire. Iceeu2

How about one of the Sheraton's on Waikiki?

I would pick Ilikai over Kuhio. Your oceanview sounds nice though. To be blunt the Kuhio street turns interesting at night with a gay or unusual night crowd.

We have three nights in Honolulu on our way back so was interested in reading all your replies. I have a son in wheel chair and while we don't need a disabled room we do need a room large enough to wheel his chair. You would be amazed how many times we haven't been able to get his wheel chair passed the bed! We were looking to stay somewhere with ocean views, we have two adults and three children (14.11.5). I was hoping to pay about $200 (aus) a night, am I being unrealistic? Is there a family hotel anyone can recommend at Waikiki?

Ok, we had just about decided on the Prince Kuhio. We can get Kuhio Club level with special amenities for $169 a night. We would, however, rather avoid any "interesting" areas. I had read the Kuhio Ave became
"interesting" up around Lewers St. We had planned on avoiding Lewers since we heard it was rather rowdy. Islandmom, is the other end of Kuhio, closer to Kuhio Beach, also to be avoided? Thanks,

Terry