Wedding reception New Otani Kaimana
 

I'm getting married in Oahu this July and have been told that the New Otani Kaimana hotel has a nice room (Imperial Ballroom) for a reception.
Has anyone ever seen the room or have any experience with the hotel? The ceremony is at Diamond Head which makes this hotel conveniently close.

congratulations! how big is your party? the property is nice but smallish...not your usual choice for a ballroom-type reception, but not bad!

There will be approximately 30-40 people at the reception with most of us coming from Pennsylvania and Maryland. On the website, the ballroom looks really unique.

We stayed at the New Otani in 1995. It is a small hotel compared to the monster hotels on Waikiki. We saw this as a positive.

The food at the hotel restaurant, the Hau Tree Lanai, was very good. I don't know if that would be a good indicator of reception food.

The hotel is at the quiet end of Waikiki and directly on the beach. Again, we saw these as positives.

The staff was very friendly and helpful.

The chain is Japanese, so they seem to cater more towards Japanese tourists; the std rooms are relatively small. The standard makeuep is two twin beds. Upon request, they will push the beds together, place a thick mate ove them, and convert them into essentially 1 king bed. Once it was made this way, you couldn't tell it was two twins.

The New Otani's "ballroom" is more like a banquet room -- perfect for a group your size. And their food is yummy...whether you use the Hau Tree Lanai menu, or their Japanese one.

I am interested in this hotel for its great location on the beach to the quiet DiamondHead end of Waikiki. Any other guest comments welcome...
TIA, suze

We almost stayed there based on tripadvisor reviews. The location is great. We did have a great dinner outside at the Hau Tree. It's a great option in Waikiki.

I make business trips from Kaua`i to O`ahu about once a month, and the New Otani is one of my favorite places to stay.

We've sampled everything from their small rooms (okay for one person -- but kinda crowded for two), to their oceanfront rooms (gorrrrrrrrrrrgeous views all the way down...er, up?...the beach to Waikiki, with magnificent sparkling lights at night) -- but smallish room, to one of their Jr. Suites -- spacious room with sliding door to close off the bed/bath area from the ample sitting rooms...Diamond View, which I prefer (no "oh da hot!" afternoons). My one and only complaint would be that their rooms could use some updated furnishings. But the exemplary service of their staff, almost negates my complaint.

We've eaten breakfast/lunch/dinner at Hau Tree Lanai (such a special setting!), and dinner in the Japanese restaurant (just once, but I'd go back anytime), plus a few "holiday" buffet brunches there. Never a complaint about food or service from us.

Thanks so much Auntie. The hotel's a bit over my budget, but am possibly making a trip with my folks (they'll foot the bill-haha) a few years out, so scouting possibilities that might be good for us. Again, thank you.

I have not stayed there, only eaten brunches there. Every time we do, we gaze out toward the beach/ocean and say, "Aaaaahhhh....this is what so many tourists save up all their pennies for!" It's a great setting and I also love that stretch of beach, night or day.

mikeshamokin, I'd love to hear feedback on your wedding there. It sounds perfect for you, especially since your guests are coming from out of town. Locals tend to have ginormous weddings and the parking is not as plentiful as it would be at the larger hotels, which is why I've never been to a wedding there. And I thought I'd seen it all, unfortunately!
:)

I'll be sure to write about how it all worked out. The "Imperial Ballroom" that we're in, is supposed to hold 100-120 guests, but there will only be a fraction of that in my party. The room looks fantastic on the internet and there's supposed to be a deck to walk out on that overlooks the ocean.

Thanks for everyone that left feedback. If anyone else knows anything about the hotel or room, feel free to comment!