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Hotel Takeovers / Aqua Hotels Hawaii / Honolulu Hotels / Edition Waikiki Takeover / → All Tags

Is All Ending Well for the Modern Honolulu (Formerly The Waikiki Edition)?

Where: 1775 Ala Moana Boulevard [map], Waikiki Beach, HI, United States, 96815

It's been almost a year since the calamitous takeover of the Waikiki Edition Hotel in Honolulu, but the Honolulu Star-Advertiser (full story here at Chicago Tribune)reports that business at the hotel has improved by "nearly 70 percent" since Aqua Hotels and Resorts took over the property and renamed it The Modern Honolulu. Occupancy is also up 30 percent from this time last year.

The hotel's new general manager, Vittal Calamur, told the paper that the hotel is offering something not usually found in Hawaii:

"There are of lot of great hotels in Hawaii, and people have come to know them, but the Modern brings something that wasn't here before," he said. "You can get this kind of a hotel experience in London and in Paris and New York, but in Hawaii, until now, you couldn't get this."

Yet while recent guests have reportedly been enjoying their stays at the Modern, there are still some hurdles for the hotel to overcome. For starters, the bankruptcy proceedings are still happening on June 1 and the result could include an $800,000 a year repayment to Marriott Hotels for breaking their management contract.

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HotelChatter Flickr Pool / Aqua Hotels Hawaii / Snapshot / → All Tags

HotelChatter Flickr Pool :: The Aqua Bamboo Hotel in Waikiki

Where: 2425 Kuhio Avenue [map], Waikiki Beach, HI, United States, 96815

The Aqua Bamboo Hotel & Spa certainly lives up to the "bamboo" aspect of its name. This here snapshot was dropped into the HotelChatter Flickr Pool by Derek728ia. For a budget boutique hotel in Waikiki where studios start at $110 a night, this places doesn't look too bad. So far, guests reviews are pretty good too. Now, if only we could afford to actually get to Hawaii.

Hotel Deals / Hawaii Hotels / → All Tags

Waikiki Hotel for Under $100 A Night in High Season? Order Me a Mai Tai

Where: 1850 Ala Moana Boulevard [map], Waikiki Beach, HI, United States, 96815

[Ed. Note: Alex Salkever is the founder/editor of Hawaiirama.com, a Hawaii travel blog.]

I've been blogging about the slowdown in Hawaii travel, what with the U.S. economy slowing and terrorism travel fears. But this deal bears a look.

The Aqua Palms Hotel in Waikiki is on offer for July -- which is smack in the middle of summer high season -- for a paltry $79 per night. Mind you, the Aqua is a decent hotel. Recently renovated, free Wi-Fi, hip decor -- its part of the up and coming Aqua line in Hawaii.

Downsides? The location is across a major (and I do mean major) thoroughfare from a park that you must cross to get the beach (phew).

Views are basically non-existent. You won't get a lot of Hawaii ambiance on property. That said, it is a perfectly comfortable and decent home base. And what other major resort destination lets you bed down for less than $100 bones per tonight?