Tag: Waikiki Hotel Reviews
View All TagsWaikiki Hotel Reviews / Memorial Day Hotel Deals / Hawaii Hotels / → All Tags
Waikiki Memorial Day Hotel Deal :: Parc That View
[Ed. Note: Alex Salkever is the founder/editor of Hawaii travel blog Hawaiirama]
With Hawaii hotel occupancy on the slide, the resorts are busily tossing out special promotions for the normally slow and now even slower month of may. One of the best deals, in my, opinion, is $212 for a Deluxe Ocean Room at the Waikiki Parc.
This is the unsung, entry-level sister property to the posher-than-poshest Halekulani. The difference between the two? Slightly more minimal rooms, 100 yards away from the ocean, and much better ocean views for the buck. At $212 on Expedia (your mileage may vary), the ocean view rooms in the top floors are some of the best bargains around for Memorial Day.
Service for this hotel is stellar. You can use the facilities of the Halekulani next door, which are breathtaking (great gym, fab pool, two amazing cocktail lounges). You may even be able to snag a table at Nobu (as in, yes, that Nobu), which is opening on May 28 as the hotel's in-house restaurant.
[Photo: Frymyeyes]
Related Stories:
· Occupancy Way Down, Room Rates Way up in Alohaland [HotelChatter]
Hotel Renovations / Waikiki Hotel Reviews / Sheraton Hotels / → All Tags
Sheraton Waikiki Now Just Six Floors of Renovation Hell
[Ed. Note: Hotel Maven Alex Salkever is the editor/founder of Hawaii travel blog, Hawaiirama]
A number of months back I wrote about the ongoing renovations at the Sheraton Waikiki and how to avoid "renovation gotcha." In a nutshell, the old rooms were bad and were all beneath the 13th floor.
As I reported in that post, I knew the resort was quickly renovating all its rooms -- or so I thought. A press release and some news article crossed my inbox a week ago touting the completion of room renovations at the Sheraton Waikiki, the largest single-building hotel in the Hawaiian Islands. (With so many rooms, clearly the potential for unhappy vacationers stuck in 1970s-era room decor is high).
Hotel Deals / Waikiki Hotel Reviews / Hotel Openings / Hawaii Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Move to Hawaii and Get a Deal on New Embassy Hotel in Waikiki
[Ed. Note: Alex Salkever is the editor of Hawaii travel blog Hawaiirama.com and a general travel maven on all things Hawaii.]
Sometimes it pays to be local. Really pays. The brand new Embassy Suites Beach Walk Waikiki has opened its doors. The two towers, which were totally refurbished -- as in, gutted as opposed to the usual Waikiki renovation which means new drapes, new furniture and not much else -- are smack in the middle of the Waikiki Beach Walk development, the newest shopping enclave in Waikiki.
The resort area has seen some serious upgrades of late and this is probably the signature one. Now, the kicker. Hawaii residents can take a room in the new all suites Embassy property for the low, low rate of $199 per night. The full rack is roughly twice that. It's ridiculously low rate for a full service hotel that is essentially brand new, a half a block from a good beach, and shouting distance to most of the rest of Waikiki.
Clearly the Embassy is pitching to families and groups. The local offer is a smart move to start word-of-mouth buzz -- most of us in Hawaii get asked for advice on where to stay on a regular basis by people planning to come here. The hotel may offer some comparable door-buster deal but right now, lucky you live Hawaii, cuz!
Related Stories:
· Embassy Suites opens in Waikiki [Pacific Biz Journal]
Hawaii Hotel Reviews / Waikiki Hotel Reviews / Boutique Hotels / Aqua Hotels Hawaii / → All Tags
Home-Grown Hawaii Boutique Hotel Chain
[Ed. Note: Alex Salkever of Hawaiirama gives us the low-down on Hawaii's boutique hotel scene, or what little there is of it.]
With the boutique hotel boom striking just about everywhere, it's hard to believe that Hawaii has a shortage of boutique hotels. But it's true. Most properties are run by super-mammoth companies like Starwood or Hyatt. Even among the indies, few properties are small enough to be considered boutique. Far too many others are just plain tired.
Aqua Hotels and Resorts hopes to fill that niche with an archipelago of 10 properties in wicky, wacky Waikiki. Six fall under the budget Aqua Lite flag and four are regular boutique hotels. All have modern touches (as in furnishings that don't scream aloha print) and mimic boutique Mainland chains like Kimpton.
They offer lots of freebies that a big chain would charge for - high speed Internet access, for example. Several of the hotels have on-site spas that are quite affordable but the rest of the service offerings are not as comprehensive - room service is limited or non-existent, for example, in many properties.
So far, we liked what we've seen in Aqua rooms, with more muted color tones and angular, modish furniture. However, mone of the Aqua properties have superb locations - they are generally off beach or slightly off the beaten path in upgraded hand-me-down properties that are quirky enough to work.
Our faves to check out would be the Aqua Bamboo and the Aqua Waikiki Wave, (pictured above) both of which have very central locations in Waikiki. Rates start at about $200 and at $100 during the summer months.
Related Stories:
· Alex Salkever's Hawaiirama reports [HotelChatter]
Honolulu / Waikiki Hotel Reviews / Renovation Watch / → All Tags
Twelve Levels of Renovation Hell at the Sheraton Waikiki
[Ed Note: Hotel Maven Alex Salkever, the brains behind the Hawaiirama blog, shares with us his advice about Hawaii hotels. His first tip? Be careful which room you ask for at the Sheraton Waikiki. Enjoy]
With 1,695 rooms and 31 floors, the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel is the largest structure in Waikiki. And it's a classic example of the kinds of traps that await unsuspecting travelers expecting Hawaii paradise. The Expedia description notes that hotel rooms are undergoing renovation and will be completed at the end of 2006. (The description also notes as an "insider tip" that the hotel is next to the main departure point for tour buses -- that would be a massive parking garage next door).
Any note about renovations should be a massive red-flag. Old rooms in the Sheraton are ancient, with painfully dated decor, ratty carpets and ugly bathrooms. The newer rooms, which I've seen firsthand, are quite nice. They skip the heavy-handed tropical accents (gee, another floral print polyester bedspread?) in favor of more stylish neutral tones and extremely comfortable beds. So caveat emptor.
Make sure to insist renovated rooms (which are located on the 12th floor or above) and ask if there will be ongoing construction on your floor.
More tips on staying at the Sheraton Waikiki after the jump.
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