Skip to main content

Hotel Review: Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel

View from our room on the 29th floor of the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel

Comfy and Friendly Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel

Revised 4/2021

Dear Polite Traveler,

Known primarily a business hotel, the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel is our new home-away-from-home when staying in Honolulu.  Its close proximity to the beach, zoo, shops and all the happenings makes this a great jumping-off spot as well. 

Note: Follow CDC and county guidelines when visiting.  Always wear your face mask when in public.  

Our Comfy Room

The rooms are spacious and well-appointed with a large flat-screen television, refrigerator, coffee maker, and lanai.  Since we are Hilton Honors members, we were automatically upgraded from a city view on the 5th floor to an ocean view on the 29th floor in addition to free Wi-Fi.  Hilton rocks!  It was a lovely room.  Check it out!

What You’ll Find Inside

The massive, lively lobby is adorned with numerous seating areas, welcome desk, bar/entertainment area, and hallways to the giftshop, Starbucks and M.A.C. 24/7.   M.A.C. 24/7 is the place to be for most anything you’d want to eat or drink.  Their happy hour is generous, and the bartenders are always friendly.  Interesting fact, this property has three bars with all three staggering their happy hours, which makes for less expensive imbibing. 

It’s all Free in the Executive Lounge

The ample buffet in the Executive Lounge of the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel

Downstairs is the executive lounge, where—due to our Hilton Honors membership—we received free breakfasts and nightly appetizers.  The appetizers were more of a meal.  

Coffee and specialty tea flowed throughout the day.   I loved the unique herbal teas.  

We met some great people there.

Note: This and many other amenities are not available during the pandemic.  Pandemic rules change most everything right now.  But remember.  This is only temporary.  Be kind and plan well.

Staying Fit in Waikiki

Life just seems better after a good workout.  At this property, I had access to a full gym which help me burn off all the great free food. 

It’s not just a business hotel to me!

One night we decided to belly up to the lobby bar.  Serendipitously, there were two empty seats next to a pleasant looking couple.  The lovely female half of the couple ushered us into those seats and our lives are richer for it.   Soon, we found that this couple has been visiting this same hotel through three different owners for 30 years.  Yep, that is 30 years!  What makes this story even more interesting is that they stay—each year—for three months!  Lew and Gena are now our best buds.  We plan to reunite next year around the same time. 

Another fascinating new bud we met is Aaron.  As an artist—among other interesting things—he is nurturing one of his daughter’s artistic ventures.  I have seen her work and am very impressed. 

Even without our new besties, if possible, we would jump on the next available plane just to be THERE.  The entire staff was exceptionally friendly and made a sincere effort to know us and to provide us with the very best experience.    In fact, the manager of the gift shop enjoyed helping me choose an ornamental flower for my hair, that she gave it to me as a gift.  She even showed me the traditional way to wear it.  Now that is the Aloha Spirit!

Your experiences?

Please Read

Restaurant Reviews: Kona Coffee Purveyors, Spitfire Rotisserie and Flatbread and The Hula Grill

Hotel Review: Hilton Garden Inn Waikiki

Hotel Room Review: Hilton Garden Inn in Waikiki Room #1435

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kauai Vacation: Room Review

The Room Over The Power Plant Revised 4/2021 The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas offers guests beautiful rooms, which include kitchens or kitchenettes, outdoor grills, and a number of pools.  Most often, it includes an excellent restaurant, poolside bar, and small store.  A large grocery store is within walking distance as well.  Thus, the theory is that guests will not have to leave the property once they cross the big pond to reach it. Great theory, but that’s not necessarily true when the only on-site restaurant is closed.  Add to that the incredibly loud room...well, let’s just say I needed a break from the property at times.   Note : Follow Hawaii and CDC guidelines when visiting.  Always wear your face mask when in public. May we just see the room we should have had? After an exceptionally long journey that included a broken plane and a rushed connection—not to mention airport security—we were surprised to find that our hotel had our room ready an hour early.
5 comments
Read more

Look Closer at the Hilton Garden Inn, Waikiki

  Why We Might Not Return: Hilton Garden Inn, Waikiki My dear polite travelers, Imagine waiting three years to revisit a pleasant memory.  You’d probably be thrilled to be on that journey.  Right?  Well, I am, and ...well, I’m lukewarm to some aspects of it, especially our room: #1537.  But the Ocean is Right There! In our room, #1537, we have the ocean view and the fresh breezes associated with it.  Still, due to the central, otherwise excellent location, it’s noisy—very noisy.  Thus, those breezes remain outside all night.  Darn.  The pleasant sweet-ocean-air-in-our-room-memory I dream of often eluded us on this trip.  Now, it’s just sad. The Good & the Weird Beyond the noise, it is a comfortable room—especially the shower—but there’s not enough counter space.  Instead of a long counter or desk, the hotel designer thought a long built-in seat would be a clever idea??  Hint.  It’s not.  We can only use it to store our suitcases and bulky items.   The only place to us
Post a Comment
Read more

Sonoma, California: DoubleTree Sonoma

Updated 4/2021 Our Stay in the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel Sonoma Wine Country in California As over-worked small business owners, we decided to play hooky traveling through Sonoma County for a couple of days.  Since we recently experience excellent service on our last stay in a DoubleTree, we booked a room at their Sonoma Wine Country property in Rohnert Park. Our Journey Through Sonoma County Our drive from our home in Davis pleasant with light traffic.  We chose a slightly longer route through Sonoma so we could take in the beauty of the Glen Ellen area vineyards.  The vineyards here are quite beautiful with green rolling hills as a backdrop.  Arriving at the DoubleTree As we arrived, I mentioned to my husband that since this trip would focus on cheese tasting, it would be perfect if we were given a free upgrade to a room with a refrigerator.  The hotel appeared fully booked, so I assumed that was impossible.   Astonishingly, when we asked about an upgrade, the polite rec
8 comments
Read more