Jack S.
Yelp
The previous two reviews hit on the two factors that actually rate this a one star review, that it is inexpensive and the location is great. Having said that, this was not the pleasant, relaxing stay that we were looking forward to on our recent trip to Oahu. It seems like it should be a great gem; lanais on every room, a kitchenette to beat some of the crowds and expense of eating out, and an awesome location, but all that couldn't overcome the issues we had.
The hotel is fine for the budget minded traveler looking to do Waikiki on the cheap, and still have a great location, but the cleanliness of this hotel leaves much to be desired. If I was still in my college years, I wouldn't have cared, but not when I'm bringing my wife here for a romantic getaway for the two of us. Starting off, the kitchenette, located within 3 feet of the bed was filthy, there was burned on grease, and the toaster oven provided looked like it had never been cleaned. The bathroom was even worse, there was mildew around the shower tile, and a big ring of mold up under the rim of the sink that you could see when you were sitting down to use the toilet. We were glad that we had extra cheap flip flops, because we both used them in the shower. Also worth mentioning, because we didn't know until we got there, was that they don't provide maid service unless you are staying longer than 5 nights. Their flyer said every 4 to 5 days, but we stayed 5 night/6 days and didn't have a maid enter our room once.
Another issue was that they have glass louvred windows on all the windows except the sliding glass door to the lanai, which do nothing to dampen the noise from the street. This combined with the fact that they are working on the hotel directly to the south (I could have jumped from the edge of our hotel to the next, they're probably all of 6 feet from each other) made our vacation poor for sleeping in and relaxing. Every morning at 6:30am you can hear the construction crew coming onto the site and by 7am they have concrete saws and jackhammers going. After the first night, we bought some earplugs at Longs to help, and it was a slight improvement. I mean, I'm not coming to Waikiki to stay in my room and sleep all day, but I am on vacation and would like to dictate my own schedule, not have a construction crew decide when it's time for me to get up.
If you are even slightly considering this place for the plusses I've mentioned, please do yourself a favor and call them and find out of the construction is completed on the building that faces Koa, just to the south. It's not worth considering this place if it is, and even once the construction is done, bare in mind that the cleanliness is sub par, and there is no ongoing cleaning. Also, they have raised the parking rates to $15 a night, which would be a 50% increase from what the traveler only 4 months ago noted. We paid $75 a night with the tax, but really ended up wishing we had stayed at a chain without a kitchenette and spent $50 more to have a better experience.
Also, if you're looking for this type of place, consider a condo rental. I was trying to find something through vrbo.com, but couldn't find avaiabilities for our dates when I was looking only 6 weeks in advance, otherwise, that is the way we will go the next time we go to Hawaii, on any of the islands.