Oahu Hotel??

We will be staying on Oahu for four or five days prior to our January cruise on the NCL Pride of America. This will be our first trip to Hawaii.

A couple of things we want to do for sure are: Pearl Harbor, LDS Temple and Polynesian Cultural Center.

So my question is: should we stay at Waikiki and just rent a car one or two days for the trip around the island, or should we stay somewhere else off the beaten path and drive back into Honolulu for Pearl Harbor, etc.

We want a great beach and Hawaii experience, but are not party animals.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

:)

We splurged and stayed at the Halekulani on Waikiki for two nights. It's expensive but the staff was wonderful and on the last day when we had a red eye, they actually let us stay in a room until we left for the airport at 9:00 PM that evening. It's centrally located but on the quiet side. We rented a car and drove to the things we wanted to see. Certainly not something we could afford to do every year but well worth it for a special cruise like Hawaii.

I'm sure others will have suggestions, too.

The answer sort of depends on you. Do you not mind crowds? Waikiki is the quintessential Oahu experience - might be worth doing at least once. You get the most options for dining (both cheap and expensive) being in Waikiki and you're centrally located to most attractions.

However, if you want peace and quiet and want to go off the beaten path, then staying at the J.W. Marriott Ihilani, the Kahala Mandarin Oriental, or the Turtle Bay Resort might be good choices (though expensive).

Spleen

Agreed.....and dont worry about being too far away from anything here. You'll find a big difference between getting one place to another here vs. OK. You can stay down at Waikiki where you can walk to shops, restaurants, bars and the beach (a bonus if you wanted to have some cocktails and then walk back to your hotel), and take day trips to the activities you want to see. There isnt a hotel that is close to ALL of the things you want to do.

But exactly what Spleen said, its up to you what you want to do with the rest of your vacation time.

"a bonus if you wanted to have some cocktails and then walk back to your hotel), and take day trips to the activities you want to see. There isnt a hotel that is"

If the original poster wants to visit the LDS temple, I doubt they'll ever want some cocktails!

I was wondering about that ... :)

Spleen

Yes, no cocktails for us, thanks.

My wife would love the shopping and energy that we'll probably find in Waikiki, so the Waikiki Marriott tops one list. While I would prefer the quiet and solititude of a small cottage in one of the other seaside towns on Oahu, so I'm also looking into this.

So many choices.

I was wondering about that ... :)

 

Spleen

What, we can't give advice for anyone else interested in the same topic? Geesh, I feel so stifled!

:D

Well, the lurkers that aren't LDS members are appreciative, I'm sure. :D

Spleen

Actually, for all you LDS members out there, you can get a yummy virgin mixed drink. Yes, even without the booze, they are yummy.

My best friend is LDS. He served his mission in Germany. He loves Germany. He loves their technology, culture land the whole deal. And yes, he did break down and drink a german beer. True, it was alcohol free, but he did have one with his wienerschnitzel.

Hey, even the LDS PCC serves Coca Cola. It is caffiene free, but it still is coke. Enjoy, you can enjoy this things without deviating from the words of wisdom(I apologize to all LDS members if I screwed up the part of the BoM that says you should abstain from strong beverages).

These boards are a great community and I appreciate all the comments and suggestions. Since this will be our first trip to Hawaii, we want to make sure and maximize the experience. We also want to be careful to go at a pace that truly lets us enjoy the beauty of Hawaii. I'm currently reading "Oahu Revealed" so that I have the best information.

I would say that we're leaning towards the Marriott Waikiki at this point, as I've learned after 28 years of marriage that if my wife is happy, I'm happy.

:)

You can get Prince Waikiki hotel on prineline $100-125 per night; within 10 mins walking distance of ala moana shopping and 15 mins walking to waikiki...hotel has free shuttle to downtown waikiki that runs until 10 pm...i would not rent a car just use bus system that is cheap and allows you to enjoy scenery without stress of big city driving...

Below is website for Prince Hotel

http://www.hawaiiprincehotel.com/hph/

Hotel Reviews can be read here...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60982-d87011-Reviews-Hawaii_Prince_Hotel-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html

Bus system for Honolulu is here>>

http://www.thebus.org/

Our Pics of Hawaii here>

http://community.webshots.com/album/235662752aSCkpD

Enjoy!

We will be staying on Oahu for four or five days prior to our January cruise on the NCL Pride of America. This will be our first trip to Hawaii.

 

A couple of things we want to do for sure are: Pearl Harbor, LDS Temple and Polynesian Cultural Center.

 

So my question is: should we stay at Waikiki and just rent a car one or two days for the trip around the island, or should we stay somewhere else off the beaten path and drive back into Honolulu for Pearl Harbor, etc.

 

We want a great beach and Hawaii experience, but are not party animals.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

:)

My girlfriend and I just finished an 11 day cruise with 4 days pre-cruise in Oahu. We stayed at the Marriott Waikiki. It's a very nice hotel in a great location. Plenty of shopping, plenty of restaurants, plenty of beach, but not as hectic as the other end of Waikiki. We're also not into loud/late partying. It's a perfect location to relax or do some shopping and sightseeing. In fact, I haven't relaxed so much in years! I'm sure the location will serve you well.

We spent a week between cruises at the Waikiki Marriott and loved the location and the hotel.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency a couple of years ago pre-cruise. We highly recommend it. The location was fabulous. Early in the morning we could watch the surfers riding the waves. We had breakfast outdoors on their patio each morning because it was too beautiful to stay indoors. The hotel itself is beautiful, so if you're not staying there, take a walk over and check it out. It's worth it. Have fun.

I am leaving on Friday :D and will be staying in Honolulu the night before the cruise and three nights after the cruise. I got the Radisson Hotel Waikiki Prince Kuhio through Priceline for $70 a night.

I would give the Hilton Hawaiian Village a try. It is downtown, but it is almost a resort unto itself. I have stayed there many times, and it is a great family place. You can get rooms about $100/night. It is right on the beach and has a couple of nice pools for the family. Parking is always a problem in Waikiki, but you can walk to places from the Hilton.

http://www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com/index_flash.asp

If your family has watched Elvis' "Blue Hawaii", you can see where they filmed part of the movie there.

The LDS temple and PCC are on the windward side (east) of the island, so you have to take a tour bus or rent a car. About a 30 minute or more drive. But plan to spend all day over there. There's alot to see. The PCC opens at 11am and by the time you have the luau and watch the show, its 9pm.

Pearl Harbor is near Waikiki, you could take a local bus if you wanted.

HTH,

Steve

The LDS temple and PCC are on the windward side (east) of the island, so you have to take a tour bus or rent a car. About a 30 minute or more drive.

Steve

I haven't been to Hawaii myself, but will be going in Aug. I thought it's about 1.5 hr drive from Waikiki to the Polynesian CC. Have you driven it in 30 min.?

It is NOT possible to drive from Waikiki to PCC in 30 minutes. Not unless the roads are empty and you're driving around 90 mph all the way through.

Spleen

How much time (approx.) will it take to drive from Waikiki to the Polynesian CC, on a Tue. afternoon in late Aug.? How about on a Sat. afternoon in early Sept? (For us it'll be either Aug. 23 Tue., or Sept. 3 Sat. this year)

I was in the Hyatt Waikiki for three weeks on a business trip once (heavenly location, I could see the water out of the windows all day as I tried not to sleep through the lectures) and it was just lovely. A gorgeous location (it is across the street from the beach but that was never a problem) and I just had a good time. I rented a car on the island and got to everything I wanted to see on my two days off (that's right, two days in three weeks in Hawaii.. stank). It was perfect.

Saturday afternoon? About 1-1/2 hours. On Tuesday afternoon? Depending on how close to rush hour ... possibly over 2-1/2 hours. If you're doing this near rush hour, I would recommend driving to Kaneohe/Kailua (either the Pali or the Likelike Highways) and taking Kamehameha Hwy from there.

Spleen

IMHO, I always have enjoyed starting out our trip by staying a few days in Waikiki, but I personnaly love the North Shore and have rented beach houses up near Sunset Beach several times (and will be doing so again next year). That base is very near the PCC and BYU-Hawaii campus.

I've found that if you can stay at least five days up there you'll have an abundance of condo and beach house choices. In January, you'll likely be treated to the famous surf at Sunset and Pipeline. We loved sitting out on our beach house balcony watching the 25 foot waves roll and crash (during a November trip). It was fantastic! Very relaxing with spectacular sunsets.

Other than that, here's what we did on our last trip to Hawaii http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=93997

Have a great trip!

We will be on the America ship also on the Jan. 28. :)

We will be on the America ship also on the Jan. 28. :)

There is a Roll-Call posting for this cruise if you haven't already signed up on the NCL board.