Starwood Preferred Guest - 30 day waikiki stay for my 30th birthday...advice?

Hello-

This is my first foray into the boards, and I have tried a search to find this information, but have been so far unsucessful. I would like to stay in Waikiki for 30 days to celebrate my 30th birthday, and would prefer to do it at a *wood property (due to Gold Preferred status- thanks AMEX!). The rates that I have found are total budget busters, and I was wondering if there are special rates available for longer stays or if anyone has any advice about hotels that might be amenable to such an arrangement. My preferred stay dates are Sep 15th-Oct15th. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.

Ted

Most hotels can arrange various rates for varied lengths of stay. That said, I'm not sure I would choose to stay 30 days in Waikiki. If I were to stay an entire 30 day length somewhere, and it were to be in Hawaii, I would choose one of the other islands - say Maui or so. Or break it up a bit. There is SO much more to Hawaii than the hustle and bustle of the city. Just my two cents.

Anyways...welcome to Flyertalk. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

If the budget is the biggest thing and want to stay in Waikiki, go with Princess Kaiulani. Again, most hotels can be negotiated for long stay as you do - I would contact the hotel sales manager first.

But also, it could be a bit boring if you stay only in Waikiki for 30 days. I would mix with Big Island and Maui or Kauai....

Heck, if you have 30 days, maybe spend half on Hawaii and the other half elsewhere in the south pacific.

Thanks for the quick replies. I had thought about splitting up the vacation amongst other islands, but I figured that my chances of getting a revenue manager (correct term?) to adjust pricing for a two week stay would be less as there are probably a lot of folks who go to Hawaii for two weeks. My ideal would be to spend 3 days in Kona, 1 week in Maui, and the rest in Waikiki. As much as I would love to go spend the other half of my birthday vacation in Tahiti, I only have the miles to upgrade myself and my traveling companion SFO-HNL and back. :-)

Let me get this straight ? Your going to Hawaii for 30 days and the word budget is in your terminology ? I cant get past it, but why would you go to Hawaii for 30 days if money is an issue. Why not make it 20 days and you could easily be under your budget. Set up something that wont give you stress about how much your paying. It will ruin your glorious time.

My 2 cents, excuse my soapbox.

Ken

You're right, I could go for a glorious 2 weeks and be in perfect alignment with my budget. The problem is that every time I go to Hawaii, I always want to stay longer. The first time I went, it was for 5 days. Next time, 7. Then 10. Last time I was there for 15 days and I still didn't want to go home. :-)

Have you considered a vacation rental? There are plenty available in Hawaii. How about priceline.com? Or better yet, priceline.co.uk using the £10 bonus money offer.

The Sheraton Princess Kaiulani is usually available on Priceline. It is right across the street from the beach and directly across from the Moana Surfrider. You can use all the facilities of the Moana, and can even charge things back to your hotel. The most recent deals via Priceline/Biddingfortravel.com is $40. per night. Now I have read where some people have been given very mediocre rooms due to the priceline reservation, I think if you are SPG and you call and ask them to put your SPG number in prior to your arrival, it would help assure a decent room. The location is in the heart of Waikiki. I, too, would consider spending some time on another island. Several years ago I was told by Hawaiian airlines that you could purchase interisland tickets from a machine at the bank that was much cheaper than a direct purchase from the airline. Can't remember the details, but you can call and ask about it. Good luck.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Marysunshine:
Several years ago I was told by Hawaiian airlines that you could purchase interisland tickets from a machine at the bank that was much cheaper than a direct purchase from the airline. Can't remember the details, but you can call and ask about it. Good luck.</font>


The "coupons" are no longer available. They went the way of competition, when Hawaiian and Aloha merged some operations(flight scheduling....), without actually merging. Thank you MR. Inouye!.

So, the cost of inter-island travel has gone up dramatically. If you plan ahead you can go one way for about $79.

Aloha

For the price, you can't beat the Princess K. Just spent a weekend there and updated my previous notes on the hotel (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum74/HTML/006437.html). I also agree with the comments that you should visit another island - for a young guy who wants a lot of activity options, the Westin Maui would be a great choice.

For 30 days in Hawaii, make sure you buy the Entertainment book (selling for $10 on-line now since the current version expires in November).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TransWorldOne:
Have you considered a vacation rental? There are plenty available in Hawaii. How about priceline.com? Or better yet, priceline.co.uk using the £10 bonus money offer. </font>

What £10 bonus? Please share http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif



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View from seat 24E

Sheraton and budget are not similar terms. There are many budget hotels in Waikiki. Although not to the standards of a Sheraton, still viable and considerably cheaper. As a newbie, you are probably unaware that Gold status means very little. Do a little research and find a hotel that fits your budget. Waikiki has many budget hotels.

If 30 days in Waikiki is really what you want, there are many agencies which will rent you a fully furnished 1BR apartment for around $1500-1800.

But I have to say, along with everyone else, there are much better beaches and deals on the neighbour islands. Maui is the most expensive, but you can easily find a nice 1BR condo on Kaua'i or the Big Island for no more than $90/night. Heck, a perfectly nice B&B in Kihei on Maui can go for $55-60 (shared bathroom), or $65 and up with private bathroom.

I like the PK for short stays in town, but if I someone told me I had to stay there for a whole month, I'd burst into tears, even with the regular *wood Platinum upgrades that Mr. Honu gets... (it's not a bad hotel, it's just very busy and not very quiet, but that's like saying it's in Waikiki).

I definitely agree with the vacation rental idea. You can get great rates on even daily terms, and it has tons of advantages over hotel stays (a kitchen for breakfast, more room to spread out, less formal/more relaxing, etc). We use them for even 3-4 day stays on the islands. Although I have never rented in Waikiki (we are North Shore people), every other island offers great condos right in the heart of the hotel districts. You could easily spread your stay 1 week Maui, a few days in Kona or Waikoloa, and as long as you want on Oahu.

If you definitely want a hotel, call the manager directly and arrange the terms. Keep in mind, if you are looking for a Gold upgrade, you may run into problems of something being avail for all 30 days.

BTW, have I told you I'm jealous? My 40th is coming up next month, and all I get is a barbeque on the beach!

Robin

Do you have a job? If so, who do you work for because I need a month long vacation!

I am self employed. I sure miss paid vacations! :-)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by frontoftheplaneplease:
My ideal would be to spend 3 days in Kona, 1 week in Maui, and the rest in Waikiki.</font>

Interesting...if it were me, I would totally flip it: 3 days in Waikiki, 1 week in Maui, and 2.5 weeks on the Big Island.