Check In

I arrived quite late in the evening (past 8 pm), having booked only a few hours previously through my corporate rate. I slipped the front-desk gent a $20 and asked him whether he could do some magic as I would appreciate better room (I booked cheapest twin room). He found me a top-floor King deluxe with 100% sea view (frontal) which I appreciated. I was asked whether I needed any help with my luggage (which I did not given my 2-day only stay with Hand-luggage). View from my room:

Room

The room was not very big (which is understandable given how much premium one pays in Waikiki for each sq ft). What I immediately did not like was the way room was organised - one basically walks through bathroom as one opens the front door. One the right hand side there is a sink and all toiletries, whilst through a slide-door on the left hand side one can access restroom and shower (not rain-fall shower). I like having a sink in the restroom and a proper hall and this is organisation of the room is a NO-NO in my view.

I did like that there were plenty of electric sockets and USB ports to charge my devices - this is great and a big +++ in my view!

I also liked that air-conditioning was working properly (which you would expect in a new hotel), and was not very loud.

There was also a small balcony with a couple of seats overlooking the ocean (and a parking lot on the opposite side of the street) which was very nice. The bed was comfy and TV had plenty of channels.

Dining

The hotel restaurant is not yet finished, so for breakfast (as a Hilton Diamond member) I was offered full-buffet vouchers for the DUKE's. I pounced on these, as I quite like Duke's and it is directly on Waikiki beach, which is excellent.

I also visited the pool and the pool-side bar. The pool is ok-sized, though not deep enough and not really made for swimming - more for family fun I suppose. The pool-side bar though was disappointing. I had a couple of drink vouchers, but these could only be redeemed for a couple of different drinks or mai-tai (even though other drinks on the menu cost the same as mai-tai). It was also very disappointing to find out that the management is already trying to save money and the free drink for Diamond members are served in 8oz cups (whilst the same drink when ordered and payed for is served in 10oz cup) - same for beer, when redeemed via voucher you get 12oz whilst normally you get 16oz.

Location

Hotel is about 400 yards from the Waikiki beach and is really close to some good eateries and shopping opportunities. My favourite nearby is the Marukame Udon, cheap and really worth waiting in the queue for!

Overall

I would probably come here again, though this hotel does not have exec lounge, unlike Hilton Waikiki, to which it is similarly priced. Some members of staff were really nice and definitely went out of their way to help (especially when I lost my wallet).