I stayed at the Kahala Mandarin last july for a weekend on the way to Beijing - a couple of us (my fiancee flew in for the weekend, and two of us stopped on the way to PEK) shared a two bedroom suite. It worked out beautifully - there were two king rooms connected by an enormous living/dining room, all three with balconies.

Fabulous views, wonderful service, a great buffet at the "coffee shop."

It is a ways away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki, but that makes it sound like it's a bad thing.

This is also a Platinum FHR property, so we got the nice fruit basket and I think lunch one day.

We had never stayed in a "resort" hotel in HNL, so we asked various friends, and the reply to the question "Where is THE place to stay" was almost always the Kahala or the Halekulani.

Will concur w/ BlondeBomber on the personal preference, though.