Originally Posted by
princeville
If I could do it over again, and planned to take UA534 home, I'd reserve something close to the airport (the UA agent recommended the Best Western Plaza - she said it's a five minute drive and they have a 24 hour shuttle; but they didn't have any rooms available). If your incoming flight is on time and you don't have checked bags, you could theoretically be asleep by 3:30-4am, get several hours of rest and a shower, and still have plenty of time to enjoy the beach or sightsee or whatever interests you.
Sorry for the very long reply, but I hope it's helpful.
Originally Posted by
SFO 1K
I will echo this recommendation. Nothing fancy but does the trick and is crazy close.
Thanks! Took you guys up on the recommendation - the killer is that Hertz HNL says they don't open until 0430, so getting a bed practically on top of the airport and then grabbing a car to go out adventuring in the afternoon seems like the way to go.
One other question - if doing the Hopper with a rolling carry-on, would you check it to HNL? Seems like the trade-off is having to worry about it at every stop versus waiting for baggage claim at HNL which reports seem to indicate is quite slow.