Horace

It's been more than 25 years since I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort. I visited The Laylow, Autograph Collection recently, but I have not been inside a room.

Now that I've established my lack of qualifications to answer the question, here are my thoughts anyway.

There are good reasons why the folks who run the Hyatt feel they can charge "nearly double," and why some guests are willing to pay it. The Hyatt covers an entire prime block of Waikiki, part of which is directly across from the beach. The Hyatt's two towers have many rooms with spectacular ocean views (but also many rooms that face away from the ocean). The scale of the property is grand.

The Laylow has a small footprint in a dense area of Waikiki, several blocks away from the beach. The are many restaurants in walking distance. It's a good base for exploring Waikiki and Oahu. As this thread discusses, The Laylow has been recently rennovated to Autograph Collection boutique hotel standards. The pool looks nice, but is small and tends to be in the shade.

Both are full-service properties. Neither is a luxury property.

If the price were the same, and if status in a loyalty program were not an issue, the Hyatt Regency would win easily.

But is the Hyatt Regency really worth twice as much money? It might be for some people, but not to me. I'd rather have more money for dining and activities, as well as a smaller credit card balance after the vacation.