Originally Posted by
hockeyinsider
Outside of the Laylow, Autograph Collection, I believe the Courtyard Oahu North Shore has the newest rooms of any legacy Marriott property on Oahu. The Courtyard Waikiki may have newer rooms, but I have read reports about renovations and do-overs, so I don't know.
The Courtyard Oahu North Shore is a nice, new hotel, but unless you're positioning yourself for a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center or North Shore activities, its location is far from the main tourists sites on Oahu that a first time visitor is likely to want to see. You talk about the lack of interesting culinary options in Waikiki, but what about Laie? Outside of the marketplace area at the PCC (which can be accessed without admission to the PCC), your options are pretty much the McDonald's on the other side of the hotel or the shopping plaza down the street in Hauula.
Also, did anyone else prefer the old McDonald's in Laie? (It was a Polynesian themed building, but it was torn down to make room for the Courtyard.)
I haven't stayed at the Courtyard Waikiki in 5 years, so I've missed the last 1 (or 2?) renovations. The fact that they keep having to go back and renovate the rooms so frequently is telling. During my one and only stay there the staff was friendly, there was no resort fee, and the rate I had managed to include valet parking. They even put me in a one bedroom suite in the back tower, but the room only seemed to have a cosmetic refresh.