Hotel recommendations for Oahu
 

Will be in Oahu for 5 nights in September and was wondering what people's personal recommendations are for hotels on Oahu. Ideally want a resort style place but still with top amenities - prefereably not too concrete / high-rise, and near to beaches. Nice rooms also key.

Think our leading choice so far is Ihilani Resort & Spa... expecting to pay a bit but that's ok if the place is nice enough. Have done a fair bit of research on Tripadvisor but opinions seem to vary massively so I'd like to hear some first person perspective :)

Just to update, two other places we were looking at were the Hilton Prince Kuhio, which obviously isn't a resort but looks great inside owing to a very recent refurb, and the Kahala Hotel & Resort, which is a lot more expensive and looks fantastic in the publicity shots, but a few reviews say it's very dated in a lot of ways.

Ihilani is my favorite hotel in Hawaii - beautiful grounds, serene setting and classy hotel. Huge lanai, large room and bathroom. Love the breakfast buffet - much better than the Royal Hawaiian. Some people however like a lot of night life here it is many a singer and band at the beach restaurant. Friday night usually a very nice hula show - good band and kids from 5 to teenagers, Paradise cove luau is closeby, shuttle takes you.

We really enjoyed the Ihilani - got a huge room in the front 3 (?) story building & were very happy. Small pool & so so food is only drawback. Plus, it is a ways into Waikiki & downtown, but if you want to stay remote. I thought the Paradise Cove luau was painful & the food awful, but others have enjoyed. We had dinner at the Kahala last trip. Although I love the area, the hotel did look dated. Made me worry the rooms have not been kept up, but honestly have not seen one. Close to the Kaimuki Waialae area, with many great restaurants & gourmet wine store.

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Prince Kuhio is still in Renovation Stages as of a few weeks ago. Don't know when they will finish but you have scaffolding all over and the crews still working on the outside. Looking at the workes go up and down all day long with the cement patching going on it looks like they are not close to being done. We also had folks booked in Kuhio move over to our hotel due to the renovations going on. Not much space around the hotel (grounds) and what there is was covered with tarps anyways. This is a prime example of Concrete High Rise and it absolutely is NOT a resort. Best check the finish dates of the work first before you set concrete plans. It's also not in a great location for the price IMHO.

Best to let folks know how much you want to be in Waikiki or away from Waikiki to get hotel suggestions. There are a lot of better hotels and locations in Waikiki instead of the Prince Kuhio.

I'll be in Oahu for 8 days in November. Already have a 5 night stay reserved at the Westin in Honolulu, but we thought we'd try some place new for the other 3 nights. I was looking at Turtle Bay which seems to have some reasonable rates (about $250/night for deluxe oceanview) but was wondering if we should be considering some other options? I've seen a lot of positive comments on the Ihilani, but their rates appear to be a good bit higher. Is the Ihilani worth the extra cost? Are there any other places worthy of consideration?

Haven't stayed at either the TB or the Ihilani, but have visited both often during our Hawaii trips. The ocean views from the Turtle Bay Resort are exquisite - white caps, rolling waves, wind, nice views from both the lobby and then around the other side of the main hotel building, from the coffee shop, near the pool. Huge grounds - we understand it was a former plantation area. We often drive there just to do an "aha......" from the lobby and the grounds, looking at the view. We love to just be there. Food in the coffee shop was fine, acceptable.

The Ihilani is also beautiful, much calmer ocean, and near one of the four man-made small lagoons on the west side of Oahu in the Ko Olina area. Dinner at the main restaurant was a pretty good buffet, but with a strangely salty prime rib. My guess is that you have to be up fairly high to get a good ocean view. Much smaller grounds, very nice spa. The west side of Oahu is a bit isolated and quiet, and we like that. (We stay at the Marriott Ko Olina timeshare about a 1/2 mile down the coast).

Turtle Bay is also not near too much else, on the northern end of the island.

My vote - Turtle Bay.

Staying at the Ihilani gives you access to the rapidly growing Kapolei area that has a Target, Costco (+Gas), etc. Staying out at Turtle Bay gives you none of these amenities, but you'll feel more like you're on the neighbor islands. I must say that the lagoons at Ko'olina are great for kids though, since it's a protected cove.

I highly recommend the Halekulani. I haven't been to Hawaii in many, many years, but am finally planning a return trip next year and the Halekulani will be our first stop. The name means "House Befitting Heaven" and it is so true. The service and hospitality are unsurpassed. Each and every staff member knew us by name and we received personal service that was impeccable. There are three restaurants - all wonderful, ranging from the casual House Without a Key, to Orchids, their wonderful main restaurant, to the La Mer, for a very special romantic dinner. The food at all of the restaurants was delicious. I recall that there was also a lounge or two. The pool is beautiful and they have since added a spa. The rooms and grounds are equally lovely. The setting is so quiet and serene - you would never know you were right in the middle of busy Waikiki. Oh, I can't wait to go back.

Lewers Lounge is great for after-dinner drinks. Spa Halekulani offers Polynesian Nonu--a very pleasant massage. The spa products are quite good, the maile body wash totally refreshing after a long flight. Sunday brunch at Orchids, mai tais at House Without A Key, afternoon tea service-- heavenly is the word.

While I must admit that the Halekulani is a great hotel and I have recommended it frequently here based on reviews of friends and family, it lacks a good beach. So if you're looking to beach it and want one within a stone's throw of the hotel, this might not be for you.

Thanks for the input. I'm leaning towards Turtle Bay since we'll have already spent 5 nights in Waikiki. The only thing I'm worried about is find some relatively calm swimming/snorkeling water on the North shore.

The North swells might already pick up in November. Not sure Turtle Bay would be a particularly good place to snorkel or for calm swimming waters.

Yeah, we'll be there in the first half of the month, but as you say it could already be a bit rough. I guess we could always take a drive to calmer beaches...although it's certainly nice to be able to walk out the door and onto the beach.

8 days is a long time... would a split stay be out of the question?