Hampton Inn & Suites Oahu/Kapolei {US-HI}
Jun 2, 2017, 1:23 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 299
Hampton Inn & Suites Oahu/Kapolei {US-HI}
This property opened in late 2016 in conjunction with the Ka Makana Ali'i shopping center. Has anyone stayed here? Seemed pleasant enough and far enough from the madness of Waikiki. Will report back in July.
Jul 7, 2017, 12:38 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 299
We were pleased with this property. It worked out for us but might not be for everyone:
Pros:
- At $130/night, reasonably priced
- Parking was free
- Rooms were in brand new condition; beds were comfortable with higher quality sheets than the typical Hampton Inn
- Sizable bathroom and shower
- Conveniently next to a mall
- Traffic was light over July 4 and a trip to downtown/Waikiki took about ~20 each way
- Foodland/Target and everything you need in Kapolei was ~5 mins away
- Quiet at night-- worked out for us because we wanted to visit town but stay away from Waikiki crowds
Cons:
- Tough to find parking; lot was shared with mall and 24 Hour Fitness
- Driving into town was tougher on a regular weekly
- No Hawaii themed anything, in the hotel, outside of the hotel-- if that is your thing
- Small pool
- Quiet and not a lot of nightlife nearby
Pros:
- At $130/night, reasonably priced
- Parking was free
- Rooms were in brand new condition; beds were comfortable with higher quality sheets than the typical Hampton Inn
- Sizable bathroom and shower
- Conveniently next to a mall
- Traffic was light over July 4 and a trip to downtown/Waikiki took about ~20 each way
- Foodland/Target and everything you need in Kapolei was ~5 mins away
- Quiet at night-- worked out for us because we wanted to visit town but stay away from Waikiki crowds
Cons:
- Tough to find parking; lot was shared with mall and 24 Hour Fitness
- Driving into town was tougher on a regular weekly
- No Hawaii themed anything, in the hotel, outside of the hotel-- if that is your thing
- Small pool
- Quiet and not a lot of nightlife nearby
Sep 23, 2017, 3:22 pm
#3
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: EUG BKK
Programs: Zero Status Nexus
Posts: 432
Is parking more available and easier if I park further away from the hotel?
Debating whether to stay here or at the new Embassy Suites by Hilton Oahu Kapolei but the Embassy Suites has a $20 parking fee while the Hampton is free. I imagine the latter being more secure in a parking garage, less chance of door dings.
Debating whether to stay here or at the new Embassy Suites by Hilton Oahu Kapolei but the Embassy Suites has a $20 parking fee while the Hampton is free. I imagine the latter being more secure in a parking garage, less chance of door dings.
Sep 23, 2017, 10:04 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 299
Is parking more available and easier if I park further away from the hotel?
Debating whether to stay here or at the new Embassy Suites by Hilton Oahu Kapolei but the Embassy Suites has a $20 parking fee while the Hampton is free. I imagine the latter being more secure in a parking garage, less chance of door dings.
Debating whether to stay here or at the new Embassy Suites by Hilton Oahu Kapolei but the Embassy Suites has a $20 parking fee while the Hampton is free. I imagine the latter being more secure in a parking garage, less chance of door dings.
Sep 23, 2017, 10:43 pm
#5
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: EUG BKK
Programs: Zero Status Nexus
Posts: 432
Thank you for sharing your experience! I booked both hotels with points and will eventually cancel one, when I have a chance to read the Embassy Suites reviews once they open on Sept 28th. Nice to have more Hilton Honors options outside of Waikiki on Oahu.
Nov 1, 2019, 12:35 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Juneau, Alaska.
Programs: AS 75K;BA Silver;AA G;HH Dia;HY Glob
Posts: 15,815
Had a recent stay here. As noted above, the hotel is adjacent (if not connected) to the Ka Makana Ali'i mall. Parking was not a problem for me as there are quite a few of the Hampton Diamond reserved parking spaces in front of the hotel. While parking is free, you do have to register your car and place a pass on your dash to satisfy mall security.
Check in was easy and, even though I did not expect it to be, my room was ready for me at noon. All of the desk and other staff members I encountered during my stay were extremely pleasant and welcoming.
Rooms are your basic newer Hampton Inn and everything works and the room was in good shape and not worn. The rooms facing west and south(-29 - -43) have good views of planes coming into HNL and Hickam AFB.
The pool is very small (not a lap pool) and is covered by a veranda. Chairs and recliners are provided but it is not really a sunning or lounging pool. The laundry is located next to the pool. It has 2 small washers and 4 small dryers ($3 in quarters required/wash, $1 for 20 minutes drying time). The gym is also next to the pool and it consists of couple of treadmills, a couple of ellipticals, dumbbells, and a small universal cable machine. The gym setup is what I consider the minimum that you will find in a Hampton. You can run in the mall area or make your own routes in this area as sidewalks are plentiful (as long as you stay in the Kapolei Parkway area). There is a 24 Fitness across the mall parking lot from the hotel.
There are a number of places to eat in the mall including a couple of non-chain restaurants, Moani Island Bistro and Bar (Islands/Asian) and Limon Rotisserie (Peruvian). Moani also has music every evening.
Breakfast is your basic Hampton breakfast oatmeal, waffles, eggs(powdered), and either bacon or French toast sticks are the hot options with fruit, hard boiled eggs, cereal, and pastries.
Overall a reasonably priced Hampton Inn on the west side. The Embassy Suites in Kapolei is usually a more expensive but does have a much better breakfast (made to order omelets) and, of course, the manager's reception in the evening but it charges $20 for parking. The ES pool is also very small but is not under a veranda. If you don't need, or want, to be in Waikiki, then either of these hotels should be a good option.
Edited to add:
My stay was midweek and the hotel did not seem full and seemed to be mostly business travelers and some vacationers (only a few families); the small breakfast area was quiet and never full. By Friday, things had changed and the breakfast area was full and remained so from 8am; families were in abundance and the area was anything other than peaceful.
Check in was easy and, even though I did not expect it to be, my room was ready for me at noon. All of the desk and other staff members I encountered during my stay were extremely pleasant and welcoming.
Rooms are your basic newer Hampton Inn and everything works and the room was in good shape and not worn. The rooms facing west and south(-29 - -43) have good views of planes coming into HNL and Hickam AFB.
The pool is very small (not a lap pool) and is covered by a veranda. Chairs and recliners are provided but it is not really a sunning or lounging pool. The laundry is located next to the pool. It has 2 small washers and 4 small dryers ($3 in quarters required/wash, $1 for 20 minutes drying time). The gym is also next to the pool and it consists of couple of treadmills, a couple of ellipticals, dumbbells, and a small universal cable machine. The gym setup is what I consider the minimum that you will find in a Hampton. You can run in the mall area or make your own routes in this area as sidewalks are plentiful (as long as you stay in the Kapolei Parkway area). There is a 24 Fitness across the mall parking lot from the hotel.
There are a number of places to eat in the mall including a couple of non-chain restaurants, Moani Island Bistro and Bar (Islands/Asian) and Limon Rotisserie (Peruvian). Moani also has music every evening.
Breakfast is your basic Hampton breakfast oatmeal, waffles, eggs(powdered), and either bacon or French toast sticks are the hot options with fruit, hard boiled eggs, cereal, and pastries.
Overall a reasonably priced Hampton Inn on the west side. The Embassy Suites in Kapolei is usually a more expensive but does have a much better breakfast (made to order omelets) and, of course, the manager's reception in the evening but it charges $20 for parking. The ES pool is also very small but is not under a veranda. If you don't need, or want, to be in Waikiki, then either of these hotels should be a good option.
Edited to add:
My stay was midweek and the hotel did not seem full and seemed to be mostly business travelers and some vacationers (only a few families); the small breakfast area was quiet and never full. By Friday, things had changed and the breakfast area was full and remained so from 8am; families were in abundance and the area was anything other than peaceful.
Last edited by jerry a. laska; Nov 1, 2019 at 1:39 pm
Dec 31, 2021, 10:52 pm
#7
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: SEA, ATL (wish it was still ORD)
Programs: AA EXP; DL Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist (marriage perk)
Posts: 514
We had a lovely stay here over Christmas break. I know it's an Aloha State but we had the most positive/nicest check in agent that we've ever encountered in our travels. I cannot really pinpoint what it was but her voice was just so welcoming and positive that they should hire her for PSAs. Couple of things worth mentioning about the hotel. First, the hotel is in the mall and there is not much around. The property is not your beach Waikiki vacation. For us that was great b/c, especially in Covid times, we don't like crowds. Nearest Nimitz beach, with mostly locals, is 5-10 mins by car. Parking is free which I think is the only property at Oahu with free parking. We just drove to the beach every morning for 2-3 hours of fun before the sun was too intense. Second, if you're up for hiking this hotel is for you. Pretty good access to mid-island (30 mins drive) and west-island (50 mins drive). Third, the mall is actually helpful b/c you have healthy food grocery in the mall with awesome poke stand :-) Good stuff that we enjoyed for three nights straight. Finally, when it comes to pandemic we really felt safe despite insane rise in cases due to Omicron during our stay: (a) there is vaccine verification at check-in; (b) in no other hotel I've been in 2021 I've seen such a great mask compliance; (c) folks in places that we visited in the mall really complied with mask mandate. We generally prefer hiking to beach so we'll definitely be back. We'll be splitting our Oahu stays between Courtyard North Shore and this hotel. We prefer this one to nearby Embassy Suites b/c from what I noticed it's often like half-price and unlike ES the parking is free.