The Modern Honolulu

100   Recommended
Ocean View Room
September 8, 2014 by EXPERT

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The Modern Honolulu
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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Ocean View Room

Liked:
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Ocean View Room

My apologies for a very short review -- this was already a short stay (in at 7pm and out at 11am) but due to my AC flight going mechanical in YVR I arrived 4 hours late and checked in at 11pm

I was booked into an Ocean View room on a room only basis and was allocated one on the 5th floor. The hotel is located on the edge of Waikiki fronting the Ala Wai Harbor and situated between the Prince Hotel and the monolithic Ilikai. Ala Moana shopping centre is a short walk away from the hotel but a taxi is way more comfortable!

Check In

I arrived at 11pm by taxi. No one was available to help me with my luggage though it was a short walk into the Lobby. There was a large line up outside the hotel as the hotel has quite the happening night club. Being a Friday night the hotel was filled with young and beautiful people; however, there were people of all ages checking into the hotel after me.

The check-in was quick and I was given my keys quickly and was told where the elevators were. No offer of help with luggage though I was offered a line pass to the nightclub. After a long travel day, I passed.

Room

There are City View Doubles and Kings; Partial Ocean View Kings; and Ocean View Doubles and Kings. Doubles come with large picture windows while Kings come with a balcony or terrace. City and Ocean View rooms are about 400 sq ft while Partial Ocean Views are slightly smaller at 340 sq ft.

My Ocean view King faced the Ilikai and had an angled view of the water from inside the room. From the lanai, there was direct water views with the lagoon of the Hilton Hawaiian Village and harbour in the foreground and the Pacific beyond. Looking the other way was rooftops and city views (which presumably must be the view from the City view rooms.)

Rather than talk about the room, here are a couple photos of the room and the view. A picture is a 1000 words, they say.

Additional photos can be found at: http://gallery.flyertalk.com/gallery...olulu-Dec-2013

Some additional notes about the room. Not shown in the photo is that adjacent to the deal there is a long mirror, some coat pegs and a shelf with sea/ small conch shells and some colourful scarves (all which appear to be available for sale at the gift shop) to add a little bit of colour to the room. The louvred shutters is a theme at almost all hotels I stayed at on this trip. One thing, the AC vent faces the bed directly so it can get cold. Opening the balcony door and closing the screen door and louvres is an alternative but it is quite noisy especially on a low floor.

Dining

There are two restaurants here, Passageway + The Grove, and Morimoto (of Iron Chef fame). My plan was to go to Morimoto for dinner and then try The Grove for breakfast. The Grove is the all day restaurant and the Passageway is more of a lounge. Morimoto also serves 3 meals a day and for Open Table points collectors, Morimoto consistently offered 1000 points for dinner. However due to the flight situation I was unable to dine at any of the restaurants for dinner. Instead, I went to Morimoto for breakfast.

Morimoto is a large restaurant on the pool deck level and has direct access from the hotel driveway by way of a large staircase. There is a large showcase kitchen as well as a coveted covered terrace seating. The Terrace has views of the harbour.

I had the yose dofu which is freshly set in the kitchen (it is freshly set table side at dinner). Freshly set tofu is always much more tasty than the stuff you buy at the supermarket. The quality of food was very good and it seems Morimoto is pretty stringent on quality. This dish came with onset egg in an extremely delicate dashi, a piece of his miso cod (I think actually prefer his to Nobu), kim chee soup (his twist), and the traditional accompaniments for the tofu -- grated fresh ginger, scallions, and freshly shaved katsuo bushi. Pricing is what you expect for Waikiki but the cost for a bowl of rice was usurious at $7. Still, on the terrace with wonderful food, it was a delight.

24 hour room service is also available.

Service

For a such short stay it was difficult to evaluate service as I did not have a lot of contact with staff. On departure, since I only had a laptop bag and a roll aboard I did not use the bell service. Check-out was efficient and the folio was accurate.

The Concierge is very helpful -- when enquiring as the time I should depart back for HNL for my Island Air flight to Lanai the Concierge suggested Charley's Taxi as they offer a fixed rate fare of $29 to HNL. Eco Taxi does it for $32. Watching the Concierge while checking in and out, they were extremely knowledgeable and helpful to all guests.

While checking out, bellmen came to take my luggage to my reserved taxi. Service seems to be better during normal hours.

Overall

I think this is a solid 4 star hotel based upon this short stay. It has a nice vibe and the F&B seems to be very strong. The location is good and is a welcome respite from the other monoliths on Waikiki. I would not hesitate to return.

Virtuoso guests receive:

  • 10% off BAR (unsure if this will be extended to 2014)
  • Upgrade at booking if available, excluding suites
  • Daily full breakfast for two
  • $85 hotel credit once per stay for hotel incidentals (excluding room/tax and any third party vendor charges)
  • Early check-in, late check-out subject to availability

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