My wife and I needed somewhere for just one night following our ride on Delta Air Lines’ maiden Boston (BOS) to Honolulu (HNL) flight.
I told the World of Hyatt Credit Card and had an annual anniversary night expiring in December. (All information about the World of Hyatt Credit Card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card’s issuer.) It’s valid at Category 1-4 properties. The Hyatt Place Waikiki is a Category 4 hotel and I’ve been to other Hyatt Places I really like. So, I figured this would be a great redemption.
But was it?
Where is the Hyatt Place Waikiki?
You’ll find the Hyatt Place Waikiki at:
175 Paoakalani Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96815
The hotel is 30 minutes or so from Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL). Add a few minutes for rush hour. There is no complimentary airport shuttle to Hyatt Place Waikiki.
It’s about a five-ish minute walk from the beach.
Plenty of shops and restaurants are up and down Kalakaua Avenue, all within a 20-ish minute walk.
You’ll also find ABC Shops every few hundred feet. (They’re convenience stores.)
Checking In
We arrived at the hotel’s open-air lobby (love that!) around 6:00 PM. (Our group hung out in the Honolulu Delta Sky Club after we landed at HNL). A wonderful front desk rep named MJ checked us in and gave us the skinny about the property.
There’s a $35 a night resort fee (waived through my status’ award booking) that includes perks such as two reusable water bottles (there are water refill stations on site, which actually saves you money as opposed to buying bottled water), beach chairs and beach towels, $5 daily food and beverage credit, and more. Boogie boards are also available.
My Discoverist status is a perk of holding the World of Hyatt Credit Card. It scored us an upgrade to a “City View” room.
Hyatt Place Waikiki City View Room
We were assigned a second-floor room. Here was our “city view.”
We had a balcony. Unfortunately, we didn’t stay long enough to enjoy it…
There’s a small room dedicated to watching television! I think the sofa folds out into a bed but don’t quote me on it.
The bed was comfortable enough — but nothing remarkable.
We think this property was something else before it was a Hyatt Place. Maybe it was apartments or condos. Perhaps a lower-quality quality that Hyatt never really brought up to snuff.
I can’t complain too much because it’s a free room. (Or, rather, $95 — that’s the card’s annual fee.)
Food and Beverage at Hyatt Place Waikiki
The hotel features a complimentary breakfast buffet. If you’re OK with a free but mediocre breakfast, this works.
The breakfast area shares a space with the (small) pool. It was rather chaotic. If you’re scared of birds, don’t even bother.
The lobby has a Domino’s Pizza location.
There’s also “The Placery, which serves some sandwiches and sides.
The bar features a happy hour — and $14 Mai Tais. (Hey, it’s a hotel and you’re in Hawaii. Things are expensive. What can you do?)
Final Approach
Would we stay at the Hyatt Place Waikiki again?
Sure?
You can do much worse. If you’re there just to visit the beach all day and walk around Waikiki, the hotel is fine. As Hyatt Places go, we weren’t impressed. The next time we visit Honolulu, this probably won’t be at the top of our list.
Have you stayed at the Hyatt Place Waikiki? What were your impressions?
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My wife and I have stayed at this hotel twice using Hyatt points transferred from Chase. We liked it. The fresh Hawaiin pineapple at breakfast was especically good. Parking our rental car with mandatory valet was expensive.
Thanks for the comment. What kind of activities did you do in the area? We want to return to Waikiki and spent more than a night and bring our daughter.
What a depressing hotel. I couldn’t imagine going here for a week. Then again, Waikiki is sooooooooo overrated.
That was my first time back at Waikiki since, like, 1998. Sure has a changed a bit 🙂
Walking the blvd on the beach, Snorkeling in Hanauma Bay, driving up to the north shore, and visiting Pearl Harbor would top the list of things to do for us when we return again.
Thanks!