Honolulu Hotel Stay Before Cruise

Hi...we will be coming to Hawaii for our first visit in May. We will be cruising on the Carnival Legend and flying into Honolulu Airport. We would like to come in a few days before the cruise and are looking for a reasonably priced hotel that would be close to the cruise port. We also want to be able to visit Pearl Harbor...so any advice on where to stay would be appreciated!!

Hi...we will be coming to Hawaii for our first visit in May. We will be cruising on the Carnival Legend and flying into Honolulu Airport. We would like to come in a few days before the cruise and are looking for a reasonably priced hotel that would be close to the cruise port. We also want to be able to visit Pearl Harbor...so any advice on where to stay would be appreciated!!

90% of the hotels on Oahu are in Waikiki, which is where you should stay.

Can you say what "reasonable" is in U.S. dollars per night?

When you are sure of your dates, go online and get your tickets for the USS Arizona Memorial.

Hi...we will be coming to Hawaii for our first visit in May. We will be cruising on the Carnival Legend and flying into Honolulu Airport. We would like to come in a few days before the cruise and are looking for a reasonably priced hotel that would be close to the cruise port. We also want to be able to visit Pearl Harbor...so any advice on where to stay would be appreciated!!

Why stay close to the cruise port? Anywhere in Waikiki is a quick taxi ride away from the port. Much better to find a hotel which fits your budget and is within walking distance to all the places you want to be before the cruise, beach, activities, hotels, shops. You can easily check lists of hotels in Waikiki. Pretty expensive in general. Outrigger properties are very popular. Condos are a good option for families. Locations a few blocks back from the beach will be more reasonable.

I like to use Tripadvisor. I usually google hotels in Waikiki Oahu Hawaii, then look for Tripadvisor top hotels.

Once on Tripadvisor put in your dates. It will then list the hotels and rates.

If you are in Waikiki, as another poster stated, you are only a short taxi ride to the port, but close to the beach and sights to see.

There are a lot of websites to check for hotels, but I find Tripadvisor reviews quite reliable.

Have a great trip!

I like to use Tripadvisor. I usually google hotels in Waikiki Oahu Hawaii, then look for Tripadvisor top hotels.

 

Once on Tripadvisor put in your dates. It will then list the hotels and rates.

 

If you are in Waikiki, as another poster stated, you are only a short taxi ride to the port, but close to the beach and sights to see.

 

There are a lot of websites to check for hotels, but I find Tripadvisor reviews quite reliable

I'd never use the hotel rankings on TripAdvisor for finding a hotel. There are quite a few hotels on Oahu who are very adroit in manipulating the rankings by soliciting only positive reviews and in the old days, downright forging them.

In no way should the Vive (#6), or Lotus (#7) be in the top ten. In no way should the Luana (#12), Renew (#14) or Equus (#15) be in the top twenty.

It is great to use the TripAdvisor pricing tools to look for hotels in your budget range, the tools actually are great, but I would ask in the forum here or on TA before booking.

I would recommend Equus Hotel Waikiki. A 3 star Choice Hotel. Reasonably priced, good location, clean and on bus route to PH and Waikiki beaches. Walking distance to Ala Moana shopping mall. 10 minutes taxi ride to cruise terminal.

And I would most strenuously NOT recommend the Equus. It is on the busiest street in Waikiki in the busiest section. You get a lot of street noise. Here is a picture of the pool area.

http://images.oyster.com/photos/pool-the-equus-v319512-720.jpg

There is no restaurant on site, no gym, no amenities of any kind. In fact the elevator doesn't even go to ground level. You have to lug your luggage up the stairs to the lobby on the second story before you can use an elevator.

And I would most strenuously NOT recommend the Equus. It is on the busiest street in Waikiki in the busiest section. You get a lot of street noise. Here is a picture of the pool area.

 

http://images.oyster.com/photos/pool-the-equus-v319512-720.jpg

 

There is no restaurant on site, no gym, no amenities of any kind. In fact the elevator doesn't even go to ground level. You have to lug your luggage up the stairs to the lobby on the second story before you can use an elevator.

As others have noted, this is why Trip Advisor is an excellent site to get 100s of actual customer reviews and opinions on every hotel. Here we have two differing opinions on the same property. If you read several reviews for this property on TA, you would have a pretty good idea of whether or not it would meet YOUR needs. What is important to one person may be of no concern to another. They even rank them according to customer ratings.

The Equus is one of those hotels that is a former Aqua property that openly solicits only positive reviews. That is how a 67 room property gets over 1,000 reviews when similar sized, non-Aqua hotels have 200 to 300. If you want to read non-solicited reviews look at Yelp, Oyster and Google for a more realistic view.

The Equus is one of those hotels that is a former Aqua property that openly solicits only positive reviews. That is how a 67 room property gets over 1,000 reviews when similar sized, non-Aqua hotels have 200 to 300. If you want to read non-solicited reviews look at Yelp, Oyster and Google for a more realistic view.

All good options too. The more research a person does, the chances of finding a hotel that meets ones needs. I really like Oyster, but they are very limited in places they have listed.

I don't just read the reviews on Tripadvisor, but they do have traveler's photos too. All of the travel websites have reviews that may or may not be true. And everyone has different opinions. I think that photo of the pool area is fine, others may want a more expansive pool with slides, bar, etc. A pool isn't one of my key features, as I never go to it.

My last couple of trips to Hawaii, I rented private homes and found the extra space and privacy a nice plus. So everyone has to research and decide for themselves what best suits their needs.

Have fun researching, then taking your trip to Hawaii!

The Equus is one of those hotels that is a former Aqua property that openly solicits only positive reviews. That is how a 67 room property gets over 1,000 reviews when similar sized, non-Aqua hotels have 200 to 300. If you want to read non-solicited reviews look at Yelp, Oyster and Google for a more realistic view.

Well please educate me on how a hotel can solicit only positive reviews. How can they possibly know what you are really thinking? And hotels do not forward reviews to Trip Advisor, correct? The only way to get a review on TA is for a customer to go direct to TA and place a review. Hotel management could always register on TA and fake a few reviews, but not thousands.

Well please educate me on how a hotel can solicit only positive reviews. How can they possibly know what you are really thinking? And hotels do not forward reviews to Trip Advisor, correct? The only way to get a review on TA is for a customer to go direct to TA and place a review. Hotel management could always register on TA and fake a few reviews, but not thousands.

Hotels do it two ways. One way is they ask a guest how their stay was as they check out, if they get positive feedback they either hand the guest a business sized card with how to join TripAdvisor if they are not a member and how to do a review.

The second method the hotel actually has a computer in the lobby and they ask the guest to do the review before they leave.

As to the phony reviews, when the Hotel Renew was an Aqua property and they rocketed to the #1 hotel in Waikiki surpassing Halekulani, Royal Hawaiian, Hyatt etc. It wasn't just hotel management, but every auntie, cousin and friend they could find to join TA and write a review.

Hi...we will be coming to Hawaii for our first visit in May. We will be cruising on the Carnival Legend and flying into Honolulu Airport. We would like to come in a few days before the cruise and are looking for a reasonably priced hotel that would be close to the cruise port. We also want to be able to visit Pearl Harbor...so any advice on where to stay would be appreciated!!

Are either of you military or retired military? The Hale Koa hotel is for military, is right on Waikiki Beach and about $120 a night for an ocean view room.

Thanks for all the tips...they are greatly appreciated. I am starting my hotel search today and based on your tips...I will post which hotel I am considering and see what your thoughts are! Also...we are looking to experience a Luau...is there a certain place to go to experience that as well?

Definitely stay in Waikiki near the beach. The airport hotels are pretty sketchy. You will be able to pick up a USS Arizona tour from any of the Waikiki hotels (or reasonably close) if you do not have a car. Plan to arrive at the USS Arizona early to avoid long waits.

Hi Guys, thanks for all of your input... I went on VRBO and found a 2 bedroom condo at the The Imperial Hawaii Vacation Club and it is very reasonable almost one of those too good to be true rates so I was wondering if anyone knows anything about this place such as is the location good and is it a nice place? We be flying in and needing to stay somewhere for 2 nights before we get on the cruise ship. We want to be able to go to the Pearl Harbor Memorials and do a Luau and do some exploring while we have the 2 days in Honolulu.

Thanks Again!!

I just glanced at the most recent Imperial Hawaii review on Yelp, and was not impressed.

Have you considered bundling your airfare with a hotel, to get you a somewhat discounted rate (obviously this can't be done if you are using frequent flier miles to book air)? Does Carnival have recommended hotels for pre-stays? I've been to Honolulu at least 10 times, and have stayed at various properties (Hilton Hawaiian Village, Hyatt, Hotel Renew, Aqua Waikiki Pearl, Waikiki Banyan, and a few others mostly on the east end of Waikiki).

Lower end hotels tend to have the "remodeled 20-25 plus years ago look". I'd ask "what type of hotel do you typically stay at - chainwise, amenities, level of property, etc)" and try to stay in something comparable. Look at room pictures, but "with a grain of salt". Why ruin the start of your trip by staying in a sub-standard accommodation?

Hi Guys, thanks for all of your input... I went on VRBO and found a 2 bedroom condo at the The Imperial Hawaii Vacation Club and it is very reasonable almost one of those too good to be true rates so I was wondering if anyone knows anything about this place such as is the location good and is it a nice place? We be flying in and needing to stay somewhere for 2 nights before we get on the cruise ship. We want to be able to go to the Pearl Harbor Memorials and do a Luau and do some exploring while we have the 2 days in Honolulu.

 

Thanks Again!!

The Imperial is a great location, but I don't know that I'd stay there for two nights.

What is your budget? People may have better ideas if they know what rate you are looking for. Next door to the Imperial is Waikiki Parc Hotel that is much nicer, but it also may be a lot more.