Hawaii In April

[xsbeech]

Hello! I am heading out to Hawaii in April for a wedding. My friends are staying at the Hilton...my question is, is it really worth all the hype. I don't know - I would rather spend money on diving than sleeping. Any suggestions for places to stay nearby and diving ops??

Xiomara

 

[bnkysgrl]

Hello! I am heading out to Hawaii in April for a wedding. My friends are staying at the Hilton...my question is, is it really worth all the hype. I don't know - I would rather spend money on diving than sleeping. Any suggestions for places to stay nearby and diving ops??

Xiomara

We stayed there a few weeks ago and I did not think it was worth all the hype. Unfortanely there is not alot up in that region. There are lots of condo's so you could go on Konaweb and see if there are any available for a good price. The Marriott is also there, but is probably about the same cost and not as nice.

As for dive ops we dove with a few on our last trip and we were disappointed by some of them( I will not mention unless asked). The best was Pacific Rim (they don't have a shop) and you can find them on the web. Patrice is the owner and DM and she is the best at finding critters and is very friendly. It is like diving with a good friend. She has a six pack so it is not crowded. Call her if you are interested because she fills up at least a few weeks out. PM me if you want more info on anything.

 

[justleesa]

The Hilton on which Island?

 

[xsbeech]

That would help huh? On Oahu...

 

[justleesa]

It is a beautiful hotel that is right on the beach. As the name says, Hilton Hawaiian Village, it is like a little town. Lots of shops, bars, restaurants, live entertainment, spa...just comes with the Hilton price. I haven't met a guest that was unhappy there.

As you can imagine there are lots of other hotels in all different price ranges. I'll just name a few that you don't really hear about, and if there is one you have in mind feel free to ask, I'll tell you what I know.

There is the Wakiki Sand Villa. From what I have seen and heard an OK hotel. We have repeat guests from there.

The Aqua Bamboo. We have stayed there in one of their suites and thought it was a very nice hotel. Spacious, clean....you have to enter your travel dates to get a price ( think I saw somewhere around $116 - but you might get an internet deal if you book direct). The hotel is located on Kuhio street and is about a 10 minute walk from the beach.

We had friends stay at the Marc Suites (site was down when I wrote this, try here too). The rooms were clean, they had a small kitchenette, small bathroom....the staff, esp. at the desk, could have been better (stop talking on the phone to friends long enough to take care of the guests), but for $100 a night it was ok.

Hope this gives you an idea

 

[pearl4diving]

I agree with Lisa, it really depends on where you are looking to stay.

As a resident of Oahu, I have stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and LOVED it. It is a great get away from the rest of the hustle bustle of the city and Waikiki. It really is like it's own little Hawaii Village.

That said, the amount of time you are going to spend at your hotel - it may not really be necessary to have all those ammenities right there.

Other places I have personally stayed:

Pacific Beach Hotel - more reasonable prices & a fun aquarium/restaurant. Fairly centrally located in Waikiki, so that is nice. Also many of the rooms have partial ocean/sunset view. Their website: http://www.pacificbeachhotel.com/

Now if you are looking for really affordable ($100 a night range). The Aston Circle Hotel is a good one. Not a lot of ammenities (ok, none really) and the rooms are small, however they are right there on the main street, so you can quickly have the ammenities the other hotels have to offer . Their website: http://www.resortquesthawaii.com/hawaii/propertyOverview.do?propertyGroupId=25563

The list is a long one when it comes to Waikiki Hotels.. Good luck in your hotel hunting!

 

[SecondCoussens]

If you don't plan on hanging around the hotel much I'd reccommend spending less on accomodations and using what you save for diving. The Hilton Hawaiian Village looks like a really nice hotel, and there is a ton of stuff packed into their property, which some people really like a lot. I however prefer to use the hotel as a place to sleep and maybe get a decent bite to eat once in a while when I'm on vacation, and that's about it. It has one of the bigger pools that I have seen out here, but if that isn't important to you either then I'd say save your money and go with a cheaper less ritzy place. When we visited Waikiki before moving here we went on Orbitz or Cheaphotels.com and found the cheapest place available that wasn't too shady. We ended up at the Queen Kapiolani (corner of Kalakaua and Kapahulu). It wasn't the nicest place on Waikiki, but it was clean, the location was good, and best of all it was cheap, like $70 bucks a night. Compared to Hilton you'd save hundreds of dollars, all of which can go towards diving.

For dive op's I'd check out South Seas Aquatics if you're staying in Waikiki, however most places have pick up and drop off services for all the hotels in Waikiki. I'd also suggest checking out Dive Oahu, although they are one of the pricier ones in my opinion, but the service has always been good.

I'm gonna go ahead and say don't dive with AAA Diving. The owner is a jerk, and I have heard nothing but bad things about that op. They offer a great rate, but I highly doubt it is worth it to save a few bucks if you're not going to have a good time.

 

[tangfish]

Diving in Hawaii is very expensive compared to other places in the world. That being said, if you only do ONE dive while you're there, you MUST do the Manta Ray dive off of the Kona Coast (Big Island), it is one of the most amazing dives in the world and you'll never find an experience like it. I think I paid about 100-110 bucks for the experience, well worth it. Beyond that, I would rent some gear and a jeep and shore dive.

Hello! I am heading out to Hawaii in April for a wedding. My friends are staying at the Hilton...my question is, is it really worth all the hype. I don't know - I would rather spend money on diving than sleeping. Any suggestions for places to stay nearby and diving ops??

Xiomara

 

[xsbeech]

Thanks guys for all of your input!! I can't wait to be there.

Pearl - I spoke to Chris yesterday, so I will be diving with you guys in April, see you then!