Yet another FAQ worth starting a thread in the Ohana for. Everyone is welcome to give some input!! We want to know - When you visited Hawaii:
[*]Which Island did you visit?
Oahu & Big Island
[*]Where have you stayed that's great or not so great?
I've stayed at the Royal Grove in Oahu and the Miramar at Waikiki.
I stayed at the Waikoloa Village Condos on the Big Island.
[*]Where did you get a great deal?
Oahu: Royal Grove was just $75/night (after taxes and fees)!
Big Island: Waikoloa Village Condos worked out to around $92/night (price is for the entire condo for 5 people)--my friends stayed at the Waikoloa Hilton for about $125/night (price is for the room before taxes and fees)
[*]Did you use an online service or book directly with the hotel/condo/renter? Got a link?
Oahu--Royal Grove: Booked through the hotel (
Royal Grove Hotel, Waikiki, Hawaii - The best hotel value in Honolulu, Waikiki and Hawaii!)
Oahu--Miramar at Waikiki--Booked through Hotels.com
Big Island--Waikoloa Village Condos--Booked through private owners
[*]Where where you treated like a king or queen?
Oahu--I don't know about being treated like a king or a queen (frankly, I'm not into that as much--I was travelling on a student budget) but Royal Grove treated me like family. The staff is very friendly and helpful; on top of which you can't beat the weekly jam session (taking place on Tuesday nights now). The staff at the Miramar at Waikiki was friendly enough and the room was nice, but it wasn't exactly a luxury hotel (given that it cost around $120/night that makes sense) but we were treated pretty well (I think that may just have been due to the overall chill nature of the locals).
Big Island--Condo was very well stocked (it had beach gear ready for use) and shared access to the beach with the Waikoloa Hilton--I'm guessing there's an easement w/the Hilton property.
[*]What places are diver friendly?
Hmmm...not sure what the call of the question is. suggest that the hotels and condo where I stayed were not unfriendly to divers.
[*]On a scale from 1-5 (1 being the best), what would you give them?
Oahu--Royal Grove: 5 for value (familial atmosphere, friendly & helpful staff--they even helped me find a place where I got an inexpensive but good haircut--and only one short block away from Waikiki Beach!). Granted the hotel is a bit dated, but it's very well-maintained.
Oahu--Miramar at Waikiki: 4 for value (friendly service, but a bit more expensive than I woud like to pay--it'd be a better deal at around $90/night after taxes & fees--but I think I'm still partial to the Royal Grove).
Big Island--Waikoloa Village Condos: 4.5 for value (short walk to beach, comes with all the amenities of home, but can be expensive if not enough people to split the costs).
[*]and anything else you might want to add...Share your experiences and I'll put them together in a reference thread.
I'm returning to Oahu in August (post-bar trip); I'll be traveling with my best friend and his girlfriend. We plan to stay at the Royal Grove (seriously, the Fongs treat their guests like family--and that just can't be beat!). On my last trip (end of May 2008), I went diving with a local dive operator and had a fun time diving the Sea Tiger, Horseshoe Reef (Nautical Reef?), and Kewalo Basin Pipe. The viz was pretty good, there was a decent amount of smaller animal life (invertebrates, fish, crustaceans, etc.); I kind of wished that I could've seen a shark or turtle. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to see a shark or turtle in August.
On the other hand, I went on a 2-tank manta ray dive (1st tank just before sunset and 2nd tank after sunset). The manta ray dives were amazing--we even saw a couple rays during the first dive! Additionally, we saw some cool fauna that is found only in the local waters off the Big Island. Sadly, we didn't see the coral eels at the Coral Eel Gardens during the first dive. However, that was offset by seeing 20+ different manta rays during the night dive; they swam and glided so smoothly that it looked like an underwater ballet (while normally I'm not a fan of ballet, in this instance I made an exception). I would highly recommend that any visitor to the Big Island do this dive!
By the way, can anyone offer a good (thorough and safe) but inexepensive OW cert class on Oahu? I'm trying to talk my best friend and his girlfriend into getting their OW certification (in LA), but it looks like they'd rather do it out in Hawaii where the water's a tad warmer. Additionally, while they do their OW dives, I'd like to get in some diving (keep in mind, I'm living and travelling entirely on student loans at this point, so I need to find someplace that's economical). Mahalo!
