Priceline Hotel: Honolulu Hotel

[philk7]

Hi,

I am new to this board and new to booking hotels (I generally don't book hotels on my own, and let my company do it for me). But this time I am looking for a hotel on my own.

Basically I am looking for a 2.5+ star hotel near Honolulu Airport for one night (checkin Friday, May 18/ checkout Saturday May 19). I don't know what the best way to go about doing this. I've looked on Hotwire and saw a few hotels that look interesting. Here are the ones I found in no particular order:

(1) 3.5 star in Wakiki North, Ameneties: Near Beach, Fitness Center, Pool, Business Center, Laundry Facilities, Tennis Nearby for $134 (retail $149.40)

(2) 2.5 star in Wakiki North, Ameneties: Near Beach for $83

(3) 3 star in Wakiki North, Ameneties: Botique Hotel, Near Beach, Pool, High-speed Internet Access, Golf Nearby, Tennis Nearby, Laundry facilities, Golf Nearby for $109 (retail $119)

(4) 2.5 star in Honolulu Intl Airport HNL, Ameneties: Pool, Restaurant, Laundry Facilities, Golf Nearby for $138

(5) 2 star in Honolulu Intl Airport HNL, Ameneties: Airport Shuttle, Pool, Restuarnt(s), Laundry Facilities for $89

(6) 3-star in Waikiki Beach Area, Ameneties: Near Beach, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Tennis Nearby for $86 (retail $97)

(7) 3 star in Wakiki South, Ameneties: Near Beach, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Laundry Facilities for $106 (retail $116)

My question is, how do I know if I am getting a good deal? And, can you match these hotels?

Also, is it better to do Hotwire, or is it better to use Priceline and name my own price? I am wary of giving credit card information to Priceline before I even know what kind of hotel I am getting. And if I use Priceline, what are prices I should enter to get a hotel that I want?

I guess I should also let you know that I only need a hotel for one night because I am flying in a night early and taking a cruise the following day on the 19th which disembarks near the airport 7 pm that night. For those of you who are familiar with Hawaii, do I need to get a hotel in the HNL Airport area so I am close port? Or is transportation pretty easy that if I get a hotel in the other areas (e.g., Wakiki South, etc.) I don't need a rental car or anything to get around.

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum. If it's in the wrong forum, please let me know which one to post in.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

A few basic research notes to comment on first...

It's often discussed here that there's no <good> reason to stay out near the airport unless you have a very early flight the next morning or some other reason to be in that immediate area (there's a militry base nearby, so i assume somebody who had business there might be interested in this zone as well). At first i figured this was the purpose of your stay, but since you also asked about hotels in Waikiki, what is the purpose of this trip/stay?

Rather than try to ID the seven hotels above, why don't you first let us know what the purpose of this trip is as well as your desired budget and what type of hotel class you're used to staying there... from there we can discuss your best options and what a good deal might be.

[philk7]

Well, like I said, I am flying in a ngiht early (Friday, May 18) to leave for a Norweign cruise the next day (May 19th at 7:00 pm which leaves near the airport - from what I've been told). So, the hotel itself doesn't have to be luxurious (but not crummy), it just has to be pretty good. I was thinking a 2.5+ star type hotel.

In terms of a price, I am looking to spend $75-$125, which seems to be the price range for the type of hotel I am looking for. I just want to know that I am getting a good deal. So if I have to pay ~$150 knowing that people generally spend $200 for the type hotel I am looking for, I am okay = ).

[thereuare]

Well if you stay out by Wiakiki (30 minutes if i recall by car from the airport) do you plan on renting a car (which would then add to your total cost) or would you take a taxi there? (which add even more to your total cost)

Unless you think you'll be able to go out and "enjoy" Hawaii after your flight i would suggest just staying by the airport. The highest rated hotel available by the Airport is 2 stars, so not sure if that would be acceptable to you or not. You can begin by seeing the hotels that have already been reported to the board in the Oahu (Airport) zone in our Priceline Hotel List. You may get a 2 star hotel not yet reported on the board, but at least reading reviews of the hotels already reported will give you an idea of what to expect.

If that is acceptable to you then let us know and we'll suggest a strategy to try (or if you think you'd rather travel to Waikiki in order to "see it" let us know that we'll go that route).

Any questions feel free to ask.

[philk7]

I will have some time on Saturday venture out. But if it's near the beach (like some of the Wakiki ones), it'd be good enough to just spend the day at the beach. Do any of these hotels near the beach offer shuttle service? If not, then we would just rent a car for the day.

Also, I saw a 2.5 star Oahu HNL Aiport hotel on Hotwire.

Which is better to use to get a hotel - hotwire or priceline?

Thanks.!

[thereuare]

Priceline is usually a little cheaper than HOTWIRE, but with HOTWIRE you have the ability to 'target' (or have an eduated guess) a specific property.

As i mentioned above, the Waikiki area and the Beach(es) area are QUITE different, and i would suggest doing a little more research first to determine which area you want to stay in. Given that you will have time to explore the day of embarkation, i think i would recommend the Waikiki area over the airport... it will cost you a bit more than the Airport area, but it has nicer (higher rated) hotels and will be more centrally located to just "waking up and going".

Let us know which zone you decide and we'll take it from there.

[506canuck]

I took a cruise from honolulu three years ago and the dock was a lot closer to Waikiki than it was to the airport. We took a 10 minute bus ride to Hilo Hattie's and passed the Norwegian Wind in port. If I was you I would stay in Waikiki unless Norwegian have moved to a different dock

[philk7]

We are going to be in a day early at noon and wont disembark until 7 pm the next day (it's a Norweign Cruise). So we will need a hotel for just one night for 2 people. We will want to spend that time looking around Hawaii, maybe spend some time on the beach. I have never been to hawaii before, do you have any suggestions as to what we can do in Oahu for 36 hours? I am not really sure what the differnce between the Wakiki and beach areas are going to be.

As for the hotel, my budget is still abtuo 75-125. And we don't need a high end hotel (like a Hilton), but just something that's not run down, etc. (comprable to like a holiday inn or something). I think that would be like 2.5 + stars? I'm not sure.

Again, I appreciate all the help.

[philk7]

What's Hilo Hattie's? Is that a hotel? If so, did you like it? And did you book it off Priceline/Hotwire?

[thereuare]

Hilo Hatties = Hawaiian themed tourist store

[dkc2]

The port is at the Aloha Tower in Downtown Honolulu. The airport is really not that close to the port, it is much closer to Waikiki. If you are dead set on staying in Waikiki then try for the Ala Moana area which is to the east of Waikiki proper. You could also try for a place downtown which is labeled as the Executive Center area on Priceline. The port is actually right at the Executive Center area if you blow up the map on PL.

If you stay in Waikiki or near the airport allow 30-45 minutes to get to the port during the late afternoon.

The beach in Waikiki is terrible, don't waste your time there. There are a lot of nice beaches on Oahu, but Waikiki isn't one of them. Other than beaches there are plenty of things to do during the day while you wait for your ship. Pearl Harbor is right by the airport, Diamond Head crater (the climb will eat up a couple of hours easily and the view at the top is amazing), in the downtown area you have the old Royal Palace and Chinatown, west of Waikiki there is a beautiful state park on the water for snorkeling, the name escapes me at the moment but is about 30-60 minutes from Waikik. The North Shore is where the huge waves come in, nice for looking, but not very condusive for swimming.