TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

My wife and I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Waikiki for our honeymoon. The service and cleanliness of the property are top tier. As an IHG member, I always try to stay at one of their properties and this stay was no exception. The breakfast is amazing and offers a wide variety of choices and specials that you can’t go wrong with. Many hotels can often mess breakfast up, but this property nails it which is always an appreciated way to start your day in Waikiki before plying tourist. The hotel’s concierge, Brady, was especially a gem of this property. My wife and I had looked into booking an island tour of Oahu and Brady took the time and made the effort to really find out what we were looking to do, before selecting a company that met our needs. Thus far, this island tour with The Pineapple Experience tour company has been the highlight of our stay. Shout out to Brady and the entire staff for making our honeymoon extra special with their service and efforts!

Our first (hopefully of many more) stay in Walkiki. The open-air lobby is amazing. Standard rooms were cramped. They are so small, you can’t change your mind! However, the staff was so very accommodating, especially Ms. Mary, Mr. Roger and Mr. Sal. The second room was a corner suite and absolutely amazing. Even gave us early check-in, too! Gave my wife a birthday gift bag, filled with pineapple gummy treats. Breakfast was good, but tons of gnats. Pool located on roof area, and gets very chilly at night. Entire outdoor area is very cool. Overall, I really enjoyed my stay. The open concept is awesome.

Hotel is a joke. Elevators take up to 30 mins in the morning and night. Pool and hot tub closed without notice twice, rooms are tiny and old, breakfast was poured eggs, turkey sausage, lineup for seats. Air cond noisy and barely cooled. Parking 49,00 and had to park elsewhere one night. 600 rooms, 100 parking spots. Staff was actually very friendly and helpful.

Terrible. I truly wanted to love this place—the location is great, the lobby is beautiful—but every interaction left me feeling scolded like a child. Breakfast incident: When I tried to take my breakfast back to my room, three staff members rushed to stop me at the door. I had a paper plate but I had the plate on a tray (trying to hold my coffee and bagel together), I was publicly corrected in front of other guests. It was embarrassing and made me feel like I was being accused of doing something wrong- as if I was trying purposefully to do something shady. Just humiliating. Towel incident: No one explained that beach towels had to be checked out on the second floor. I went up to the pool deck assuming that’s where they were, only to be snapped at by a security guard for removing pool towels. It felt like the hotel was happy to be in positions of power to be bossy and rude to guests. The problem isn’t that the hotel has rules—it’s that they don’t provide them upfront and when they do to correct guests- they haven’t been coached in the best way to handle it. I even double-checked to see if there were rules on paperwork at check-in and wasn’t given a list. It felt like management had a meeting and told employees to be bullies on the rules. Instead, guests are left to guess what to do and then get scolded when they guess wrong. Vacations should feel welcoming, not like you’re constantly under surveillance and reprimand. Being treated with anger and condescension was unacceptable. I will never return.

Compact little hotel. Very small room. Great view, though. Nice to have a mini fridge, microwave and coffee maker. Good location for food and shopping.