Waikiki Central Hotel — Hotel in Honolulu

LONG BUT DETAILED REVIEW

I was very very very worried when I booked this hotel. After all, Google states its a 1 star hotel. But I read the reviews and figured worse case, I would not stay and just move to a big-named hotel. It was a $100 gamble. BEST GAMBLE ever! I spent four nights at this hotel in November and was very impressed. I was actually impressed! Has to be one of the cleaner hotels I have stayed at in many years and I can that as a business traveler with more than 1,000 nights in a hotel room over the past ten years (typically Hilton, Hyatt, Crown Plaza), the family that owns this hotel knows what they are doing when it comes to cleaning! The guys working the front desk are just as amazing as the room! They were friendly and welcoming from the moment I arrived until I left. When I had questions....and I know they get asked the same question every day by multiple guests... they still made me feel like it was the first time someone asked and they were happy to answer it. Price for the room was great.

I enjoyed my experience so much, I decided to fly back to Waikiki for another visit. I actually planed my trip around availability at Waikiki Central. So, April 29...fly from Texas back to the hotel for another week. Have already talked to the front desk twice with questions and their friendliness on the phone is making me that much more excited to be going back!

Now for the details and a breakdown of my rating for this hotel.

EXCELLENT: Service, cleanliness, location, location, location, price,

GOOD: Room size, fridge, dishes in the room (loved that), body boards and chairs in the lobby, refreshed towels daily. Like all hotels since Covid, room is not made up unless you ask.

DIFFERENT: Not good or bad, just different.... not use to a front office staff part of the day. But if that helps them keep the prices down I am 100% for it....after-all, how often do you need the front desk at 2am? There are signs on the door with a phone number and an auto-call box next to the elevator if you need someone after hours. They seem to have this covered pretty well. I came back late at night many times and had no issues. They were open when I needed them open. Sheets -- I was not a fan of the sheets. They use two flat sheets on the bed rather than a fitted and a flat sheet, and there is no real comforter. I had a hard time sleeping when the sheets kept ending up in a pile. So on this trip back I am taking a fitted sheet with me. Just my personal preference that I have a fitted sheet.

FINAL - This is a no brainer. I took the $200 per night savings and the $50 resort fee per day everyone else in Waikiki is spending at the big box hotels and used it to eat out, rent a car to see the island, take a tour, go to the Cultural Center and see the really cool show. I did not need a fancy lobby or a pool. When I wanted to sit outside in an elegant environment, I walked 5 minutes down the street to a resort and sat in their lobby (but didn't pay the crazy price for the room). Honestly... if you come to Waikiki to explore and be active....GREAT HOTEL. Without a lobby or fancy couches in the rooms, it sorta makes you want to not sit in the room and watch tv, but go out and experience the island. If you need a resort with all the amenities... that is cool, it leaves a room open at the Waikiki...

This hotel is in a great location, and the rooms are generally nice and large. They also have beach chairs and towels you can rent for free. There's no sign-up sheet for them, so I'm not sure how they prevent people from stealing stuff.

In spite of the location and the decent rooms, I had some issues with the place. The internet was not great the 2 nights I was there. Also, the water in the bathroom (both the shower and the sink) took a few minutes to warm up - long enough to where I almost turned off the shower and went downstairs to the office to ask if there was a problem with the hot water.

You have to exchange dirty towels for clean ones in the office (there's no maid service unless you're staying for at least 5 nights), but I knew this before I visited, so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal (even considering the office is only open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm). One night, I came back to the hotel at 7:55 pm. I looked in the office and saw someone sitting behind the desk, so I rushed upstairs to get my dirty towels to exchange. I came back down to the office at 7:57 pm; the person in the office was gone, and the office was locked. It was pretty irritating that they would close the office 3 minutes before the listed closing time, especially when the guests rely on the office for things like clean towels.

Also, later at night, there was a homeless guy sleeping next to the elevator for the hotel, which was a little off-putting.

The price is reasonable, all things considered. You're really just paying for the location to the beach. But if you can spring for a slightly better hotel, I'd...

Given this is an older building and in some senses is a "budget" hotel, it was a really comfortable place to stay. I appreciate the transparency on pricing; it was great value for the location. The location is stupendous - less than 2 blocks to the public beach park and right in the middle of all things Waikiki. The rooms were comfortable with all the amenities although it's the smallest shower I've ever seen! The front desk staff were super nice and had a lot of extras available in the office such as electric kettle, boogie boards, beach towels, etc. The one minor gripe I have is that in both king rooms that our party of four booked, there was no bedside table and lamp on the left side of the bed, despite there being plenty of room. They could easily and cheaply add these.||Couple of tips - if you have a smaller car, it will fit in the very small car park more easily. We unfortunately had a big three-row SUV that required quite a lot of maneuvering. We might have just skipped the car altogether but needed it for a couple of excursions. If the room doesn't have what you need, just ask as the staff seemed really accommodating. A breath of fresh air compared to the service seen...