Aloha Steemers,
This past week I had the pleasure of being able to experience Hawaii for the first time! As an incentive, the travel agency I work for sent some lucky agents to Waikiki this year.
It was a short trip, but I was able to tour several properties and do some sight seeing as well - all while enjoying the beach, sun, and beverages in between.
In this post I would like to do a quick comparison of two properties I got to experience the most on my trip: the "Hyatt Regency Waikiki", which I actually stayed at, as well as the "Sheraton Waikiki " where several of my travel companions were staying. I will then also share a few sights and experiences that were definitely worth a look.
Hyatt Regency Waikiki
This hotel's exterior was not super exciting. The hotel lobby and elevators could also do with an upgrade, although the view of Waikiki Beach from the lobby was quite nice.
The people who worked at this hotel were super friendly and helpful. And pro tip: there was also free amazing pineapple infused water and pineapple iced tea in the lobby.
The rooms were super spacious, clean and modern looking, with a Hawaiian twist.
Although this picture is from their website, this is actually what the rooms looked like which is always a pleasant surprise
I had a partial ocean view room which was quite lovely.
The pool area was fairly small and usually very busy, but overlooked the beach beautifully.
The hotel was not directly on the beach (you had to cross the street to get there), however the beach it was across from was really nice, and there was a barricade that stopped the waves from coming in. This made floating on my flamingo floaty a lot easier.
Sheraton Waikiki
This hotel's exterior and lobby, on the other hand, were quite deceiving. The grounds were very beautiful and lobby/elevators were newly renovated.
However the rooms were a little bit of a let down.
This picture from the Sheraton website is being very generous
The partial ocean view from the rooms did make up for it though.
On the other hand, the Sheraton's pool area was great (but also very busy)!
There was this pool area, and then another adults only infinity pool on the other side. This hotel was also directly on the beach, and although the water was wavy, it was definitely nice and more private.
I would say there were pros and cons to both properties, but for me, the location, rooms, service, views and overall feel of the Hyatt Regency won this one out for me.
I was also able to take the Waikiki Trolley around Honolulu and up to Diamond Head.
This was a cheap and easy way to see any and all touristy sights in the Honolulu area! I didn't have the time to do every loop, but I would definitely recommend.
It was a whirlwind few days, but I cannot wait to go back.
Mahalo everyone!
Sources for some of the photos:
http://www.sheraton-waikiki.com/