Sheraton Waikiki, Honolulu

...deal of consideration, was the Sheraton Waikiki. Why? Well, the information we had showed it to be a "superior 4 star" hotel (which ticked the "good enough for honeymoon" box) positioned in the heart of Waikiki between the main avenue and the ocean (putting it in an excellent location), and it was within our budget (so we could still afford to eat). Better still, I had stayed in a Sheraton hotel previously and found it to be a ...
...seemed a good choice. The Sheraton Waikiki is one of the major resort hotels in Hawaii, and one of two Sheraton hotels in the district of Waikiki (the other being the cheaper Princess Kaiulani, set further back from the ocean). Standing thirty stories high and housing 1,695 rooms, it was originally built in 1971 before undergoing major renovation work in 2007 to modernise it. The hotel is built right next to the beach (literally - there is just a ... more

According to my guidebook, there are around 60,000 hotel rooms in the Waikiki district of Honolulu, an area that houses virtually all of the hotels on the island of O'ahu, despite being only two miles in length. Just think about how many hotels that amounts to; there are literally hundreds to chose from, all crammed into a relatively small area of land, and many built like skyscrapers to compensate. Thankfully, Thomas Cook had handily whittled this smorgasbord of options down to something a bit more manageable for us, and were also able to offer rooms at a little more of an affordable price than the eye-watering rack rates of many hotels (plus extra for that ocean view room, of course). While we decided we could live without the ocean view, we did want to stay in a nice hotel (this trip was our honeymoon, after all) and preferably one in a central, convenient location - that said, we still had a budget that we needed to stick to if we wanted to be able to afford such trifles as food when we got there.

Our choice, after a good deal of consideration, was the Sheraton Waikiki. Why? Well, the information we had showed it to be a "superior 4 star" hotel (which ticked the "good enough for honeymoon" box) positioned in the heart of Waikiki between the main avenue and the ocean (putting it in an excellent location), and it was within our budget (so we could still afford to eat). Better still, I had stayed in a Sheraton hotel previously and found it to be a very positive experience and the generally good reviews we found on a selection of websites confirmed that this seemed a good choice. The Sheraton Waikiki is one of the major resort hotels in Hawaii, and one of two Sheraton hotels in the district of Waikiki (the other being the cheaper Princess Kaiulani, set further back from the ocean). Standing thirty stories high and housing 1,695 rooms, it was originally built in 1971 before undergoing major renovation work in 2007 to modernise it. The hotel is built right next to the beach (literally - there is just a path separating the hotel from the sand), and has been cleverly designed so that as many rooms as possible can see the views of Waikiki beach. If you imagine the hotel has a "core" tower block, then radiating out from this core are two wings, gently curved in shape to maximise the number of rooms that overlook the Pacific (the hotel boasts that over two thirds of the rooms can see some of the ocean). It seemed to really make the most of its location, despite the area being crowded.

However, with less than a week to our departure, we received a troubling email from Thomas Cook stating they had just been told that there would be building work at the hotel during the time we were staying there. While we were offered the chance to move hotels at no extra charge, we decided instead to stay where we were, as we really didn't have the time to start researching other hotel options at that point. We did ask, however, that if possible we could be given a room on one of the upper floors, well away from where the development of the ground floor and parts of the outside areas were taking place. All we could do then was cross our fingers that the work wouldn't disrupt our stay.

Check-In

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We arrived at the Sheraton Waikiki in the early afternoon, slightly apprehensive after hearing about the building work, although nothing was particularly obvious from the side of the hotel where we were dropped off. Entering the building, we found the lobby was large, light and airy, and although one side of it was boarded off for the construction work, it was remarkably quiet and there was apparently minimal disruption. Feeling more relaxed now, we took in our surroundings. The space had an air of relaxed luxury, elegantly decorated in Hawaiian style down to the floral shirts and kona nut leis the staff all wore.

Check-in took a little time because we were told our room wasn't ready...but they had heard the message from Thomas Cook that it was our honeymoon loud and clear, and what happened next more than made up for a slight wait to get to our room. We had been selected as "guests of the day", we were told, and were presented with beautiful fresh flower leis to the applause of staff members. The lei is a garland, often but not necessarily made of flowers, that is given as a gift and sign of affection or to mark a special occasion. Although simple leis were for sale in hotel forecourt, these were very distinctive ones that the hotel only gave out once a day, both as a welcome to the guests of the day and to mark us out to other members of staff (I recognised mine as being of green and purple orchids, but I was unsure of what was used in the one given to Other Half). Along with our leis, we were told that out room had been upgraded from the cheapest city view room that we had booked to the much more expensive ocean view room, and we had a voucher for a free bottle of fizz (a rather nice sparkling Californian white as it happened) that seems to be routinely offered to honeymooners and people celebrating anniversaries. To say we were pleased and stunned was an understatement; this first taste of Hawaiian hospitality was amazing, and we were more than happy to deposit our suitcases and explore the hotel grounds while we waited for our room. Most of the staff members we met acknowledged our special leis and gave us a friendly welcome to the hotel, which more than made up for the (actually fairly minor and considerately undertaken) building work that was going on around parts of the ground floor.

A Room With A View

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Arriving at our 18th floor room, things continued to exceed my expectations. Our room was large, and we at once understood why the view came at a premium - from the lanai (balcony) we had the most famous view in Honolulu, along Waikiki beach to Diamond Head, the extinct volcano that towers over the windward side of the island. We could also see the famous Royal Hawaiian Hotel (the "Pink Palace of the Pacific"), and leaning out slightly brought the Koolau Mountains into view. This panorama allowed us to understand the island in its different moods; in the early morning the mountains were usually clearly visible, but later in the day clouds formed over their tops as the trade winds blew moisture towards them that rose over the high ground and condensed. On one spectacular occasion we saw a heavy tropical rain storm pass over the mountains and drift across the city towards us, eventually forming a brief but brilliant rainbow over Diamond Head. Our lanai came equipped with a pair of chairs, and we spent quite a bit of time on our trip just sitting there and savouring this view.

Our room was minimally but comfortably furnished. The bedroom had a king sized bed, on one side of which was a small table and stool, and on the other, a mini-bar style fridge built into a bedside unit - unlike most hotels I have stayed in, however, this was not a pre-stocked mini-bar that would slap you with exorbitant purchase charges for so much as looking at the contents the wrong way, but simply a fridge for you to use as you pleased during your stay. I thought this to be an excellent addition to our room. Although it was kept pleasantly cool (mostly through leaving the lanai door open, although occasionally with the air conditioning when the local birds got especially active and threatened to invade), being able to keep milk, fruit, water and soft drinks chilled was a boon for providing ourselves with cheap drinks and for making breakfasts when we had to leave at an uncivilised hour to catch excursion pick-ups (Hawaiians, it appears, are generally early risers). On the opposite side of the room was a long shelf, a couple of coat-hooks and a flat screen TV mounted on the wall, then further along was a large fitted wardrobe with sliding doors containing a safe and ironing board. Opposite the wardrobe was our en suite bathroom. This was a little different to any other I had experienced, having slatted shutters in the wall over the washbasin that could be folded back, creating in effect a window between bathroom and bedroom. We weren't entirely sure of the purpose of this arrangement; to help air the bathroom maybe, or to be able to watch your beloved take a shower? The bathroom, despite this slight oddity, was great, being clean and well presented, and equipped with both bath and shower (I especially liked the "aloha" stencilled on to the bottom of the bath), an abundance of towels, a hairdryer, a kettle, and good quality bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body lotion, although soap was provided rather than shower gel.

We were impressed with our room and it gave us everything we needed for our stay, plus plenty of space. It was kept scrupulously clean and tidy by the housekeeping staff (who we met a few times and were very friendly, by the way), well stocked with toiletries and was wonderfully quiet. The caffeine junkies amongst you may be pleased to hear that there was a coffee machine provided in the room rather than sachets of instant, although I'm afraid I am unable to offer comment on this as neither of us touches the stuff. A couple of very minor niggles - I would have liked a comfy chair indoors and a plug point within an electric cord's length of a mirror in the bedroom would have been a welcome addition, too. But these are trivial, really. The room was great and we couldn't get enough of that view.

Eating and Drinking

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A selection of food and drink was available in the hotel, ranging from the soft drink machines available on each floor next to the ice machines ($2.50 for a 500ml bottle) to the coffee shop, a cafe called Ingredients, the new Rum Fire bar (which apparently has the largest selection of vintage rums in the US) the rather swanky Hanohano Room and a poolside bar. The most famous eatery at the Sheraton Waikiki is the Hanohano Room (Hawaiian for "in an elevated position") on the top floor of the building, where the Twist restaurant serves food with spectacular views thirty stories high. This is actually one of the most famous dining experiences in the whole of Waikiki, although this is largely attributable to the view rather than the food from what I understand. We were intrigued by this prospect - and had the smart resort attire required for entrance - but a reccie established that the view was identical to ours, just a little higher up, and the food wasn't cheap at $65 for a three course dinner and $80 for a four course (without drinks), with the breakfast costing a whopping $28. Our guidebook was unenthusiastic about the food on offer, and although we wanted a special honeymoon dinner, we didn't think this rather pretentious menu was for us.

As I believe is customary in American hotels, breakfast was not included in our room rate, so my experience of eating and drinking in this hotel was limited to one breakfast bagel purchased at the coffee shop on our first morning and rather more poolside cocktails than was strictly good for me. The cocktails cost around $7 - $10 (the shave ice variants being more expensive, but large, tasty and refreshing) and the breakfast bagel was around the $8 mark, which was filling but too rich and heavy for my tastes (and who wants bacon, eggs and cheese in a tropical climate anyway?). After eating a hotel breakfast on the first day, we soon found better value eateries away from the hotel (there is hardly a shortage, and a lot come with nice views, too) and didn't bother again except to order drinks when we had a relaxing hour or two to spend by the pool.

Hotel Facilities

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One of the most useful facilities at the hotel was the euphemistically named "aloha landing". Please don't start to get ideas of a private pier for romantic boat trips or anything like that - it is the hotel's bus station. While "the landing of love" may be something of overstatement for what is essentially a concrete garage, the fact the hotel is big enough to have this means that pretty much any excursion you want to go on will pick you up here. It makes your tour bus or airport shuttle easy to find (and conversely easy for them to find you), easy to get to (important for early morning collections) and means you will be dropped off right at your door on the way back.

Then of course there is the swimming pool, as I have hinted at once or twice thus far. The hotel actually has two pools, and although the smaller of the two was one of the victims of the construction work, we found the other one to be perfectly adequate and not too busy most of the time (one of the perks of being able to travel outside of peak season). It says something about the quality of the local sea water that the pool could be filled with heated brine without the need for chlorine, and if the generously sized pool, water slide and hot tubs get too boring for you then you can always relax on one of the sun loungers or walk the few feet to the beach and take a dip in the ocean itself. The pool was open 9am to 5pm daily, with snacks, soft drinks, beers and cocktails served from 11am.

There were also other facilities offered by the hotel that we didn't use, such as the concierge, currency exchange, spa, laundry service, fitness centre, hula lessons and crèche.

Concluding Thoughts

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Once again, staying in a Sheraton hotel has proved to be a very positive experience for me. The Sheraton Waikiki was a wonderful place to spend a honeymoon, offering a great location, friendly and helpful service, and one of the best hotel rooms I have ever had the privilege to stay in. As is usual in these reviews I want to comment on cost; while I have given some prices for refreshments served in the hotel, I have so far not said anything about prices for staying there. The rack rates for rooms depend on their view. The cheapest city view room (that we originally booked) is listed at $380 excluding taxes and meals, and this rises through the mountain view at $480, the partial ocean view at $535, the ocean view (that we were upgraded to) at $585 and a deluxe ocean front (the ocean view but in an even bigger and better room) at $715. Booking through Thomas Cook in a discounted package that was bundled with flights (and then discounted again because travel agents are desperate for sales right now) meant we didn't pay anywhere near the £200 a night that a city view room equates too - while the package prevents me from calculating exact prices, it was less than half of that, probably around £60 to £70 a night. But now you appreciate why the room upgrade was so worth having! This was still quite expensive, but good value for money? For a honeymoon or special occasion, yes, I think so for the accommodation, but less so for the food and drink prices.

Recommended - but get your travel agent to tell them in advance if it is for a special occasion!

Further information: http://www.sheraton-waikiki.com/index.htm

 

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