Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach

We were guests during an extended Mother’s Day weekend, so this is a late post: Our spacious room was on the PH floor with views of the ocean. The room was clean and well monitored by Vilma, whose beautiful smile and energy graced us with 5-star service each day. The complimentary breakfast buffet offered something for everyone and was consistently good. There were also several restaurants nearby, including Tiki’s which was a great place to grab a happy hour island drink and appetizers on the way back from a day at the beach. Hyatt Place guests were also guided to their adjacent pool—an upgrade from the small, nondescript one at our hotel. Hyatt Place is located within convenient walking distance to abundant shopping, sea wall protected beaches, and guided tour bus pick up/drop off spots. Guest beach towels and chairs were accessed daily, as was the filtered water station in the lobby. Might the breakfast dining area benefit by a fresh floor surface, a netted structure to keep birds away, and potted palms to soften and enhance its appearance? Yes. Could the pool be filled in and the gym moved to that location to provide direct access to indoor/outdoor dining? Yes, but overall our stay was a positive experience and we appreciate all of the warm hospitality that we received.

There are good things about this hotel such as friendly staff and not so good things. A hotel this size has only three laundry machines and three dryers of which one was broke. I lost an entire night just trying to do one load of laundry. The breakfast was pretty good for a buffet breakfast. Also the hotel advertises they have parking . When we got here they said the lot was full and we ended up parking at another lot up the street and eventually on the street. When I asked if I could park in front for 15 minutes to help get my family's stuff down from our room I was told that I need get a day pass for $18. On the positive, the hotel is situated one block from the beach. The hotel provided towels , beach chairs and boogie boards which were a nice feature. We were also here during the recent Tsunami warning (which thankfully turned into a minor affair) for which there was a minor evacuation of coastal areas. The hotel staff handled the situation really well. They provided periodic updates throughout the emergency and let us know (whether they believed it or not) that we were not in any danger if we were above the 4th floor (which we were). If it wasn't for the laundry and parking issues I would have rated the hotel between 3 and 3.5 stars. This based on extensive travel experience staying at all level of hotels.

Unfortunately not a great place to stay for the value - it's a bit dated and things are breaking. The location is excellent for the beach, surfing, and wading in shallow clear water. The elevator has been broken and the tower goes to over 17 floors. A lot of people with young kids are very inconvenienced and there are many people taking the emergency exit stairwell up and down all day at this point. The wait can be up to 10 minutes for an elevator. If you want a good stair climbing work out every time you want to go to your room, this is the place for you! The pool is closed for maintenance during the busiest season. To get to the outdoor breakfast buffet and eating area you have to go through the workout center. The workout center has big windows facing the eating area - good for guilting you into a hefty workout, but not great for people staring at you while you exercise (as they eat and walk through to get to and from breakfast). Location is great - close to the beach and if you like water sports and shopping. It's not great if you'd like to hike and get some elevation. The staff is mixed - the food and room cleaning staff are excellent, friendly, and efficient. The check in staff isn't that knowledgeable and must have customer service training akin to budget hotels given they don't know much about the area and seem tired. The Zoo is only a few blocks away. Overall this is not up to the Hyatt Place standards of other locations I've stayed in in California, but again the staff is very friendly and the location is very convenient.