DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Alana Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, HI

I went to this hotel with my wife in mid February 2024 for 2 weeks. I had booked my package through Costco Travel. The main reason for choosing it was the price and the location. For us, the location was great. It wasn’t on the main Kalakaua Ave strip so we did not have to worry about how noisy it might be. It was at the west area of that road. What was great about this location is that if we wanted to go to the main tourist area, it’s not a far walk. If we wanted to go to Ala Moana mall (or areas around there), it wasn’t that far either. I believe we had the best of both worlds. Also, there was a food truck area at the intersection where this hotel is at. Checking into the hotel was hassle free. We were given 2 freshly made cookies also. The place has 3 elevators which I found okay. We didn’t have any issues with long wait times. There are a couple restaurants attached to this building but I can’t comment as we did not go to any of them. There is also a small swimming pool / lounge area off of the reception. There is a spot to grab towels if you need to. This area is not on the main floor as it’s on the 2nd floor which is where the reception is. We did not go into the pool as we found it too cold in February. The lounge area was nice though and very relaxing. The have loungers and also some couches. There is also a small gym area that looks onto the pool. Also, on the main area with the reception, there was a microwave for use since the bedrooms did not have. The room itself was clean and smelled fresh. It’s not the biggest room, but it’s big enough as we didn’t spend much time in there anyways. The ground was carpeted and there were ample wall outlets on each side of the bed, a clock, phone, etc. There was a mini fridge but nothing provided. There was a small coffee machine with K-cups and teas. There was also a small single couch on the side. The room basically had the standard amenities you’d expect. Room service is provided everyday if you want it. During our stay, there were activities during the week. We attended two of them which were Ukulele lessons and hat making lessons. The people they had doing this were very friendly. Also you could ask for fresh warm cookies any time during the day from reception. Just ask and they will gladly give you some. I did not encounter any hesitation when we asked. During our last day and checking out, the process was very easy. I just informed them that we’re checking out and asked if that was it. Because we booked through a Travel Agency where the mandatory hotel fees are included/waived, there was no extra expense to us. Usually these tourist hotels charge a daily fee. Upon waiting for our shuttle to arrive, we sat at the area outside. The staff in that area were very friendly. They saw how we had a Ukulele and they offered to help tune it and played some songs for us. They also gave us some good lessons too Now, with all the good, there has to be some bad. The only real bad thing that I experienced was the shower. Due to how it was designed, every time we took a shower, water leaked onto the floor. We had to put towels there to soak up the water. I even had to take towels from the pool area to lay it down by that one spot where water leaked from. I know that I could have complained but we had already unpacked and settled in. I would have thought that with the room service seeing all the towels and how wet they were that they would have addressed it. Despite that, we had a great stay at this hotel and I’d recommend and have recommended it others. I’d give it 4.5 stars. Since I can't give 0.5 stars, I'll give 5 because the shower was the only issue and small compared to our overall experience.

5 stars because it is what I expected. It is located on the west end of Waikiki and on very busy corner. You are within walking distance to Fort DeRussy beach, very good food trucks and shopping from Target to higher end Waikiki fare. Rooms were clean and maid staff was excellent with restocking towels, coffee and dressing the suite. We booked an accessible king bed suite and the walk in shower with balance bars was perfect for our needs. We did not experience any issues with water pressure and our mini fridge was just that… a mini fridge - it did its job like everything else at the property. Check in went smoothly and the staff was very helpful straightening out an error - we booked through our bank using points and the bank used Expedia to handle the booking. However we checked in using Hilton Honors so there was a few moments of confusion but it was professionally handled and credit given. Like most of Hawai’i common spaces are open air and warm and this would include the lounge, check-in and hallways. The negatives for our stay would be the pool temperature which seemed extremely cold - unexpected but not a deal breaker. Also the thermostat in the room only went down to 75 and that seemed not correct and still uncomfortably cool. We opened the patio door an inch and that balanced the temp to a comfortable range. We got exactly what we paid for and enjoyed our stay.

Hotel Itself: CLEAN!! Phenomenal experience -- would (and will) come back again. Front desk staff gave us some top-notch food/restaurant suggestions and even offered us some cool perks for our honeymoon trip. Tons of Balcony rooms w/ great views Housekeeping: After every cleaning, it's like walking into the room for the very first time. Friendly and polite -- and super easy to get extra towels for when you need to get the saltwater off. Location: close to everything -- walking distance or a very short drive to all the top attractions (shopping, restaurants, etc.) less than 5-minute walk to the beach. Valet: Scott's the best. The entire staff made sure we felt welcome during our entire stay. On top of the minor details -- like offering to give us towels to put down on the seats after a full day at the beach (because who wants wet dinner clothes). Definitely a top-notch crew.

I have been anti Hilton for almost 20 years and decided to give this hotel a chance because of the convenience in regards to my itinerary. I am currently in room 1025 and the view has exceeded my expectations for this journey to Hawaii. The buildings interior and exterior are in need of a complete refurbishment. It is the staff, which is the glue of this venture that is holding it all together. The valet and the front desk staff are 5 stars. The management needs to get control of the maintenance/engineering staff over the next couple years to keep this property in check. Typically I travel Marriott and Hilton is usually a few steps behind but I have confidence this hotel can be great again.

Very nice hotel away from the Waikiki Beach strip but close enough to easily walk down to the beach or marina. Lots of interesting restaurants in the area. We found staff very friendly and rooms comfortable and clean. Wished we had stayed here longer rather than moving over to the Hilton Hawaiian Village for our last few days (didn't like it at all).