Review: Holiday Inn Express Waikiki

View from my room at the Holiday Inn Express Waikiki 😍

As a Hilton Diamond member, I had initially booked the Hilton Waikiki Beach for 50K points but decided to cancel the booking a week before my arrival. I used it instead to book the Conrad New York where I stayed three days later (using additional 30K points as it was worth 80K/night during my stay). As a result, I needed a hotel for my one night stay in Honolulu and decided to use my IHG points. And for an additional 10USD, I got a corner room on the 41st floor with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, the famous Diamond Head and the Waikiki Skyline.


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Date of stay: April 4-5, 2018
Address: 2058 Kuhio Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815, USA
Room: Booked Standard Room, paid additional 10USD to get Corner Room with view of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head from the 41st Floor 😍
Highest Floor: 44th floor
Nightly Rate: 35K IHG Points
How to get here: From the airport, you can take any of the airport shuttles provided by companies like the Roberts Hawaii Airport Shuttle for 32USD return

Video from my YouTube Channel 📺


Hotel Exterior

Holiday Inn Express Waikiki

Holiday Inn Express Waikiki

Reception & Lobby

Front Desk

Open air lobby

Lobby

Check-in

I arrived at the hotel around 2:20pm and was welcomed by one of the friendly associates who helped me with the check-in process. I was also offered an upgrade to a corner room with views of the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head for 10 USD which I accepted 😍 After asking for my credit card for the deposit and giving the usual hotel information for breakfast hours and the hotel facilities, I was handed my room key, breakfast voucher and wifi access.

Corner Room, 4106

My room on the 41st floor was beautiful. It was a bit small though as it had 2 beds (as if one was not enough for me).

A HUGE LG TV 👍

There is a microwave oven, a Keurig coffee maker and a mini ref.

Iron and ironing board

Safe

Bathroom

Bathtub and shower combo

Toilet

There's also a chair and a lamp in the corner of the room.

Of course, the best thing about this room was the view. I had wonderful views of the Pacific Ocean on one side ...

and the views of the Diamond Head and the Waikiki Skyline on the other 😍 After seeing these views, I was glad I paid for the additional 10 USD as it was really worth it 👍

41st floor orientation map

Facilities

Pool (8am to 8pm)

Located on the 5th floor is the sundeck with the outdoor pool and whirlpool.

Outdoor pool and whirlpool

Lounge chairs
9-hole mini-golf course

Ping Pong, Shuffle Board, etc.

Fitness Center (Open 24 hours)


Yoga Session


On-site Self Laundry Facilities (3rd Floor)


Business Center, Lobby


Market, Lobby Level


Breakfast Buffet (6:30am to 9:30am)

The breakfast restaurant was a bit crowded when I came so I only took a few pictures as shown below:

Outdoor seating

Cinnamon Rolls

Fruits

Turkey sausage, Pork sausage, etc.

Hot Oatmeal (there was also make your own pancake)

Milk

CONCLUSION

It was my first time to visit Honolulu and I was really glad I stayed in this hotel. The staff were very friendly and I actually met a few Filipinos working in the hotel. I thought the room was one of the best one could have as I really had amazing views from my room on the 41st floor. The hotel facilities were very nice especially the outdoor pool, although it was a bit on the small side. The breakfast buffet offering although not the best I've seen was very good. The location of the hotel is also ideal as it is very close to the shopping district and a few minutes walk to the Waikiki Beach. Overall, I really enjoyed my stay at the Holiday Inn Express Waikiki and would recommend it to everyone.

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