Honolulu · Hotel shortlist
3 star hotels near the main square in Honolulu
Britt Sorensen India and the Himalaya
These are my five favourites in Honolulu, out of the 37 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.5 down to 4.4.
VlVE HOTEL WAIKIKI is the one I would book myself.
Highest rated of the five
VlVE HOTEL WAIKIKI
★★★★★4.5 from 1,440 reviews
VlVE HOTEL WAIKIKI comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.5 from 1,440 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.
It is a 3 star property, found under city centre and around $212 a night on the dates we checked.
37 hotels in Honolulu qualified for this list and five made it. Hilton Grand Vacations Club Hokulani Waikiki Honolulu is the one I would book if the first is full.
Why it works for this trip
- Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
- Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
- Parkinga real consideration if you are driving in
- Step free accesslevel entry and a lift
All five, ranked
-
1
VlVE HOTEL WAIKIKI
★★★★★4.5 from 1,440 reviews
- Restaurant
- Parking
- Air conditioning
- Accessible
-
2Hilton Grand Vacations Club Hokulani Waikiki Honolulu
★★★★★4.5 from 1,034 reviews
- Pool
- Spa
- Gym
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Parking
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3Castle Ilikai Tower
★★★★★4.6 from 183 reviews
- Pool
- Gym
- Parking
- Kid friendly
- Accessible
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4Hilton Grand Vacations Club The Grand Islander Waikiki Honolulu
★★★★★4.4 from 2,267 reviews
- Pool
- Spa
- Gym
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Parking
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5Waikiki Beachside Hostel
★★★★★4.4 from 2,196 reviews
- Gym
- Restaurant
- Kitchen
- Air conditioning
- Airport shuttle
How this list was put together
37 Honolulu hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.
Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.
The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.
What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.
Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.
Britt Sorensen India and the Himalaya
Her work season is winter, leaving whole summers free for mountains in the other hemisphere or trekking at altitude in Nepal and Peru. Carries the lightest pack of anyone she travels with.
Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.