Review: Hyatt Place Waikiki

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

• Booking the Hyatt Place Waikiki
• Arrival and First Impressions
• Specialty Mountain King Room
• Breakfast
• Other Hotel Amenities
• Then Tragedy Struck
• Final Thoughts

After a night at the Hyatt Centric, I moved over to the Hyatt Place Waikiki for my last few nights on Oahu. Well, I didn’t exactly end my stay as planned. But for the couple nights I stayed at the Hyatt Place, I thought it was a solid enough hotel. It’s certainly basic. But I’d choose it again for a stay in Honolulu. Let’s dig into the review.

Booking the Hyatt Place Waikiki

The Hyatt Place Waikiki typically has a minimum stay requirement for booking award stays. I found that nothing was available if I looked for a single night. But a three-night stay was no problem. Given that I miraculously found one night of availability at the Hyatt Centric Waikiki, I booked my other three at the Hyatt Place.

The Hyatt Place Waikiki is a Category 3 property, where standard award nights price at 12,000 points. This was the price for my dates, so I paid 36,000 points for the stay. The cash rate for three nights, including the destination fee, was $843.32 for my dates. So, this was over 2.3 cents per World of Hyatt point in value. 

I’d contacted my concierge ahead of time to see if they could snag me an upgrade. I booked a standard room for three nights using points. But I’d hoped for a room with a view of the Diamond Head or hills. I’m actually not crazy about ocean view and I said also includes coastline.

Hyatt came through. By the afternoon of the day I would check in I noticed I’d been upgraded to a Specialty Mountain Room with a king bed. And it had a view of the Diamond Head. 

Arrival and First Impressions

With a minimal amount of luggage in tow, I walked the blocks along Kuhio Avenue from the Hyatt Centric to the Hyatt Place Waikiki. It’d be a short taxi ride straight down the street. But still not worth bothering with, given how little I had to carry. I chose not to rent a car this trip, which was a great choice. In this case, I may have had to pay for it. The Hyatt Place Waikiki offers only valet parking. Normally, the parking fee is waived for Globalist members on free night awards, but I’ve not understood that to include valet service.

I’d been by the lobby of the Hyatt Place once before, as it is across the street from the Marriott Resort. The boys convinced me to get pizza at Domino’s during the previous trip to Oahu, which is located adjacent to the Hyatt Place lobby.

As with many hotel lobbies in Honolulu, it is open air. The desk was relatively busy when I arrived in the afternoon, and I had to wait in a short line. The staff at the front desk welcomed me to the hotel, provided a welcome letter, and handed me two plastic water bottles as a gift. I’m now figuring that this is how the water benefit is handled, as I was invited to fill them at the station by the elevators.

Breakfast was briefly explained, and then I walked through the lobby restaurant area back to the elevators.

Specialty Mountain King Room

The room turned out to be as functional as any other Hyatt Place hotel, albeit of a different layout than your standard domestic brand property. The room is a reasonable size, with a desk next to the TV near the door.  The in-room coffee and fridge were on shelves under and adjacent to the desk. Overall, it’s nothing special, and some aspects of the room were dated. But it was clean and had everything one would expect.

There are two things I really liked about my room at the Hyatt Place Waikiki. The first is the living room alcove with a second TV. It’d be perfect for a movie night with the kids. It made me wish we had stayed here here when we visited Oahu last year. The king room would not have worked well, but if the Hyatt Place has the same type with two queen beds, it’d be a winner. 

The second key highlight was the balcony. I enjoyed sitting outside, taking in the warm breeze and enjoying the sights of the city and Diamond Head. 

The bathroom was a mix of old and new. I immediately noted how old the tub-shower is. Yet the bathroom had a fancy Toto toilet, the first I’ve ever seen this at a Hyatt Place hotel. The bathroom sink is exterior, which is normal for the brand.

There were a couple downsides, however. The amount of exterior noise that filters through at the 14th floor is surprising. Both in the evening and early morning, I could distinctly hear passing vehicles. It wasn’t enough to keep me up., but it’s not what I would have expected. If you’re sensitive to sound, you might want to consider another hotel. 

Breakfast

Breakfast is busy right at 6:30 AM. I figured this would be the case, given how early vacationers in Hawaii tend to get up. The time change has me up before the sun. I can’t imagine what it’s like coming from the East Coast. With everyone up early, it makes sense that there was a crowd right when breakfast opened. It was so crowded, I didn’t get any photos of the breakfast area. Given the number of guests all there are once and the size of the hotel, it is a bit larger (and different layout) than other Hyatt Place properties. 

Breakfast runs until 9:30 AM on weekdays, which is extended to 10:00 AM on Saturday and Sunday. The breakfast area is near the hotel pool, located between the two towers, a few floors up from the ground level.

The breakfast options are what you’d expect of your typical Hyatt Place. There are a couple hot options, including eggs. Yogurt, fruit, and cereal all round out what’s offered. I found the food at the Hyatt Place Waikiki to be right on par for the brand. There was just more of everything, given that the hotel has more rooms than your typical Hyatt Place.

Other Hotel Amenities

The other hotel facilities are what you’d expect. The route from the front desk to the elevators takes you through the Placery, the limited restaurant and bar offered at may Hyatt Place hotels. I did not eat at the Placery at the Hyatt Place Waikiki, although I have at other brand properties, and it does not typically impress. I’d only eat there in a pinch, and there’s no need here in Honolulu with tons of options at your fingertips. Only one Hyatt Place I know of has an actual restaurant.

The 24-hour fitness center is located on the 3rd floor, same as the breakfast and pool. I’d actually planned to use it. But…

Then Tragedy Struck

My trip on Oahu wasn’t to end as planned. I was supposed to spend my last night at the Hyatt Place Waikiki after a long day hike, then enjoy a morning surfing lesson on Tuesday. After that, I’d check out and head to the airport for a flight back to the mainland.

My day hike ended in an accident that left me alone on the mountainside for three days. Praise God, I was eventually rescued. After a stint in the hospital and many weeks of recovery, I’m thankful to be mostly back to normal. I talk about my experience with my friends Shawn and Mark on the Miles to Memories podcast.

One of the reasons I am missing some of my photos is because I failed to upload them from Sunday. Sadly, I am missing everything from my hike up Koko Crater, plus the additional hotel photos of the lobby and breakfast area.

Final Thoughts

All things considered, I’d gladly choose the hotel again if headed back to Oahu. It doesn’t have the amenities or flair of a resort property. But if you’re here to get out and do stuff, it’s a solid option. Free breakfast is always a plus. The rooms are also sufficiently comfortable. I was more than happy with the award rate.

Although I have a stop in Honolulu planned later this year, I don’t expect to stay at the Hyatt Place. But you never know. It might be the right choice for my next time on the island.