I was visiting relatives nearby for the first time and due to unforseen circumstances, I needed a hotel to stay in for the last few days of my stay on Oahu. My husband found Aqua Palms online and booked me a room for 2 nights. When I arrived, I was tired and stressed out from the horrible traffic and not knowing where I was going. The parking garage is right under the hotel, very convenient (with a bit of a steep hill to get in, but plenty of parking).
I was greeted at the front desk by a very polite staff member who quickly checked me in and gave me my room keys. I had room 1102 on the 11th floor, my husband wanted me to have a nice view since I would be there alone, it did not disappoint! The room was really big (it was a king bed with a sleeper sofa). Plenty of room even if I had brought my husband and two sons with me! The view was amazing, the room was clean and the bed was very comfortable. I was able to walk down to the ABC store, a 2 minute walk away to get a few snacks for the night and settled in.
The next morning, I was greeted by a BEAUTIFUL view of Diamond Head. This was my first trip to Hawai'i so to me, it's all breathtaking. I could see the beach from my room, it was about a 10 minute walk (once I figured out where I was going). It was just lovely sitting out on my lanai having breakfast each morning. The only thing that was bad about it was someone was smoking on their lanai and it was coming up to my room, I had been told it was a non-smoking hotel, so I had to go inside and shut the door :(
There is a decent sized fridge in the room (with a tiny freezer) that easily held a two liter bottle of coke, several bottles of water, some cans of coke and a few cold snacks. There was a microwave too and the ABC store just down the street (and across the street, they are everywhere) had plenty of microwaveable meals for sale, fresh fruits and veggies, etc. The prices were what you would expect for a convenience store in a tourist area.
The hotel lobby is small but very clean and quiet, very polite and helpful staff members. The room was big, clean, bright and cheery. I travel a lot and this was one of the best places I've stayed for the price. The hotel rooms I've gotten in NYC (also a big city) were 1/2 the size and not as nice! I was actually amazed at how clean and mold/mildew/bug free this room was considering how humid and tropical the location. When we stay in SC hotels, even the newer ones have a gross smell of mold and usually mildew in the bathroom with tons of critters, I saw none of this here.
I could see the pool directly below my 11th floor balcony, but did not use it as I could see there were people smoking. It was small but looked clean and had a lovely view of the Honolulu.
Everything I wanted was in walking distance and I truly enjoyed the walk. There were tons of fast food places within a block for a quick meal, and just a 5 minute walk from the hotel, there is a WONDERFUL italian restaurant on Ena Rd. called Due Divino. They had eat it and take out, some of the best pizza I've ever had. Lots of gift shops near by and within walking distance to all of the expensive shops on Kalakaua Avenue. It was a quick drive to the Honolulu Zoo which had plenty of parking and easy access to Waikiki beach with great snorkeling.
I also noticed a special $79 for a massage in the hotel spa and booked one right before check out. It was heavenly - certainly helped with the long flight home.
When it was time to check out, they were quick, efficient, friendly and the H1 highway exit was right down the street, it was a quick 15 or less minute drive to the airport (at 7pm, before that WATCH OUT, traffic is AWFUL on Oahu during rush hour).
The only negatives:
I never had my room cleaned the entire time I was there, I don't know why that was (no-one ever came to make the bed, change the towels, etc) , that was a little odd since everything else was so clean and I saw the cleaner several times on my floor doing other rooms. This was the only disappointing thing because coming back to a clean room after swimming, sightseeing, etc. is one of the highlights of staying in a hotel for me!
Also, there was a burn in the carpet smack in the middle of the room, it was about the size of a tea cup.
Finally, on Tuesday evening (March 8th) I called down to the front desk to see if there was a way I could print my boarding passes for my flight the next day. A man answered the phone and he was very rude, very curt and basically yelled "You must pay for it! It is not free!" All I wanted to know was if there was a printer down there! A bit later I went down to the lobby and a lovely woman named Venus said she would be happy to print them for me, looked them up on her computer and printed them within 2 minutes, no charge and asked if I needed anything else :)
We are planning a FAMILY trip back to Hawai'i next spring and we will definitely be considering staying at Aqua Palms if we can get the price and room we need, it is a great hotel!