Stayed at the Aloha surf for two nights during the Christmas - New Year week (2006).

I knew by reading the previous reviews that the place was not
great, but it is nothing more than a place to sleep. For the
same amount of money, I am sure that I could have found
a better place.

A good shower is a basic necessity, and that was lacking.
I don't mind a small standing shower, but the water pressure
should be good. No amount of adjusting helped get enough
water. Also the temperature kept on fluctuating.

We were on the 14th floor, so didn't have problems with
street noise, etc. Also the AC worked so that was good.

The balcony was closed due to spalling work going on
at the time (the hotel apologized for it with a $2 box of chocolates)

The beds, kitchenette, closet, etc. were adequate, but everything
felt a little too cramped.

Breakfast was OK, and I can see that it would be a plus for
some people.

Thumbs up for the staff. They knew when we checked in that
we are three people, and there are only two sets of towels in
the bathroom. They sent up a third set before we even asked
for it.

We stayed here for the U2 concert weekend. We were 'upgraded' from the Aqua Marina where we had originally booked. Staff at both places were friendly and welcoming. The front desk helped with shuttles and information that saved us $$$. The bed wasn't great, but for one night, it worked. Other room amenities were fine. Overall, an easy low-key place to crash. Walking to Waikiki took 5 minutes, so don't think that location is a negative.

About as far from Waikiki Beach that you can be without being in the Ala Wai Canal. You have to cross both busy Kuhio Avenue and Kalakaua Avenue to reach the beach. And when you walk down the street the hotel is on at night it is quite dark due to overhanging trees and inadequete lighting. There were also some iffy characters hanging out in that darkened section including 2 people who looked like they were about to come to blows.

I was assigned a room on the 3rd floor. It had no balcony and no view - unless you count looking in other peoples windows a view. The windows in the room are the kind that are glass slats that you open and close by turning the handles. There are no screens to keep out the mosquitoes. Unfortunately when I entered my room one window was wide open and there was no way to close it as the handle was missing. My room was probably mosquito central by then. On my way out I informed the desk staff and it had been fixed when I returned an hour later.

I had to have the window A/C unit on 24/7 it was so hot. The air conditioner would make a very loud noise every 15 minutes on schedule which can make getting to sleep difficult. I brought a white noise machine from home and put it on the loud setting right next to my ear, that helped some.

The shower was the size of a phone booth so if you are a "person of size" you might get stuck in there. Also if you are over 5'8" good luck getting a shampoo. I'm 6'2" and the shower head was about 6 inches lower than my head. I had to sort of squat and bend over sideways to get my head wet. Also both faucets were labelled "C" for cold, so good luck your first time in figuring out which one is which. You might get scalded.

There was a sign in the elevator saying the pool was closed from October 11 until "a date to be determined". I don't use pools but just an FYI in case you wanted to. It said you could use the pool at another Aqua hotel if that helps. Have fun finding it.

Breakfast has gone downhill since the previous reviews. It was not delivered to my door, and there was no can of iced tea or nice yogurt. You went down to the lobby and got a piece of fruit out of a basket or muffins out of other baskets. For drinks they had those big clear plastic dispensers where you can dispense a cup of orange juice or pineapple juice. There was a coffee machine too although it said you had to pay $2.00 for some of the coffees.

Some of the staff were rude and when you went to the front desk they would ignore you for a while then look up like "Why are you bugging me?". There was a real nice young Asian girl there though who was friendly and attentive. She was the exception rather than the rule.

There is free wireless broadband but I don't have a laptop so that was no good to me. They should have some desktops set up to use for free.

Pluses:
Grocery store close by, modern furnishings, LCD TV with about 30 channels including MTV and VH1 (although I only watched the TV when eating breakfast in my room or at night when I got in), free internet access if you have a laptop. Fridge, microwave, coffee maker and hair dryer in room, hangers you can actually remove from the closet, price to stay there, close to International Marketplace, free daily newspapers, and a free safe in the room.

So basically if all you need is a place to sleep, don't need a pool, don't mind a long walk to the beach, and don't mind some room problems then this place should be adequate for you.

This hotel was one of the better value that I found when I was searching. Sure, it's not on Waikiki beach but it's only about a 10-15 minute walk away. The rooms are quite small; I think two people would have been almost on top of one another in the room I had. The room was airconditioned and I used this most of the time since although Honolulu is quite breezy which tempers the humidity, the position of the window wasn't always where the wind was blowing.

The hotel offers breakfast which is little more than a can of orange juice and a cake, but you can drink and nibble as you get dressed. The hotel also had wired internet which was reliable.

I did see one or two street girls in that area but that is pretty typical for Waikiki so if you ignore that then the hotel is good value for money. Be prepared to pay for the car parking space, and you have to reserve it in advance.