One of the best views in a building known for its views! Mountains and park by day, Honolulu city lights by night.
Iâm new to VBRO, so Iâm discounting heavily until I can build up some reviews! Iâm a âSuperhostâ on the other big platform and booked most nights quite far in advance. It might be hard to find an opening but Iâll make it worth your whileâșïž! I hear VRBO is a better system so Iâd like to break in here.
My family is six generations deep in Hawaii. I live in California now and wanted to make a place in Hawaii that is both affordable and showcases the beauty of Hawaii. The principles of Aloha and Malama (tender, nurturing care) are real. Stay at my place and youâll seeđđŽ
I have one of the best cleaners in the building. Sheâs there six to seven days a week. The building also has a diligent 24/7 security staff which provides peace of mind for the families of very young or older travelers traveling alone. (Although I personally always feel safe in Waikikiđ.)
I call my little place Hale Honu Kai, Home of the Sea TurtlesđąđșđŽbecause my guests travel thousands of miles to stay. And just like a sea turtlesâ home, it is small and cozy, with everything you need for an extended stay.
Hale Honu Kai is by the two western bridges into Waikiki. The Hawaii Convention Center is only a few blocks up the street. Just a little further is Ala Moana, the largest outdoor shopping center in America. In the other direction, youâll find the main strip of Waikiki with its luxury stores from Prada to Dior to Harry Winston.
When you head to the BEACH I've got you covered! You'll find a beach wagon in the room full of everything you need. Pop-up sun shelter for sun protection while wave-watching, beach chairs, beach towels, cooler, boogie boards (2 adult and 2 children), snorkel masks (2 adult), sand toys, coloring books and crayons for the kids.
I also stock the room with a selection of books you are welcome to take home with you! (My background is in literatureâșïž.)
Waikiki beach is world famous for a reason and the world comes to Waikiki. You can meet all kinds of people, have the most interesting conversations! Everyone is relaxed and happy because they're all on vacation. The waves are small and well-formed, perfect for learning to surf on. (Please don't take my boogie boards to the North Shore in the winter; they'll snap in two!)
I know Hawaii, I know Waikiki. I have outfitted Hale Honu Kai with exactly what you need for a long or short visitđ. Plus you get me: virtual travel guideâșïž
Hale Honu Kai has a Queen bed plus a twin size futon foldaway AND a twin air bed (so I can sleep four in a pinch), a pack and play crib, an almost full-size refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven, toaster, coffeemaker, rice cooker, AC, Smart TV, Netflix, Roku TV (which includes Live TV), WiFi. The WiFi is supposedly high speed, but I've heard for top techie types it's kind of slow. The little table is exactly the right height to work on a laptop. You'll get some good work done facing the window, looking up now and then to rest your eyes on the Ko'olau mountain range. Credit-card operated laundry machines on the 6th floor.
The room is small, only 247 square feet, and the building is dated (built in 1979), but that's what makes this space so affordable. You can relax knowing you're not paying an arm and a leg. I bought the room for the view: you'll see why when you come! Unobstructed, panoramic view.
You can use the beach wagon to go out to a full-size grocery store, so you really don't need a car. The best nearest grocery store is Foodland in the Ala Moana Shopping Center. It looks like a Whole Foods but with better prices. Times Supermarket is a little closer and across the street is Zippy's: a Hawaiian fast-food chain that has chili so good that people take it to the mainland in big tubs as gifts. Target, Walmart, Ross, and Don Quixote (a kind of Japanese Walmartâvery popular with locals) are all a twenty minute walk away.
If you have little ones, the Honolulu Zoo is at the opposite end of Waikiki; you can plan a day around that. You can walk all the way there with little ones if you let them ride in the beach wagon at least half of it. I love children, hence the sand toys, puzzles, coloring books, crayons. I also have a Pack and Play for the littlest ones.
The building itself has an excellent breakfast/lunch place on the first floor. Locals line up every weekend at Creme Pot and I've met people who stay in the building when they visit Hawaii just so they can roll out of bed and go to Creme Pot! Unfortunately for them, I've also noticed there can be lines in front of Creme Pot's door even before they open. And they're so popular they only take cash, which is why there's an ATM in the lobby. It charges a 4.5% "service fee", so bring some cash with you! Creme Pot is French via Japan and Vietnam. It's owned and run by a husband (Vietnam) and wife (Japan) duo. Vietnam was a French colony for many years and there are a lot of people in Japan who love, love, love France. The couple has done a good job recreating France in Creme Pot. The food is excellent but lighter, not as heavy in butter as in France.
If you don't want to wait in line for Creme Pot, there's the excellent Maleko Bakery on the first floor. It's open from 4:30 am for jet-lagged tourists and closes at 12 noon. Excellent coffee and baked goods! Maleko does all the baking himself, and you will often see him manning the counter early in the morning. He's often there even after his "girls" get in. I don't know when he sleeps because he also has the pizza place across the breezeway from the bakery. He does all his baking for both places there.
There is a food truck gathering across the street. I hear itâs very good! All the Uber drivers know about it because locals ask to be dropped off there. Big variety, one of the the trucks is even vegan!
Hale Honu Kai is outfitted with basic cookware: pots, pans, dishes, cooking implements. There's a two burner hotplate and a nice cast iron frying pan. Cast iron is heavy, but there's nothing like it for even heat. I think you'll like it if you've never used it beforeâșïž . I also provide salt, pepper, coffee (both ground and instant), regular cooking oil, olive oil, and non-stick spray. Check the fridge for jam, ketchup, etc. There are ice cube trays in the freezer and also an ice machine on the sixth floor where the pool deck is. (The ice machine is to the left as you get out of the elevator, the pool deck is to the right.) In the bathroom besides the usual shampoo, conditioner and soap I stock bug spray (for hiking), sunscreen if you forgot yours, and other things. Take what you need and leave the rest. If you leave something you think other guests might like, you have my thanks!
These are things a private place can do that no hotel can. When you're at Hale Honu Kai, you're ohana (family)đ.
About the pool deck, you'll also find a jacuzzi (NOT a hot tub; Hawaii is too warm for hot tubs and indoor heating), and a BBQ. You use your key card to access it and when you want to get back into the building you push the big red button to the left of the door to unlock it. There is a hotel in my building, the Monarch Hotel, which charges a mandatory $17.50 per room per night "resort fee" for these facilities. I pay for them in my HOA fees and DO NOT charge my guests. We also have a tiny gym in the lower lobby (LL in the elevator) by the security office. You pay a $5 fee at the security office to have them set up a waiver for you and keep it in their records. After that, you never have to do the waiver again for your visit.
We have an excellent security staff 24/7 in the building. If you lose your key card you can get another one from them for $20 cash with ID. If you lock yourself out of the room (the door is heavy and it shuts automatically), they can let you back in, again with ID. Which can be a problem because people often keep their keycard with their ID. (If you don't have your ID, I can vouch for you over the phone. It will probably work because they all know my voice over the phoneđ
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The walkability of my location gives you a lot of flexibility. You really don't need a car because Waikiki itself has a lot to do and see. My recommendation is to Uber in from the airport and rent a car from downstairs only for the days you want to explore the island. We have some GREAT hikes on Oahu, it truly is a beautiful island and not very big. I have an arrangement with an Uber driver who takes all my guests to and from the airport for $25 (because often it's $50 even though the airport is only 15-20 minutes away). You can also take the City Bus if you only have carry-ons: $3 (cash, no change) takes you directly from the airport to Waikiki.
There's not one, but TWO car rental places downstairs, lobby level ("L" on the elevator). One is for fun vehicles and one is budget-friendly with mostly Smart cars. In fact, it's called "808 Smart Cars". If you rent from either, you get half off on the attached parking garage, which is usually $45 for one night, $40 if you book for more than one night. I hear two of their workers are crabby, though (the owner's daughter and her friend), so I would avoid it unless you have the half-off deal. I know a better place a short walk away. Itâs $1 an hour and only for the hours you actually use.
I want my guests to feel as though Hale Honu is their home away from home and I have outfitted it as such. I have traveled the world; I know what itâs like to travel alone in unfamiliar places. I make sure my guests know they can contact me with any kind of question, any time. I can go anywhere, but I keep coming back to Hawaii, Oahu in particular. My goal is to provide a beautiful, comfortable, convenient, and affordable place for you to call home when you visit Hawaii. In my travels, I have seen many places with two or three of these attributes, but almost never all four at onceđ.
