Halepuna Waikiki by Halekulani

Having stayed at their sister property (Halekulani) nearly a dozen times over the years, there is nothing about this property that screams "by Halekulani" - in fact it's the opposite. Where the Halekulani has a welcoming, 'anything for you' attitude, this hotel has a 'why are you here? and how else can we not help you' attitude. For starters - the only thing that is related to the Halekulani is that you can charge meals and purchases to your Halepuna room. Big deal. You can't use the facilities, you aren't granted any privileges of any kind, you can just charge to your room. Who cares? The itty bitty pool on the 8th floor (has a sliver of a view of the ocean between the Halekulani and the looming sheraton next door - conveniently not shown in the photos) is FREEZING COLD. The ocean is warmer. The staff is nonexistent - there's one guy sitting near the towels but didn't offer to bring you a towel, set up a chair etc. No one comes by to offer you a drink it's strictly a DIY affair. If you get a breakfast package (don't), your meal is at the Umi restaurant which is downstairs. Having breakfast there is a complete fiasco. During our stay the hostess was nowhere to be found - she'd float around, rearranging flatware, holding babies - but very little hostessing leading to long lines waiting to get in while the room was at best 1/3 full - super odd. The waitstaff was equally flighty - no one seemed to know what to do. Our food came out cold both days - like it had been made and sat while the waitstaff ambled around. Umi has nothing to do with the hotel other than offering the set breakfast. You can't charge anything there so don't bother try. The hotel should offer a voucher at Denny's instead. I'm not sure what Housekeeping does.. but it doesn't involve a vacuum. The day I checked in there was some kind of piece of cotton fluff on the carpet, it remained throughout my stay and is here as I check out (room 1603). And if you are thinking of using your Amex benefits here - DON'T. You won't be upgraded, you won't get an early check-in and you won't get a late check-out. There are many lovely hotels in Honolulu. But this isn't one of them.

Easy access to beach & shops & restaurants. Rooms are clean & modern . Pool area is ok .spa is heated which is great ( although you share this with squealing kids 🥴). Hotel has occasional activities- drinks in foyer for Xmas , icecream or cookies in the afternoon . Refillable drink bottles are a nice touch .

I splurged and allowed myself a stay in the beautiful Halepuna over a conference weekend. I've stayed in several different hotels in the Waikiki area and I've thoroughly enjoyed my stay here. The fitness room and pool are top-notch, and the bathroom is modern and bright. I've enjoyed soaking in the spacious tub every night. The one thing I wish the room had is a microwave. Otherwise, this place is close to perfect!

The space and staff were wonderful. Beach is near hotel, it was very convenience. I had a very comfortable stay.

The resort is quite lovely and modern. However the rooms are very small and the balcony was literally 10 inches wide. If you are traveling for business, it would be an adequate, perhaps even nice, hotel. However if you are traveling for sun, surf or pleasure, keep in mind that there are no facilities outside of the rooms . . .no lounges, no amenities, and the pool is in shade until 3:00 pm. There are 6 chairs that in the sun during the day, and all the rest are shaded except for 60- 90 minutes a day beginning at 3 pm.