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View from hotel room (20th floor, Ala Moana tower)

The Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki  is located next to the marina in Waikiki. All 521 rooms are oceanfront, which means you get a view of the marina side or the Diamond head side. We stayed there early November 2009 and were impressed with the location as it was much quieter than other parts of Waikiki. The service of the hotel is probably the most memorable. When you first check-in, you will recieve hot towels (oshibori) to wipe your face (which is a nice touch after a long flight).

Check-in was fast and easy. The rooms are located in the 28 floors, with one tower facing diamond head and the other facing the marina. Priceline guests will most likely get the tower facing the marina. As you can see from the photo above, the marina rooms had a decent view. Each room has giant windows that open up, but no balcony or lanai. The rooms are huge for Waikiki, they had nice bathrooms with marble flooring, separate shower/bathtub, separate room for the toilet, and a large electronic safe. The room had a lot of amenities — slippers, robes, daily Lion Kona blend coffee, nice tropical shampoo/conditioner, lotion, complementary water upon checkin (2 bottles), and a tube TV. Internet access is available for $11.95 per day. Hotel also offers a salt-water pool and jacuzzi. Fitness center offers treadmill, elliptical machine, weight machine.

There is a free shuttle that takes you from the hotel to the Waikiki beaches. Pretty good to not have to drive to the center of Waikiki since parking is a premium there.

The hotel has a great buffet — Waikiki Prince Court Buffet. Pricey, but good quality.

For shopping, there is the Ala Moana mall about 2 blocks away. Tons of stores and a huge food court for cheap eats. The Hilton resort is about 2 blocks away the other direction, which is nice to check out the Friday night fireworks show (if they still offer it).

Tip: The room we stayed in had a mildew smell to it — its best to leave the window open as the A/C  didn’t seem to help. There is parking in the main garage for $15 per night.

Priceline has some great deals on this hotel. If you can get this for $75-$100 range, its a good deal. If you are looking for good value for your $$, this hotel offers a lot of amenities for rooms with actual oceanfront views.

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Rainbow Drive-In is a well known place for tasty Hawaiian mixed plate lunches at great prices. This place is always packed. We had the Mixed plate which consisted of chicken katsu, mahi mahi katsu, and BBQ beef. One thing that stands out is the quality of the meat, which adds to the experience. The slush was really good. It reminded me of an Icee with a fruit punch flavor. Lots of people were ordering loco moco and the beef stew special as well. The Mixed plate was only $7.25, a great deal. Recommended!