The Pluses: The hotel is well located between downtown Honolulu and Waikiki. It’s 5 minutes’ walk from the Ala Moana shopping center, and 10 minutes’ walk from a great small jazz club (Jazz Minds) that offers live music every night. The bed was quite comfortable, and the wi-fi quality was good. For our “free drinks,” instead of a cocktail we asked for bottles of Pellegrino water to take to our room, which was cheerfully provided. We didn’t try the breakfast at the bar so I can’t comment on that.
The Less-than-Pluses: From the expression “boutique hotel,” I expected it to be a small intimate place with a personal touch, but it’s actually an old 10-story building between 2 larger high-rises. It’s a budget hotel with old chipped furniture and decor, themed on the paniolos (Hawaiian cowboys in the 1930s).
The Minuses: The noise from the traffic (all day and all night) plus the noise from the air conditioner made it difficult to relax and sleep. I don’t believe there was anything more than single-pane glass on the sliding doors, and the louvered shutters didn’t mask the noise. Also, you have to carry your luggage up a flight of stairs from the street to reach the lobby.