What I loved:
The room is aesthetically beautiful and welcoming. I loved the accent blue wall and the way the furniture was arranged to fully utilize a small space, making it seem much larger than it was. The room smelled fresh, like how hotel rooms smell after they’ve been cleaned by housekeeping. The view was great and there’s a visible pool and little playground on the 6th floor if you have restless children (which came in handy when I needed to get ready while keeping my toddler entertained). The nights were quiet and peaceful, there weren’t any rowdy neighbors or disturbing noises. The a/c worked perfectly. We didn’t cook as there’s a multitude of restaurants working walking distance from our location, but you definitely could if you wanted to. The kitchen is equipped with all the basic pots/pans and tableware. As I mentioned, the location is wonderful. Its literally a block and a half from the beach and everything on kalakaua ave.
What I didn’t love:
As soon as I opened the door, i could see from the way the sunlight hit the floor that it wasn’t mopped properly. I didn’t see any debris or dirt, so it was visibly swept or vacuumed but definitely needed some mopping (which I did after settling in). We don’t wear shoes indoors so I put all our shoes on the balcony. I had no problem opening the balcony door but it was impossible to slide closed. I had to lift the door and push it rightward multiple times grunting like a crazy lady. While we’re on the topic of doors, the sliding doors that separate the rooms are attached only to the ceiling railing and have no connection to the floor, so they will swing backward or forward if you accidentally bump into them. It’s best to just leave them open. I came with my toddler, father and brother. They each stayed in the two queens while I stayed in the living room full bed with my toddler. My pillows were thin like airline pillows. The mattress was also thin and uncomfortable so at that point I figured the living room bed was for hanging out or crashing for a nap and not actually sleeping in. My father and brother only stayed for one night so I took one of the bedroom queens for the remainder of my stay and noticed a drastic change in comfort and quality—fluffy pillows, nice mattress. I wish I’d known sooner so my father and brother could’ve shared a queen while my toddler and I took the other. The full bed in the living room is l not worth sleeping on.
Other things to be aware of:
Someone else mentioned roaches in their review, I figured by the time I’d checked in the problem would’ve been settled but I saw a small roach run across the kitchen area. This is an island and we have roaches and insects everywhere. Even after extermination, they will somehow pop up! Knowing this, the roach I saw didn’t bother me much, especially as it was tiny, but it might bother others.
Parking is extremely tight. I wouldn’t bring anything larger than an SUV as it may scrape against the parking structure.
Solutions:
My main problems were sleeping on the full bed in the living room and the un-mopped floors. The balcony door was frustrating but not a dealbreaker. Switch out the full bed with a more comfortable mattress, mop the floors, and get better pillows, and I would rate this experience 5 stars. My experience was 3.75. If you just need somewhere to sleep and shower then it’s great. But if that were the case then you might as well stay at a an express hotel. As I was traveling with a toddler, I had to spend quite a bit of time here for his napping hours and taking care of and cleaning up after him, so I probably noticed more things than the average person who just spends the night and leaves.