DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Alana Waikiki {US-HI}
Sep 23, 2013, 8:47 pm
Check-In
I arrived at the hotel around 3:30 p.m. After a brief wait, a cheery agent checked me in, explaining that I had been upgraded to a 1 King Partial Ocean View suite. (I had booked a standard 1 King City/Mountain View room.) She warned that all suites were located near the elevators, which contradicted the preference specified in my HHonors profile, but I insisted I was happy with the upgrade nonetheless. The agent also provided certificates for continental breakfast and two bottles of water.
The Suite
I was assigned suite 1817, which straddled the west elevator bank on the second highest floor. Happily, I heard no noise from the elevators during my stay. The room was clean and nicely appointed, with the bedroom separated from the seating area by a set of pocket doors. Somewhat oddly, there was no television in the bedroom, though there was a clear view of the television in the parlor room when the doors were open:
The bedroom closet included an electronic safe:
The bathroom, being rather small, was the only disappointment. Given the space constraints, I would have preferred a walk-in shower rather than the tub with curtain. Only the minimum complement of Citron toiletries was provided (i.e., no body wash, mouthwash, etc.):
The parlor room included a sofa and armchair, along with a desk and wet bar:
The wet bar included a small refrigerator free of any minibar items:
A double-wide lanai with two chairs and a small table afforded both ocean and city views:
Breakfast
Breakfast was served in the Trees Restaurant off the lobby. The HHonors certificates provided only for an underwhelming continental breakfast, which consisted of pastries, cereal, yogurt, and a limited selection of fruits. The menu prices for the continental and full American breakfast buffets were $16 and $22, respectively. Curiously, the up-charge for hot buffet access for HHonors Elites was $9 (why not $6?). I sampled only the continental breakfast on the first morning and skipped it on the second.
Housekeeping
For stays of two nights or more, the hotel offers the option of forgoing housekeeping in exchange for a $10 dining credit to be used between 5:00 and 10:00 p.m. in Trees Restaurant & Bar. Since I had such a short stay, I opted for the $10 certificate which more than covered the cost of a cocktail.
Location
The DoubleTree is located just down the street from the sprawling, oceanfront Hilton Hawaiian Village resort. As I understand it, DoubleTree guests are able to use the spa at the Hilton and charge treatments to their rooms. The beach at the Hilton is perhaps a five-minute walk, while the shopping and (chain restaurant) dining of Kalakaua Avenue are a bit further in the opposite direction.
Summary
DoubleTree Alana Waikiki provides nicely appointed rooms at a fair price for Waikiki, without the resort fees of the neighboring Hilton Hawaiian Village. Though it's best suited for business travelers, the hotel is close enough to the beach and other attractions to serve as a base for vacation stays as well. Staff were friendly and HHonors Elite recognition was good, even if the continental breakfast selection was disappointing.
Last edited by MS02113; Sep 23, 2013 at 8:59 pm
Feb 26, 2014, 10:06 pm
I have a lot of trouble with noise ... e.g. traffic noise or hums from machinery inside hotels, and even fans that stay on in bathrooms (hate that!) I have a location I like in the Ali Tower at HHV (away from the resort, partial ocean view) because it is quiet at night, but the DTree is $100 less. I have to be in the Waikiki area for week in June and would like to know whether the DTree has quiet rooms. I am a Diamond so have a good chance of getting a room in an area I request.
Thanks!
Feb 27, 2014, 8:49 pm
I have a lot of trouble with noise ... e.g. traffic noise or hums from machinery inside hotels, and even fans that stay on in bathrooms (hate that!) I have a location I like in the Ali Tower at HHV (away from the resort, partial ocean view) because it is quiet at night, but the DTree is $100 less. I have to be in the Waikiki area for week in June and would like to know whether the DTree has quiet rooms. I am a Diamond so have a good chance of getting a room in an area I request.
Thanks!
They apologized profusely that they could not upgrade me to a partial oceanview room (I'm a Diamond), but I'm thinking those may be a bit noisier since they face Ala Moana Blvd which is a very well traveled street. I honestly wasn't expecting an upgrade either since I was staying so long.
I would say if you book a city/mountain view and are able to get a high floor you should be fine. They don't look directly on any main roads, and I never heard any trucks beeping or anything.
It's a 5 minute walk to the HHV, and as someone who has stayed at both, I don't think the HHV is worth $100 more a night. I also was there on business so not (unfortunately) looking to hang out at the pool/beach every day.
Feb 28, 2014, 2:16 pm
Mar 1, 2014, 9:49 am
Apr 29, 2015, 7:36 pm
Jun 23, 2015, 2:02 pm
Jul 25, 2015, 10:29 am
$32 ValetParking, no other choise
$8 upgrade to full breakfast for Gold and Diamond Members.
The pool is small, the fitnessarea is ok. The hotel is about 5 minutes walking to downtown. Staff is nice. The lobby is under construction. The roomrates are the lowest for a Hilton Hotel at Honolulu, but it comes with attention.
I complain about the $8 fee for breakfast and got a creditvoucher for 4 days to full breakfast.
Jul 31, 2015, 8:09 pm
Jul 16, 2016, 3:01 pm
DoubleTree by Hilton Alana Waikiki
1956 Ala Moana Blvd Honolulu, HI US 96815
A credible alternative to Hilton Hawaiian Village (1 Photo)
DoubleTree by Hilton Alana Waikiki
I spent one night at this hotel in July 2016.
Check In
I arrived too early for my room to be ready, but the hotel took my details and pre-checked me in. Once the room was ready they sent me a text. With the HH iPhone app, I actually got a digital room key which saved another line at the front desk.
Room
Despite being told I hadn't been upgraded, after I returned to the hotel I was surprised and delighted to get a corner room with two balconies on the 18th floor with partial ocean view.
The room was very nicely decorated and the large windows made it very pleasant indeed.
I forgot to take a photo until shortly before leaving the room (it's a bit of a mess!).
HH Diamond Recognition
No mention was made of status at check in, and oddly the agent seemed a little unsure of what the diamond perks were. Her colleague was able to help her - there are no coupons for breakfast you just give your name and they know you're eligible for a (limited) continental buffet. For $8 you can upgrade to the hot buffet, which is strangely kept outside the restaurant but includes an omelette station, eggs, sausages and bacon. The food quality was good.
I asked for an extended check out as a diamond member and was told, in no uncertain terms, that this was not possible.
There was a dedicated internet service for diamonds which was fast enough (speeds ~ 10Mb) and despite the fact I was never told about a room upgrade I was delighted with what I got.
Location
Not bad. It's a 5-10 minute walk from Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Overall
A credible alternative hotel in Waikiki, and a decent base if the true resort hotels are off scale budget wise. A solid 7/10.
Jul 27, 2016, 11:30 am
Breakfast is decent for a continental- three kids of fresh island juices, salami, pastry (guava bread!), oatmeal and congee, toast, cereals, fruit, etc. I didn't get the hot buffet outside - for 16 bucks to get eggs and bacon added on, I didn't bother.
Pool has no hot tub. Simply it's a cool-off lap type pool, we used it once.
The staff was excellent - went the extra mile. Valets helpful, let us temp park out front when we were just running in for bags, etc. The hotel does have a hospitality room (available first come first serve IF the property is not sold out). I went north shore, got saltwater and sweaty, needed to clean up before my late night flight home. Came back and asked for hospitality room... And they'd sold out. Arg! But the manager and front desk staff went extra mile and made another available - very cool, don't know if they did that for Diamond or just because they're nice, but I left some great feedback because that made the trip (who wants to start a 6 hour flight coated in sand and seawater?
)I was going to try the new HGI,but their restaurant isn't open yet and for 10k more I wasn't going to do some temp breakfast. I'll try HGI later in the fall.
I would not hesitate to come here as a good place to stay and base out of. If you want to sit in a nice room with a view of ocean, this isn't your property, but if you do an active Hawaii vacation where you're out a lot, this is a solid base.
Mahalo!
Aug 23, 2016, 8:44 pm
DoubleTree by Hilton Alana Waikiki
1956 Ala Moana Blvd Honolulu, HI US 96815
Doubletree by Hilton Alana Waikiki (0 Photo)
DoubleTree by Hilton Alana Waikiki
Check In
I arrived about 9pm but check in was quick and efficient. I must have been thanked for my Hilton loyalty 10 times - at least it was recognised that I was a Diamond! The chap upgraded me to a Partial Ocean View Suite and tried hard to get me a check out until 2pm - however the manager said 1pm was the latest. That was fine as anything helped and it was stressed that they don't normally do it but as I was Diamond......
Room
The room was huge - a great suite with a large bedroom, separate lounge with bar area and a view (partial) of the ocean. The air con was noisy but constant so was like white noise - the bed was comfy and I never really heard much all night despite being close to the elevators.
The bathroom however was tiny for the suite size. It had one small sink with barely anywhere to put you toiletries and the bath/3/4 tub was not really something you could 'soak in'! The shower was fine (in the tub) and I had no real complaints as a single person. However I would imagine you don't normally book such a big room when travelling yourself so the bathroom was a little out of sorts with the rest of the room.
The decor was fine - I thought it looked more modern on the website pictures than in real life but no real complaints except the bed sight light switch was difficult to find in the dark!
Service
The staff were very friendly - both check in, check out and the lady I chatted to for breakfast - tip top all round.
Dining
I only ate breakfast in the hotel. The Diamond breakfast was the continental part of what was laid out. All fine and I had bagels and some fruit salad with a choice of 3 juices. The hot meal was an extra $8 and would have been a good spread should you wish to go that route. However the continental was enough for me so I left happy.
Location
The hotel is very near the Hilton Hawaiian Village - so if you don't want to pay their $30 resort fee or want somewhere with a lot less crowds yet can still get over to the beach and the restaurants and shops then this is the place for you. If you want to be downtown Waikiki all the time then this is not the place for you in my opinion.
Overall
Overall I thought the hotel was fine - I would have liked to seen it a little more modern for my taste but it does feel like most of the other Honolulu hotels I have stayed in. The staff are friendly, it is quiet and seems to recognise Hilton Honours Elite membership so I would certainly stay here if you are thinking about it.
May 30, 2017, 10:34 am
The hotel is looking tired. Hallway carpets are worn. Bathrooms are small without shelf space to lay out stuff, even though there are pretty easy ways to provide it; the only space in the bathroom is the top of the toilet tank and the sink lip.