Just what we were looking for
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 03/02/09
For our trip to Hawaii, we wanted a place that was close to the beach and had some sort of kitchen so we could at least make breakfast rather than eat out. We didn't want to be paying 5 star prices.
The Waikiki Banyan looked perfect from what we could read from their website and other Internet reviews.
Is it new? Nope
Is it 5 star? Nope
Is it showing its age? Absolutely
That said, our room 2212 in Tower 2 had a decent view of the ocean, a queen bed and a hide-a-bed sofa, dishes to feed 6. Everything was clean.
The furniture was worn - couch cushions had to be flipped the right way or worn through patches showed and the sliding bathroom door needed aligning - it couldn't be closed completely.
The mattress on the queen bed was very firm - at home, I use a medium soft pillow top mattress so I noticed the difference but my wife didn't - we both slept well - something about full days in Hawaii leaving you ready to sleep I guess.
We had great service from all the staff - cleaning, counter staff, at the coffee shop - everywhere. But then we didn't ask for much so were likely easy to accomodate.
Overall, I would strongly recommend this hotel. Its a very good mid-level hotel with in-room kitchens. It was clean, it was quiet, it was close to everything.
We would definitely stay there again.
