Outrigger Waikiki On The Beach Hotel Honolulu

There are a lot of great things I can say about the Outrigger Waikiki. I’ll expatiate on just a few things that really stood out!

The Outrigger is conveniently located within stumbling distance of all the popular bars and dance clubs in Waikiki. For the non-drinkers/partiers, the hotel features key card activated elevators to keep the crazy drunks at bay. The balconies are a little small in the non-suites so it’s probably not a good idea to start break-dancing out there. People do crazy things when they’re drunk! Don’t drink and drive! Lots of cops patrolling… they tried to catch me ridin’ dirty… but I don’t drink and drive. Me-1, Cops-0.

The hotel is also conveniently located near the largest shopping mall in the state of Hawaii – the Ala Moana Shopping Center. It’s a nice walk if you’re up to walking a couple miles but a cab is probably the best mode of transportation if you don’t have a rental vehicle.

The lobby is a really nice place to hangout. There are Hawaiian artifacts everywhere you look so it’s like a mini museum. I always feel smarter when I’m in a museum… so it was a great place to be after a few Mai Tai’s! On certain nights, the hotel hires a pianist to play in the lobby. She’s very talented and gorgeous too! Her music is soothing… I miss it very much!

I definitely recommend the surf lessons on the beach! Great times! I already knew how to surf but pretended that I didn’t just so I could people watch. It was fun! A few people couldn’t stand up on their surfboard on land… it was so funny watching them try waves! Surfing brings out the craziness in people… I actually heard a grandma –looking person give out a war cry when she caught her first wave. It was kinda scary… but then funny when she face-planted into the water shortly after. People-watching is another plus for this hotel. You won’t find a better spot!

There are a few great restaurants on the hotel grounds. My favorite is called Duke’s Canoe Club Waikiki. I wrote a review about Duke’s a little while ago, check it out at http://www.travbuddy.com/Dukes-Restaurant-Canoe-Club-v349575 . Good food! Great people too! Very friendly staff! By the second or third day, I knew the names and faces of almost everyone who worked there.

Seattle’s Best Coffee! It’s located on the first floor beneath the lobby. They open early! Unusually good coffee... much better than anything I’ve had in the states. Maybe it was Kona? I don’t remember.

The hotel offers a laundry service that has a really good turn-around time but I prefer the self-service washers and dryers located on the first floor. It’s very clean and secure! I accidently left my brand new 7 for all mankind jeans on one of the washers and it was still there the next day. Maybe I was lucky but that really said a lot! There’s a great spa and gym on the top floor. I didn’t actually go to the spa but I met the girls who work there and they were really cool so I assume that the spa is awesome! I did go to the gym though, very nice selection! Free weights! Yah!

Okay, now the bad part. The UPS store on the lobby floor offers some great office supplies but beware of the copy machine. I had to print out a conference briefing that was about 30 pages long… I can’t remember exactly how much I had to fork over but it was somewhere around $20 USD. Don’t make the same mistake I did! Go to the hotel business center!! You’ll still pay but not nearly as much!

There are lots of hotels to choose from in Waikiki but I’m definitely set with the Outrigger! I had a great time and I’m sure you will too! Aloha!