Ilikai Hotel & Suites Rating: 3.0 Pearls

Waikiki, Honolulu, Oahu

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Hotel faces Ala Wai Yacht Harbor

You may recognize the Ilikai from the opening of Hawaii Five-0. When the camera zooms in on star Jack Lord (aka Steve McGarrett) standing on a penthouse balcony overlooking Waikiki Beach, that's the Ilikai. When it opened in 1964, the Y-shaped hotel, designed by John Graham Jr., the architect behind Seattle's Space Needle, was Hawaii's first oceanfront high-rise luxury hotel.

At the height of the Ilikai's fame, presidents (Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford) and celebrities (Elvis Presley, Mickey Mantle) stayed at the hotel, but it's been on a slow descent for some time. Most recently, the Ilikai has been plagued by financial problems. The hotel even closed on only a few days' notice for two weeks in July 2009, reopening under new management right before my stay in early August.

The hotel has the bones of a great hotel -- an elegant open-air lobby, spacious rooms, a newly refinished pool (under renovation during my stay), fitness center -- and it's located just a few minutes from the edge of famous Waikiki Beach. But during my visit, the hotel felt like a ghost town. Hallways that were once filled with shops had been all but abandoned, with sheets of brown paper taped against the windows. Two of its three restaurants were closed at time. The atmosphere stood in stark comparison to that of the busy, gargantuan Hilton Hawaiian Village next door.

Of the 1,009 units in the Ilikai, only 203 are allocated for hotel rooms (the rest are privately owned or timeshares). The hotel is in the process of getting back on its feet -- slowly: Several new shops, and a second restaurant, opened in 2010. But even if the Ilikai is in full working order soon, it's unlikely it will ever be the happening gem it once was because of its inconvenient location on the far, far edge of Waikiki.

If you need to stay near the Hawaii Convention Center, the Ilikai isn't a bad option. But if you want to be closer to Waikiki Beach and its buzzing concentration of shopping and restaurants, check out the slightly more expensive Outrigger Reef, located on Ft. DeRussy Beach, or the newly renovated Sheraton Waikiki, which is located on the beach in the heart of the action and reasonably priced.

Front desk staff doubles as the concierge

The Ilikai, under new management since July 2009, is run by Aqua Hotels and Resorts], known for their line of largely well-maintained budget hotels like the Aqua Waikiki Wave and the newly renovated Aqua Waikiki Pearl. During the changeover, the hotel cut staff, but those who are left are warm, friendly, and for the most part helpful.

• No room service
• Bellmen are prompt; my luggage was delivered to my room within minutes.
• Housekeeping is equally prompt -- my request for towels was filled within 10 minutes.
• Front desk staff doubles as the concierge, and most were unfamiliar with nearby restaurants except for the chains like McDonald's, Red Lobster, and Outback Steakhouse.
• The hotel doesn't stock service items like toothbrushes and toothpaste; instead, you'll be sent to small (and pricey) convenience store downstairs.

View on a Larger Map

For Waikiki visitors who want to be in the heart of the action, the Ilikai is not the place to go. Located on a busy, unsightly six-lane street, the Ilikai is sandwiched between the gargantuan Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Hawaii Prince. The Ala Wai Yacht Harbor is next door. Staying at the Ilikai can make you feel like you're hovering on the edge of the party, but missing it. The only nearby attractions are the Hawaii Convention Center and the Ala Moana Center, the largest shopping mall in Hawaii. So unless you're here on business, you might consider staying at a Waikiki hotel that's a little closer to things, like the slightly more expensive Outrigger Reef or the Sheraton Waikiki, which is centrally located but reasonably priced for the area.

• 10- to 15-minute walk to the Hawaii Convention Center
• 10- to 15-minute walk to the Ala Moana Center, the largest shopping mall in Hawaii
• 10- to 15-minute walk to Ala Moana Beach Park, a more sedate beach than Waikiki that tends to draw more locals
• 20- to 25-minute walk (or $5 to $8 taxi ride) to central Waikiki
• Cheap and easy to get around Waikiki via "The Bus" ($2.25 per person to go any distance)
• Honolulu International Airport is a 15-minute, $35 cab ride.

Even though many rooms at the the Ilikai have oceanfront views, the hotel isn't directly on the beach (it faces Ala Wai Yacht Harbor). The nearest public beach is the kid-friendly, man-made lagoon at the Hilton Hawaiian Village next door, a five-minute walk past the public parking lot behind the hotel. (On the way there, you might notice vagrants who've set up camp on a small section of sand near where the harbor meets the beach.)

Another five to 10 minutes beyond the lagoon is Fort DeRussy Beach, one of the more mellow sections of the famous Waikiki Beach. Loosely speaking, the entire 1.5-mile stretch of sand alongside Kalakaua Avenue is known as Waikiki Beach. In reality, it's more like three separate beaches, the borders of which vary depending on whom you ask. The Fort DeRussy section, is far less crowded than its more famous neighbor to the southeast, Queen's Beach. The water is shallow, warm, and calm, making Fort DeRussy a decent place to swim, especially for kids.

• Public beach
• Ocean bottom is rocky, unlike neighboring Queen's Beach
• Lifeguards monitor the beach throughout the day.
• Free towels, provided by the hotel
• Umbrellas and lounge chairs must be rented from one of the many Star Beach Boys stands; chairs are $5 an hour, $20 a day; for two chairs and an umbrella, it's $10 an hour, $50 a day.
• Water sports equipment like surfboards and boogie boards available for rental at the Star Beach Boys stands
• For an even quieter beach with calm waters, head to the Ala Moana Beach Park, a 15-minute walk from the hotel. Locals frequent this beach, and you won't find any concession stands.

The Park View Studio

Although the Y-shaped building looks massive -- and it is -- only 203 of the 1,009 units are hotel rooms (the rest are timeshares or privately owned). Aside from the lobby, nothing has been renovated by the financially troubled hotel since 2000. But the rooms are surprisingly spacious and well maintained, and all have balconies. Standard rooms are some of the largest, if not the largest, in Waikiki. The décor, light-wood furniture with mother-of-pearl-inlay touches (or something that looks like mother of pearl), is a tad outdated, but everything feels fresh and clean, including the roomy bathrooms. It helps that the rooms are well lit and bright.

• Huge rooms: the smallest, the park view studio, is 600 square feet. The massive two bedroom suite is 1,200 square feet.
• Excellent views of ocean or mountains from both sides of 25-story hotel (except low floors).
• "Sunset view" rooms face Ala Moana Beach Park.
• All have kitchenette with a dorm-size fridge and GE microwave, or a full kitchen with a full-size fridge, electric stove with oven, and microwave (full kitchens usually cost more)
• Spacious bathroom with a separate shower and tub, uncommon for Waikiki hotels
• The coconut lime verbena toiletries are from Bath & Body Works
• Soft, comfortable beds with down pillows
• Standard rooms come with either a king or two double beds
• Rooms with full kitchens have pullout couches
• Low tech: all rooms have 27-inch Panasonic tube TV with basic cable, GE clock radio, and safe that holds a laptop
• Wired Internet wasn't working on visit; still not working when I called in September 2009
• Not enough outlets by the desk
• Air conditioners are sometimes positioned so that they blow directly on the bed.

Well-equipped fitness center

The Ilikai has the standard set of Waikiki features, but because the pool was closed for repair during my August 2009 stay, the pictures don't accurately capture what it looks like.

• Pool closed for renovation during my August 2009 stay
• Well-equipped fitness center with three treadmills (with personal video monitors), three ellipticals, two upright bikes, eight weight machines
• Rooms are wired with Internet, but it wasn't working during my August 2009 visit.
• Free Wi-Fi in lobby

Full kitchens at The Ocean View Room

Even the smallest standard room is a huge 600 square feet, which leaves plenty of room for cribs, strollers, and other gear. And all the rooms have at least a kitchenette (and many have full kitchens), great for parents who want to avoid three meals a day in a restaurant. However, the Ilikai is on one of the busiest thoroughfares running through Honolulu and Waikiki. It's not on the beach, and it lacks the kid-tailored activities or the pool waterslides you'll find at the Hilton Hawaiian Village next door or the Aston Waikiki Beach on the other side of town, which is across from "the wall," the kid-friendliest section of Waikiki beach.

• All rooms come with a small kitchenette with a half-size fridge, coffee maker, and microwave. Some have full kitchens, including a stove and oven.
• Rooms with full kitchens have pullout couches.
• Cribs are free; rollaways are $45 per night.
• Safety netting for balconies available on request
• Five minute walk to the beach and kid-friendly lagoon at the Hilton Hawaiian Village; 15 minutes to Ala Moana Beach Park
• Kid-friendly eats in the area are primarily chain restaurants like McDonald's and Subway.

Even though rooms haven't been renovated since 2000, they are immaculately maintained. Tubs look new (even though they aren't), and the white grout in the showers has virtually no mildew. The lobby's floors still gleam, and in 2010, the hotel replaced the furniture in the lobby and added a mural behind the front desk.

360 degree views at Sarento's Top of the I

The hotel's fine dining Italian restaurant, Sarento's Top of the I, offers stunning views from the 30th floor and is reached via a glass elevator. A pianist plays every night from 7 p.m. on, and some of the tables are positioned so that couples can sit next to one another (as opposed to across the table), both facing the beautiful view.

• Sarento's Top of the I menu is Italian with an emphasis on seafood. Entrees range from $27 to $39, with pasta dishes between $20 and $33.
• Ilikai Bar & Grill, which opened in 2010, serves more casual fare, and features a hula show and dinner buffet on Friday nights.
• Restaurants within easy walking distance include the Chart House, as well as chains like Subway, McDonald's, and Red Lobster.
• A small, but overpriced convenience store on the ground floor
• ABC convenience store down the street; Foodland, a grocery store, a 10-minute walk away