Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach Rating: 3.5 Pearls

Waikiki, Honolulu, Oahu

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On the quieter, eastern end of Waikiki, the Hyatt Place sits near some of the smaller hotels in the area, such Hotel Renew. Most of Waikiki's shopping malls and its iconic hotels, like the Moana Surfrider and the Royal Hawaiian, are a five- to 10-minute walk west, and there's a feeling, for better or for worse, that the hotel is just on the border of where the action starts.

The property is a couple of blocks from Waikiki's main drag, Kalakaua Avenue, a touristy, mile-long stretch of shops, restaurants, and high-rise hotels that runs along Waikiki Beach on Oahu's southeast coast. Kalakaua offers a curious blend of mainland creature comforts and local flavor. On the sidewalks, Japanese tourists intermingle with tanned locals, surfboards under their arms, on their way to the beach to catch a few waves after work. On both sides of the street, high-end retailers -- Tiffany, Cartier, and yes, even an Apple store -- are interspersed with indoor malls and streetside vendors hawking cheap seashell jewelry and T-shirts. Seemingly every mid-market chain restaurant can be found here -- Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, Tony Romas -- along with more than a handful of Starbucks and fast-food joints. And towering above it all: 40-story, thousand-room hotels like the Grand Hyatt and Princess Kaiulani dotting the landscape like pins in a cushion.

• 18-minute drive to Honolulu International Airport
• Wide variety of shopping, dining, and drinking -- all within walking distance
• 5-minute walk to Honolulu Zoo
• 7-minute walk to Kapiolani Park, an oasis of (relative) calm for people-watching and local flavor
• 12-minute walk to the Waikiki Aquarium
• 7-minute drive to Diamond Head Crater Park and Diamond Head Beach Park
• 18-minute drive to the Pearl Harbor Memorial