The hotel is a Honolulu landmark. It's lobby is open and welcoming. The staff is friendly. The food service is appalling!!
No room service. Breakfast is limited to a breakfast buffet and closes at 10:00 am. If you want a cup of coffee after that time, you are directed to the adjacent mall. Lunch is limited to a very small selection by the pool or a Chinese Restaurant. If you want a drink, again you are limited to the pool bar or the Lobby Lounge which doesn't open until 5:00 pm. Although there is a bandstand in the lobby lounge, no music was provided on a Saturday evening. Not surprisingly, the lounge was dead.

My room was clean but small. The size was underscored by the over abundence of furniture. In addition to the king sized bed and the normal desk/bureau, there was a small couch, a chair and a coffee table. It was virturally impossible to walk in the room without bumping into something.

Our family stayed in the hotel for 8 days. We booked online for two queen beds in Kona, but when we checked in, the desired configuration was not available. So we were upgraded to Waikiki tower with extra $20/night. The room was small, but very clean. It was conveniently located and close to Waikiki, but with a much lower price. The shopping mall was very close, so we could eat in the food court, which has a good choice of Asian food (this was a plus for us). I enjoyed shopping every night after the dinner. This hotel is a good choice if you decide that you will tour Oahu a lot instead of staying on the beach for all the vacation. Since it was our first time and we drove to different places for the first few days, it worked out very well.

We found the Ala Moana on vacationrentals.com (listing #32165). You can rent directly from the hotel website at a higher price and with typical hotel services. We rented direct from the owner and found it an incredible value for our one week stay.

The room was exactly as advertised, clean and up-to-date decor. The owner was very easy to deal with and the entire transaction was seamless. In addition to the owner's rate, you must also pay the hotel a $30 check-in fee and $10/day "resort fee" for use of the amenities (pool, gym etc). We ended up not using these facilities but were still pleased with the value. The unit is on the 15th floor with beautiful citylights view. From the furnished balcony, there is a view to the ocean.

The location is fantastic unless you really want to be on the beach and pay beach prices. The hotel is at the western end of Waikiki and next to the Convention Center and Ala Moana Mall, a huge shopping mall. We used public transit to get around the island and found it wonderful and inexpensive ($1.00 for seniors, $2.00 otherwise) to go anywhere on the island! Bus stops are at the mall and schedules are available at the mall information center on the lower floor.

We highly recommend this hotel and this condo in particular..

Now, I live on Kauai and stayed and went on a girls trip to Kauai. They upgraded us to a kitchenette room and it was wonderful. Loved being close to shopping, nightlife and our other friends nearby!!! loved it!!! Nice lean room with flat screen s and coffee in the AM after a long night!!! close to shopping and fun!