Jul 25, 2010

Where to stay in Waikiki ~ Courtyard Hotel

 Where to stay in Waikiki ~ Courtyard Hotel   

Courtyard Hotel General description: 

• Formerly known as Wyland Waikiki and before that Ohana Waikiki Surf, was the Courtyard Hotel originally built in 1969. The Courtyard Hotel  consists of 2 separate structures. The main one located on Kuhio Avenue and a secondary one or annex that is located on Royal Hawaiian Avenue, corner with Aloha Drive. This annex physically detached from the main building and sits about 50 yards away.

• The space between the 2 properties is now used as entrance and parking.
  It was run for a very long time under the name Outrigger Waikiki Surf and then Ohana Waikiki Surf.
• The Courtyard Hotel closed in 2006 and underwent a profound renovation to emerge as Wyland Waikiki Resort, later to be re-flagged as a Courtyard Marriott, a lower tier Marriott brand but still managed by the Outrigger Corporation.

What we like about the Courtyard Hotel:

• The general decorations of the Courtyard Hotel common areas are in excellent taste and full of pieces of art from the Wyland artist and the room interiors are a lot better than before the renovation.
• The Courtyard Hotel location is very central and walking distance to Waikiki main areas.

What you may not like about the Courtyard Hotel:

• Unless you do not mind small rooms, the Courtyard Hotel may not be for you. In general, hotel rooms in Honolulu are smaller than on the mainland USA but the rooms at this hotel are even smaller when compared with equivalent quality hotels in Waikiki. Hotel rooms and even kitchenettes can only hold a maximum of 2 people (some are less than 200 sq feet!). When it comes to size the so called kitchenette rooms are not spacious but they are bigger than the Standard, City Views and Partial Ocean View hotel rooms.
• The Courtyard Hotel may be a little too far from the beach for a property that is trying to command top dollar for the rooms. Clients willing to pay the kind of rates normally asked by this hotel can find similar quality hotels a lot closer to the beach.

If you are booking the Courtyard Hotel, you may want to make sure that you will be housed in the main building and not in the annex that is on Royal Hawaiian Ave. corner with Aloha Drive 

• The space between the 2 properties is now used as entrance and parking.
  It was run for a very long time under the name Outrigger Waikiki Surf and then Ohana Waikiki Surf.
• The Courtyard Hotel closed in 2006 and underwent a profound renovation to emerge as Wyland Waikiki Resort, later to be re-flagged as a Courtyard Marriott, a lower tier Marriott brand but still managed by the Outrigger Corporation.

What we like about the Courtyard Hotel:

• The general decorations of the Courtyard Hotel common areas are in excellent taste and full of pieces of art from the Wyland artist and the room interiors are a lot better than before the renovation.
• The Courtyard Hotel location is very central and walking distance to Waikiki main areas.

What you may not like about the Courtyard Hotel:

• Unless you do not mind small rooms, the Courtyard Hotel may not be for you. In general, hotel rooms in Honolulu are smaller than on the mainland USA but the rooms at this hotel are even smaller when compared with equivalent quality hotels in Waikiki. Hotel rooms and even kitchenettes can only hold a maximum of 2 people (some are less than 200 sq feet!). When it comes to size the so called kitchenette rooms are not spacious but they are bigger than the Standard, City Views and Partial Ocean View hotel rooms.
• The Courtyard Hotel may be a little too far from the beach for a property that is trying to command top dollar for the rooms. Clients willing to pay the kind of rates normally asked by this hotel can find similar quality hotels a lot closer to the beach.