As a requirement for my new job in Hawaii, I had to put myself up in a hotel for a week before I could move to our company bunkhouse. After a whole lot of research, I decided the Prince Waikiki in Honolulu was my best option.

There were a whole lot of factors that went into my choice! So here are a few reasons why I chose it, and my Prince Waikiki review.

This was the view from my room. I never got tired of that view.

Workcation Package

My week at Prince Waikiki was basically a workcation. I was starting my work training online, so I needed reliable internet access to join the all-day video conference.

This whole workcation thing is actually a big reason why I picked the Prince! They have a workcation package that gave me unlimited internet, and included breakfast and 20 pages of printing every day.

The breakfast is at the 100 Sails restaurant in the hotel, and it’s a considerable size! It included miso soup, your choice of rice or potato, and four of the other options: eggs, bacon, Portuguese sausage, tomago yaki, fish, mini taro pancakes, fruit, or Loco Moco. My favorite combo was the fish, tomago yaki, pancakes, and fruit. Oh my gosh those pancakes were good… and get them with the coconut syrup!

Club Lounge Package

In addition to getting the workcation package, I also purchased Club Lounge access for an additional $80 a day. For one thing, I wanted a room on the top floor for the views. But the Club access also includes all three meals in the day. I wanted the option for included meals because Waikiki isn’t the safest to walk around after dark, and I wasn’t sure how much evening work I’d have.

There are some major pros and cons to purchasing this package. Truthfully, if I weren’t planning a workcation or some other reason to mainly stay at the hotel, I highly doubt I’d buy the package again.

Food In The Lounge

You don’t get a say in what you’d like to eat at the meals, as far as I know there’s just one option. That said, all the meals I had were absolutely delicious! Meals ranged from local favorite Loco Moco, to prime rib, to kimchi and bacon carbonara, to Asian-inspired chicken wings. The sides often included a salad, and dessert was often a piece of macadamia nut and chocolate pie, which was really good! They were decent portion sizes and I always left satisfied, sometimes even with leftovers for lunch the next day.

By the way, I didn’t have time with my training to attend lunch at the Club Lounge, and I always had breakfast at 100 Sails in the hotel, so I can’t speak to either of those meals.

One bummer about the Club was that the included beer and wine was just four options: a local lager, local IPA, the house red, and the house white. I appreciate that the beers at least are local, but I admit I was a smidge bummed there weren’t more options.

Lounge Location

Also, it’s hard to tell from looking online, but the Club Lounge is right beside the pool area. There’s a short wall to separate the two so only those with Club access can get in. But you hear all the noise of kids and the music from the pool area while you’re in the Club area.

Dinner with a view at the Club Lounge!

Beaches and Water

While the Prince isn’t right on the beach, it’s only a stone’s throw from the beach area by the Hilton. A little further away on the other side is the larger Ala Moana Beach, which includes a good-sized park for watching canoers, sunbathing on the grass, doing yoga, having a picnic, etc.

The hotel also has two pools – a regular pool and an infinity pool – as well as a hot tub. The hot tub is a bit small, and there was always someone in it, so with COVID restrictions I never got in the hot tub. The infinity pool is for those ages 16+, which was actually really nice.

There’s of course a bar near the pool area, because what infinity pool in tropical paradise is complete without a Mai Tai or Piña Colada? The drinks were good, and you can have them as an additional room charge so you don’t need your money with you at the pool. Convenient, but also dangerous seeing as the drinks are $15 each.

Regarding the Window

I’ll admit, when I was shopping around for where to stay, I reeeeeally wanted a lanai. I had a lovely image of me sipping my coffee out on the lanai, enjoying the sunrise over the water, enjoying the quiet of the morning before training.

Sadly, the Prince does not have lanais. They do, however, have an entire wall that’s a window, and a large portion of the window opens. It’s actually pretty friggin’ cool. You may not be able to sit outside and catch some sun rays, but you can lean out your open window for a whiff of the salty air. There’s also a screen curtain that extends all the way down, as well as a blackout curtain.

Admittedly, the lanai would have been nice, especially just for those times I wanted to sit in the sun. Between COVID and the wind being able to push chairs into the infinity pool, there was limited seating in the pool area. Often I’d see it was “full enough” and that deterred me from going to the pool.

So this one is a toss-up. I really did love the look of the window and how wide it opened. But the lanai would have been nice for some private sunshine….and to lay my clothes out to dry after I did laundry in the tub. (There is a line in the bathroom for laundry purposes, but of course they’ll dry faster outside.)

Luxury in the Bathroom

I don’t know if there’s a difference between the top floors that have Club Lounge access and those lower floors that don’t, but holy crap that was a nice bathroom!! It’s a decent-sized room, with separate stalls for the toilet and the shower. The toilet, speaking of, has a seat that is not only heated, but also has a bidet attached to it. I was not at all expecting that, so it was a nice addition.

And let me just tell y’all about the tub! It’s not a long tub, but it’s a good, deep soaking tub that I friggin’ loved! Pack some bubble bath or bath bombs for your stay and make use of that thing.

If you forget them, though, there were several toiletry items in the room, including some scented Epsom salts. Other toiletries were the standard shampoo, body wash, and lotion, as well as conditioner, a shaving kit, and a dental hygiene kit. As if that weren’t enough, there was a pack with facial serums – darn handy with all that sun exposure you’re about to get.

A Note About Alarms…

So here’s a funny but not funny story for you. One day in the late morning there had been an announcement over the room’s intercom that they were about to test the alarm system and to not worry, it was just a test. A few minutes later, the fire alarm went off. This was annoying because it was loud and I was in training (it’s a workcation after all), but at least the drills came up when we were on a break so I didn’t miss what was going on.

In the afternoon, that same “this is just a test” announcement went off. This time it was definitely an inconvenience seeing as my instructor was speaking and I had a hard time hearing him over the announcement. A few minutes later, the fire alarm again went off, at which time I again couldn’t hear my instructor.

Several minutes later, however, another announcement came over the speaker ordering us to evacuate the hotel due to an emergency. At this point I’m really annoyed because not only am I missing what our trainer is saying, but even if I could, I’m too distracted trying to figure out what’s going on. Not to mention the announcement said not to take the elevator and I was on the 33^rd floor….

A few minutes later, after leaving my room, I find out that evacuation announcement was just another part of the drill… I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it.

I say all that to say, if you plan on doing a workcation at Prince Waikiki Hotel, be prepared for several minutes of loud announcements and fire drills. You may also consider calling the lobby and seeing if you actually need to evacuate, if you’re in doubt.

My favorite breakfast combo at 100 Sails.

Other Amenities and Perks

I didn’t have a car during my stay, so I can’t speak to that, though I know they had valet parking.

There’s a coffee shop in the lobby with good coffee, as well as mugs and bags of coffee. I’m a fan of the Hawaiian latte with macadamia nut and coconut syrups.

There’s also a small store near check-in and the coffee shop that has some souvenirs, spices, water bottles, and necessities like sunscreen, drinks, and snacks. This is a good place to buy sandwiches, chips, and drinks (both alcoholic and non) if you want something quick or are on a budget. (Sandwiches range from $5.50-8.)

My room had a soft, plush robe and slippers available, which was a good treat! I’m not sure the non-Club rooms have the plush robe, but I believe they do include a robe as I saw several people by the pool wearing similar white robes.

My drink area also included disposable to-go mugs, a Keurig, green tea, stemless wine glasses, a bottle opener, and a corkscrew. It’s a pretty decent drink area, really.

The TV could be connected to YouTube, your personal Pandora account, and iHeart Radio. I don’t watch much TV, but it was nice to turn on iHeart Radio and have some music playing in the room while I studied or took my lunch breaks.

The Club Lounge area. Admittedly smaller than I thought, but it was usually only full from about 7-8pm. And most likely there’s reduced seating right now because of COVID.

Overall Impressions

Overall I think I made the right choice in staying at Prince Waikiki for my training. My internet connection was good, even in the corner of the top floor, and it had only cut out on me once for a minute.

The room is beautiful and comfortable with an L-shaped couch (I had one queen-sized bed), the windows are awesome, and the bathroom was a friggin treat! I think I can say it’s my favorite hotel bathroom ever. So far, at least.

Also, the staff were all so friendly!! I really enjoyed the staff. From the lobby to the bell service to the pool staff to the Club Lounge to 100 Sails, literally all of them were super kind and friendly.

And that view, y’all… Especially if you’re able to go when the Hilton starts up their fireworks every Friday again, a number of the rooms will have a good view to enjoy the show.

I hope this has been helpful in deciding whether to book that stay with Prince Waikiki in Honolulu! Whether you’re a local looking for a weekend staycation, or you’re coming for work or a honeymoon, it’s a beautiful hotel that I think is well worth the consideration.

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