Honolulu

About Honolulu

Honolulu is the easiest tropical trip an American traveler can take. No passport, no currency conversion, no language barrier — just a six-hour flight from the West Coast and you're on Waikiki Beach with Diamond Head over your shoulder. Hotel pricing in Waikiki swings dramatically by season and even by day of week, which is exactly the kind of market member rates were built for.

Most first-time visitors stay in Waikiki proper because the beach is the city's headline attraction and the walkability is hard to beat. The Royal Hawaiian, Halekulani, and Moana Surfrider are the iconic properties; the OUTRIGGER family covers the mid-range; and the Sheraton Waikiki and Hilton Hawaiian Village run the resort-scale beach experience. Outside Waikiki, the Kahala Hotel & Resort gives you a quieter, residential-side stay with a gorgeous private beach.

Our Travel Editor's Honolulu advice: don't book the cheapest 'Waikiki' hotel you can find on a public site without checking what street it's actually on. Three blocks from the beach in Waikiki feels like a different city than beachfront. Member rates often turn beachfront properties into mid-range prices — that's the play.

— Our Travel Editor