27 Oct 2015

Review of Aqua Pacific Monarch

During our first week in Hawaii we stayed at Waikiki, on the island of Oahu. Originally we had booked an apartment that could accommodate my whole family, but six days before we were about to leave I get an email from the owner saying she had double booked us for a few days and couldn't check in until 3 nights later. The only compensation she was offering was to remove the cleaning fee and of course not charge us for the days we weren't going to be staying. This completely annoyed me, and I refuse to give her our business any longer and asked for a refund of what we had paid to date. So that left us scrambling for some place to stay that could accommodate our large party. Eventually we decided on Aqua Pacific Monarch based on hotel's location, consistent positive reviews and was within everyone's budget. However we were separated into tree different rooms, but I think that was actually a good thing.

Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the room we stay in before we messed it up. I was a zombie by the time we checked in and I like to take photos of the accommodation we stay at when I first walk/check in. If I'm doing a review I like to give readers a view of what I see when I first see a room. But there are photos of the rooms available on their website and on Trip Advisor and that's where I got the photos you can see below. 

Ok so the pro's and con's of Aqua Pacific Monarch.

Positives:
  • Rooms had a kitchenette which comprised of a electric stove, microwave, fridge and basic utensils for when you can make your own meals. 
  • Spacious room for the boys to play around in, and plenty of storage space for our things. 
  • The hotel is two short blocks away from the beach. The hotel is close to the nicer side of Waikiki beach where there's more sand real estate, and there was barricades to filter waves, so  it was a very child friendly spot to swim. 
  • Some great food joints within hotel's door step, (I strongly recommend that Korean BBQ place across the road) as well as various convenient stores for essentials. 
  • Staff were always friendly.
  • Guest collect beach towels and beach chairs for free from the front desk. 
  • We all stayed in studio style room apartment where there was a kitchenette and living room space. The price was reasonable, we paid roughly $130 AUS a night per room. 
Negatives:
  • Although you can tell the room has elements of modern fixtures it's still quite outdated. The hotel is probably really old so it could do with a complete renovation - but that's just my opinion.
  • Weak air conditioning. None of the rooms have ducted or built in air conditioners, so there was a unit in one corner of the room that supplied all the cool air. If you're not in the room during the day it's fine, but we kept our thick curtains closed at all times to keep the heat out and cool air in. 
  • Small bathroom with poor ventilation so would steam up quickly when taking hot showers.
  • Poor lighting in the room.
  • In our room house keeping was terrible. They would either not come so we'd have to call them to come in and do it, or arrive at 9am when we're still in the room. This happened everyday during our stay. 
  • Although hotel was close to the beach it was a little bit of a hike to the retailers and popular food joints. I don't mind walking however with young children four blocks to get anywhere can be challenging if a child is not in the mood for walking. 
  • There was a free shuttle bus that takes guests to Ala Moana Mall but it was always full from collecting other guests from other hotels. Plus it only came around every 30 minutes. It was easier and quicker to catch a bus from across the road, buses that included Ala Moana Mall in it's route came every 5 minutes.
Would I stay at Aqua Pacific Monarch again? No. There's are so many more other accommodation options available in Hawaii. Given we were forced to find an alternative so soon to our departure date, this was what we could find that met everyone's requirements.  




Have you stayed at a hotel around Waikiki before? Where did you stay? Would you stay there again why or what not?

Linking up with Jess

13 Oct 2015

Tips For Traveling With Kids


We did it again. We travelled overseas with two kids under 5. This time we took an even longer flight, a 9 -10 hour flight each way.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Share Buttons

Share this post with friends