aqua waikiki wave
Oct 3 
on our last trip home, we considered staying in waikiki for a night until hotel sticker shock nudged us back to hale ohana. my inner circle knows that the w hotel is more my style (if not always in my budget) but even after attempting to find more reasonably priced accomodations that wouldn't creep me out via priceline, i abandoned my search and opted to take a day trip to kaua'i instead.
we may have carried on with our waikiki plans had i known that the aqua waikiki wave (formerly the aston coral reef) was undergoing renovations to transform itself into a modern boutique hotel. the updated rooms feature a flat screen television, dvd player, stainless steel mini-fridge & microwave making the rate (as low as $109 a night) a downright bargain considering the hotel's central location on kuhio behind the international marketplace.
recent tripadvisor reviews have been positive although do keep in mind that a few amenities like free wi-fi (sweet!) are not available yet and the spa & fitness center won't be ready until the end of december.
