This is the best-value hotel you can find in Honolulu’s top location

The hotel

Wayfinder Waikiki, Hawaii

Check-in

I’m the president of the Hawaii fan club, yet even I will admit it can be a painfully expensive destination. The biggest expense is accommodation, with four-star hotels commonly priced upwards of $600 a night. So, it’s a very pleasant surprise to discover a cool, design-centric hotel in the heart of Waikiki that’s good value for money and giving island chic vibes.

Wayfinder Waikiki: cool and affordable.

Opened in 2023, Wayfinder Waikiki is a dramatically reimagined, refreshed and redesigned hotel, with new owners and a new attitude. Travellers may remember the space as the former Waikiki Sand Villa Hotel, a fairly lacklustre 1970s crash pad, a couple of blocks back from the beach. At check-in, I receive a token for free welcome cocktails and a timetable for morning yoga by the pool and live music.

The look

The look is Hawaiiana.

Designed by Honolulu-based design studio, The Vanguard Theory, the look goes all in on Hawaiiana colours, patterns and artworks. In authentic style, that means more than palm trees and hula girls. You’ll see design elements inspired by Indigenous Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Filipino and European cultures. Built in 1969, the Wayfinder embraces the brutalist architectural style of minimalist lines, lots of concrete and brick. The pool, a large saltwater lagoon beauty surrounded by native trees and shrubs, is a focal point and gathering place for guests. Even during busy times of the day, I’m able to nab one of the green-and-white striped deck chairs.

The room

Avocado green in the room.

The 228 guestrooms are painted in land and ocean colours: turquoise, earth brown, sea foam and avocado green. There’s liberal use of geometric and floral prints while natural-fibre furniture and lighting adds a beach-house vibe. Bedheads are covered in a fabric mash-up of Japanese obis, Polynesian tribal prints and plaid. I’m in Room 1201, a Corner King Room Lanai, which features two outdoor spaces in addition to ample indoor space (25.5 square metres in total). Other room types include two fully appointed studio suites in the Pool House.

Food + drink

The bar at Lost + Found.

Pick up a coffee and pastry to go at B-Side Coffee Bar, a take-out counter in the hotel lobby. It also offers keto salads, avo toast and power bowls. At Lost + Found, the hotel’s speakeasy and pool bar, the cocktails are fun and inventive, there’s local beer on tap and a selection of non-alcoholic drinks speaks to the lower-alcohol-by-volume trend. The food is satisfying, simple and fresh. Order a poke bowl, shrimp tempura, ahi tuna on crispy rice or a burger by the pool. Adjacent to the bar is Redfish Waikiki, a restaurant by Hawaii’s locally owned Foodland Farms. They’ll whip you up an excellent made-to-order poke bowl with the freshest fish, Kalua pig fried rice, organic greens, oysters and Vietnamese short ribs. I would (and have) come here for lunch or dinner even when I’m staying elsewhere.

Out + about

The siren call of the ocean draws most visitors to Waikiki beach, about a six-minute stroll from the hotel. Pick up a float at the ABC Store along the way or take a surf lesson while you’re in the birthplace of modern surfing. Sunset cruises are popular, as are the Friday night fireworks in front of Hilton Hawaiian Village. In the streets surrounding Wayfinder, you’ll find dozens of places to shop and eat, including good-value takeaway options at the Royal Hawaiian Center’s food court.
If you fancy some off-sand local culture, take an Uber to Iolani Palace, Honolulu Museum of Art or Bishop Museum (show your room key for free entry).

THE VERDICT
Wayfinder Waikiki is the best value-for-money accommodation I’ve found in Hawaii, a credit to the architects and interior designers who turned a so-so motel into a stylish destination for a new generation of travellers.

ESSENTIALS
Rooms from $US199 ($A291 a night). 2375 Ala Wai Blvd, Honolulu, Hawaii. There are seven Accessible King rooms and two Accessible Double-Double rooms. See wayfinderhotels.com.

OUR SCORE OUT OF FIVE
★★★★

HIGHLIGHT
A dip in the saltwater pool, followed by a fresh poke bowl.

LOWLIGHT
Ocean views would make this hotel even better, but a lot more expensive.

The writer was a guest of Wayfinder Waikiki