Holiday Inn Express Waikiki by IHG

Reviews

• LE

  Lila Ellis

  May 9, 2026
  3.0
  The staff was great. Breakfast was probably a 4 out of 5. No variety to speak of. The room was very small for 2 queen beds. You couldn't walk around one of the beds so if you had 2 people in the bed one had to crawl over the other to get out. The bathroom was so small and no fan in the room and not able to open the window for smell or from a shower. The other thing is one of the elevators wouldn't stop on the floor for the pool. You have to go down to the lobby then cross over to the other elevators to get to it. No heat in the spa water either.
• TV

  Tim Vu

  May 9, 2026
  2.0
  As an IHG Diamond Elite member, I have stayed in IHG hotels for over 100 nights in the past year. I am sorry to say that this hotel is not among the best. The room is extremely small, AC unit loud, and most items are extremely outdated. Location is alright. Room also had no hair dryer and the staff did not believe me, and after waiting a long time and calling them again they finally brought it up for me. For the price point, you might as well just do an Airbnb. Not sure why I waste my time with IHG Diamond Elite status at this point
• BL

  Billy Love

  May 3, 2026
  5.0
  I need IHG corporate, hotel management, and honestly the entire island of Oʻahu to understand that Teresa and I did not simply “check into a hotel” here. We arrived at the Holiday Inn Express Waikiki by IHG at 2058 Kūhiō Avenue in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi and somehow entered a higher plane of hospitality. First off, the setup of this place is actually super cool. You walk up into the open-air lobby area instead of going through some giant enclosed front entrance, and instantly you’re hit with warm air, palm trees, island energy, and the feeling that your stress has officially been left on the mainland. Then we got upstairs and realized we somehow ended up with a FABULOUS ocean view that immediately made us start questioning whether we should ever return home. But the real MVP of this experience is Kali at the front desk. Kali didn’t just check us in. Kali activated vacation mode. Friendly, hilarious, welcoming, calm, insanely professional, and somehow able to handle everything effortlessly while making guests feel genuinely important. Teresa and I were laughing afterward because this woman has the kind of energy that makes you feel like you just got upgraded to celebrity status even when you absolutely did not. Management: this is the employee people remember years later. Give Kali a raise. Give her employee of the month. Give her ownership shares. Put her on the IHG training videos. I would trust this woman to coordinate a moon landing, direct Waikiki traffic, and still somehow remember everyone’s room number. The hotel itself has been awesome: incredible Waikiki location easy walk to Waikiki Beach beautiful ocean views clean rooms fun atmosphere genuinely friendly staff But customer service is what makes people write reviews, and Kali absolutely made this stay memorable for Teresa and me. IHG, if you’re reading this:protect Kali at all costs. Absolute legend!!! 🏝️
• AO

  A Odom

  May 2, 2026
  5.0
  We stayed one night here and the location was great. I hate that they charged so much for amentities that we never used. I wish there was a way that hotels could charge those wanting to use the amenties a fee and give them a special bracelet to get into those area, but I guess it is what it is and most hotels seem to charge for those things. The room was nice and clean and the beds were comfortable. The air conditioning worked well. We only stayed one night at this hotel so it was fine for us and for what we needed it for. We chose not to eat at the hotel breakfast so I cannot speak to that. I was worried that we would not be able to find hotel parking after reading the reviews so I asked about parking when we checked in. We were told that they try to keep a close eye on when the garage becomes full and will put a sign out and if that were to happen that we could come back to the front desk and they would refund us the parking fee and help us to find parking at one of their partner hotels near by. Fortunately, we were able to find parking even when coming back from our luau late that night. The hotel met all of our needs so we would return.
• DH

  Din Huang

  Apr 26, 2026
  1.0
  We stayed at Holiday Inn Express Waikiki in March 2026 with our 14-month-old son. During the complimentary breakfast service, milk served directly from the breakfast buffet was visibly spoiled. Our son consumed it before we noticed. We returned the carton to the front desk, and the on-duty manager documented the incident in writing. Our son developed a fever the same night that continued through our international travel day home and the day after. He recovered after about two days of home care. The hotel reversed certain related charges, which we appreciated. However, when we asked what investigation had been conducted into how spoiled milk reached the breakfast service of a major hotel brand — and what would be done to prevent it from reaching another child — we received no substantive answer. The hotel referred the matter to its insurer (Gallagher Bassett), which closed the claim without investigation, citing the absence of medical receipts. We had not taken our son to a doctor because the fever began the night before our return international flight and was manageable at home; the absence of a clinical receipt is a function of travel logistics, not severity. IHG corporate guest relations was notified and did not respond. The staff was friendly and the room was fine. The reason for this review is the food safety incident itself and the way it was handled afterward — billing was addressed, but the underlying food safety question and accountability were avoided across three separate channels (hotel, insurer, brand corporate). Posting this so that other parents traveling with young children have the information when choosing where to stay.

Frequently Asked Questions About Holiday Inn Express Waikiki by IHG