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W Honolulu Diamond Head
Rating Details »
Categories: Hotels, Restaurants, Dance Clubs [Edit]
2885 Kalakaua AveHonolulu, HI 96815
(808) 922-1700
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Best Nights:
- Fri
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
17 reviews for W Honolulu Diamond Head
The hotel is located on a palm tree lined street. The club is on the second or third floor. LOTs of people that that party there that you can barely move in there. The club was spacious and looked really nice.
I think I spent more time enjoying the nice weather outside the club than inside this stuffy club.
If you go to a club to dance, this might not be for you. The surroundings don't look anything like a nightclub--because it' s a restaurant. They keep the lines long and the parking hard to find. The floor is all carpet, which is difficult to dance on because it's very sticky. Most people there are just chilling or milling about, pretending that they're going somewhere and pretending that they have a purpose when they're probably just trying to look busy. Hence they bump into you when you're trying to dance. PS no one else will be dancing, so bring friends.
I kept hearing how "classy" this place was supposed to be, and the strict dress code, and yada yada. Well, the ambience had already underwhelmed me. Now for the people. Perhaps by "classy" everyone else had meant "my parents' age." I am a little weirded out that I saw multiple pairs of 50ish or 60ish year olds making out in dark corners. The average age here seems to be...a mighty bit higher than most other nightclubs I've been to. I told my parents to check it out, since they've wanted to find a place they would "fit in" for awhile now. If that is your age bracket, then this is the place for you! I saw several graying men in bermuda shorts and knee socks. I'm not kidding.
What else did "they" mean by "classy?" I think they might have meant "lack of aggressive/sketchy men," which I like in a club. The few times I went, it was mostly Asian people, old people, some touristy looking older white people, and packs of...coworkers? Not sure, but there sure were a lot of people looking bored, standing around, not knowing what to do with themselves.
Not worth the cover charge, in my opinion.
You would think Honolulu would have a great selection of glamorous clubs, however it does not have much to offer compared to other major cities. Nonetheless, the W is one of the nicer ones. Attire ranges from classed up locals to casual tourists (since the W is located on the Diamond Head (East) side of the Waikiki strip).
The ambiance is okay--above Hawaii's standard, nevertheless it lacks the ambiance and structure of a major dance club (it is Diamond Head Grill with a couple of disco lights, after all). But the biggest turn-off is the fact that while on the dance floor, I turned around and saw my HS classmate's parents grinding! Granted they look young for their age, that should never, ever happen (minus 2 just for that!)
This is to review the club that the W restaurant turns itself into on Fri/Sat nights.
Parking is fairly easy to find if you show up before 11 pm.
Cover is grotesque! $15 - $20 depending on the event. In Hawaii?? Absolutely not excusable in any way.
However, if you get there at or before 9, you can get in for free because the bouncers do not set up until 9:15 or 9:30.
Once you walk in you have to either go up the flight of stairs or take the elevator to the second floor. Either way, the first room you see is the main dining room which gets cleared out for the club scene. On your left is the bar and in front of you is the dance floor. You will find wall flowers surrounding the entire dance floor. On your right hand side is a side bar and further past that are the bathrooms. there are more tables behind the dance floor.
I like the decoartion of this place. It gives you the feel of a nice place. Getting a drink is fairly quick but slows down noticeably when more people show up. The bar tenders are not the best at large volume crowds from what I've seen.
It is also hard to get to the bathrooms because you have people dancing on one side and people trying to buy drinks at the alternate bar on the other side of you. Get ready to push, spill your drink and step on people's feet if you walk through here after 11 pm.
The area from right before the dance floor to the elevators is "no-man's land" where people congregate to talk in small circles and the crowd in general can be friendly or totally exclusive. There are usually some attractive local girls and a few tourists you can find here on the club nights. I have not found consistency in terms of outgoing people though. Each time I show up I will either have people looking at me dirty when I say hi all night or they will chat my ear off. (I don't mind the chat, it's the dirty looks that are weird). The crowds are hit-and-miss here.
Behins the elevators are two hallways that lead to another room. On the right is a women's bathroom and on the left is a men's. Good luck trying to get in there as there is only on toilet in the men's room and a long line to use it. I am sure the women's is the same way. The bathrooms in the main room are slightly bigger but there are lines even for the guys. All the bathrooms in the venue are pretty clean and useable.
The room the two hallways lead into looks pretty similar to the first room. There is a bar against the wall closest to the elevators and a large dance floor directly in front of it. There are tables on either side of the dance floor. If you are looking to dance or just have some more space, this is the room to hang out in.
For some reason, this room is always more empty than the main room. Might have something to do with people's perception of space?
Drinks at this place are slightly more expensive than average for Waikiki bars.
The other problem with this place is it is so far away from anything else. If you come to the W, you are pretty much stuck here all night. You won't be doing much bar hopping unless you want to have a few drinks and then drive around waikiki looking for parking and ducking cops and then walking again to another bar. I highly suggest you do not take this approach.
Steep door price, average drinks for above average prices, hit-and-miss crowds, being so far from anything else, lines for the bathroom and ok drink service leave lots to be desired here.
Leaves more to be desired.
I typically don't like the W. Although, the only other one I've actually stayed at is in Seattle (and I didn't like it!) and I've only visited the W bars in other cities. But the "vibe" is pretty consistent for the hotel chain; it's trying a little too hard to be hip.
However, I really enjoyed our stay in Honolulu! The staff were genuinely nice, friendly, and helpful. Our room was fantastic aside from being a bit small. The decor in the room was nice, the turn down service was pleasant rather than intrusive. We had a corner with an incredible view of the ocean on one side and Diamond Head on the other. The small size of the room didn't bother me, but the shower was a little bit too tiny for comfort.
The building was small, as already mentioned there's no gym or pool, but I thought that was a fair trade for the intimacy of the place. I really preferred the boutique feeling over the "Westin masquerading as hip" feeling. Don't get me wrong, the lobby decor is still absolutely trying to be hip and pretty much missing, but the hotel does have a unique and friendly quality about it.
I liked the location too, it was close enough to everything without being right in the middle of it. Waikiki isn't my scene so much, but I do like the convenience of being right next to it.
The only thing that really bothered me about this hotel was going back to our room on a Saturday evening and having to fight through a crowd of people lined up to go to the club in the hotel. Luckily, we didn't hear it from our room.
If we spend any more time in Honolulu we will probably stay here again.
We also enjoyed the restaurant/bar pretty well. We enjoyed the food we had, our waiter was great, and we were happy with the wine list. They also had a good selection of cognac and other booze in the bar, the bartender definitely knew what he was doing as well.
Definitely one of the nicer dance clubs in Honolulu. I got so plastered here... definitely a night to remember... or should i say... definitely a night that i don't remember. All i remember is that my friends and I brought the bay to the the Islands... and some guy was trying to get hyphy with us and knocked our drinks over... stupid kid! Don't get hyphy if you don't know how too. LOL. Lots of beautiful women here.. dress code is strictly enforced, so no sandals or shorts for you locals. Drinks were absolutely a steal here... i bought a round of 7 shots.. and it only cost me a mere $45, i was surprise how cheap the drinks were for a nice place like the W.
Like the other reviewers we were lead here on the recommendations of locals....and I wonder if we even went to the same place! There were no makeshift bars when we were there....one nice long one against the wall. There was a makeshift DJ booth (table) that we bumped into and made the music skip :) They play hip hop, some old school, some not so old school, which is exactly what I want to hear when I go out. There was a small line when we got there but we went right in.
I'm used to strict dress codes and expensive drinks so that stuff never phases me. In fact, I would have to say that $6 for a glass of champagne is quite a steal! I wouldn't classify the drinks as expensive compared to places in NY or Vegas or even in Boston. The crows seemed to be a good mix of 20 somethings, none were wearing cheerleader skirts thankfully! I actually saw some fairly fasionable ladies there. It never got too crowded so you didn't have to fight your way to the bar but it wasn't like it was completely empty. All in all I would say it is on par with the best places that Boston has to offer.
Sadly, this property is not up to W Hotel's usually-high standards. My room was not available at the normal (published) check-in time; so I sat in the lobby for 2+ hours waiting for it to be readied. This was a busy weekend in Honolulu (both the Honolulu marathon and a U2 concert were going on) -- but those were hardly unforeseeable events. They should have had sufficient staff on hand to cover a fully-booked hotel.
The room was unimpressive (definitely *not* worth the premium of $550 a night)... though I guess all rooms in the area are fairly pricey. It just didn't "feel" like any other W property. Basically, a generic hotel with a few pretty lights in the lobby. Yawn. If you're expecting a W-SF, W-LA or W-NYC quality experience, you're in for a bit of a letdown. No pool, no spa, no gym (though you can get a pass to a local one), and only one elevator in operation (get used to waiting for it). The other elevator has evidently been broken for some time, given the wrinkled scotch-taped sign stuck to the doors... yuck.
That said -- the staff were genuinely friendly and helpful. No complaints there. The location itself is good... right next to a seaside park and a short five-minute walk to the strip (without being right in the middle of tourist hell).
Next time I think I'll stay at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider. It's got a hell of a lot more character -- and all the amenities one would expect at that price point.
I've come here so many times since their second (or third) coming, it's getting tiring, but the staff are among the nicest in Hawai'i. At some point since the summer, the new management decided to push back the DJ stage and make the dance floor bigger, which has cut into their VIP business, I'm sure, but makes the room more inviting and "club"-by. The crowd has surprisingly stayed the same for a while, by Honolulu standards. Be sure to give Tommy some extra drink business and say hello to George and Eddie the bouncers!
This is my 4th stay at this hotel. It's boutique, quiet and the staffs were nice. We had the corner room & really enjoyed the ocean & diamond head view. I liked the fact that there are no kids running around screaming as one may find in other Waikiki hotels.
The first time I came here my friends and I were on the VIP list but the line for VIPs was just as long as the regular line. I think I would've gotten in faster waiting in the other line but then I would've had to pay $15...no thanks. Pretty girls kept going straight up to the doormen to flirt and say things like "I know so-and-so" and it usually worked. They didn't have to wait in the ginormous line...those betches. Once inside, I was kind of disappointed. Too many asians and the crowd was a little young. I'm only 24 but being around people my age makes me feel old. I like late 20s and up. I mostly hung out in the smaller room with the makeshift bar. I wasn't dancing at all, which usually means the DJ sucks or I haven't had enough to drink. After a few drinks, I started having fun...the place closes too early so we went to Senor Frogs afterwards and it turned out to be a good night. How could it not be a good night when you end up going skinny dipping with a cute guy you just met and kissed? I was going to give this place 3 stars but I took one away to reserve it for Senor Frog's since that is where I met the cute guy!
I agree with Jaena's review. I went to the New Year's Eve party here and was not impressed with the crowd or scene. The music was mostly old school hip hop and r&b. Cocktails were pretty weak and still around $7. We got there at around 10pm and left by 11:30pm to enjoy the fireworks outside instead. When we left, there was a huge crowd trying to get in. I wanted to tell everyone to not waste their time. The W in SF is SO much nicer and such a cooler vibe. Not worth the trek to this more secluded end of Waikiki.
A dress code, a cover, over priced drinks, pretty people, everything you would expect from a club in Waikiki. I went 2 nights in a row and the bartenders were good to us both nights. My friend was turned away for wearing sandals, but when we got in there were others wearing them as well. One room with hip-hop music and the other pop/rock. It's a good place to go on the weekend with a group of friends to dance and have fun.
I stayed at the W for over three weeks and had my night cap with the lads in their bar\lounge nightly to schedule\coordinate the following day. We worked on the Bruce Willis film, Tears of the Sun, as advisors. Hence, we spent quite a bit of time at this place. Yawn. The crowd was a bizarre quilt of travelers from all corners that wanted to feel like they were "rock stars under the sun." This is not a comfortable place to relax with friends, nor associates. The rooms and service are worthy of praise. S.F.'s W is a bit more fun and the crowd less sketchy.
We had a fabulous time here and will definitely return. I did not find the drink prices outrageous and we were not charged a cover....guess hotel guests get in free? No, there is not a gym however, I prefer to exercise outside when I am in Hawaii, I can't imagine being cooped up in a gym while in paradise! The location is great, our room was nice, the staff was friendly and helpful. There isn't a pool which is not an issue for us as we prefer the beach, I mean isn't the beach a main reason for going to Hawaii?
CLUB SCENE--After days of soaking up the rays and spooking all the fish away with my snorkeling in the Pacific, I needed some good Hawaiian-style clubbin.' The locals say the W on the weekends is where the "creme de la creme" go to see and be seen....WELL, the "creme" never made it to the W on my Saturday. While the line snaked around the hotel and crowded Kalakaua Avenue, I was not fully convinced of the whole appeal. The W itself is beautiful and impressive, but the club scene felt more like a huge party in someone's garage. In fact, the bars in the two separate rooms were make-shift, banquet tables draped with black polyester--I felt like I was crashing someone's wedding reception. The DJ's had the crowd groovin' and I did enjoy the mix...BUT the crowd Wow! I never thought tube tops and cheerleader skirts could be worn in such a way (accessorized, of course, with Candies, wooden-heeled, open-toed high heels--O Manolo, where are you?) I guess I should have been more forgiving--after all, I did dumb down my attire--white linen pants with turquoise wife-beater tank...but I sure got a lot compliments on my pooka shells! Hawaii is best enjoyed on the beach, day, night, dawn, dusk...
