Honolulu

Holy grail of travel is to find accommodations that are both nice and not expensive. That said, be aware of something called "resort fees" added to your hotel tariff. See: http://travel-hawaii.com/hawaiiresortfees.html
And it's not just Waikiki: http://www.today.com/id/40915484/ns/today-today_travel/t/mandatory-resort-fees-frustrate-hotel-guests/

Pam, I think your plan is good, we did the same thing but in reverse when we visited the USA. it breaks the trip up nicely and was a good place to visit. we stayed at the aston pacific monarch in waikiki ( a few years ago now) it was a very short, direct walk to the beach. very good views and had a kitchenette, which suited us perfectly. and only a short walk to the shops. it was an 'older' style hotel but had everything we needed for a short stay.

hope this helps.

Both times we have been to Honolulu ( in 1975 and 2005) we stayed at the Breakers, a 1950's two-level motel just a block off Waikiki Beach. Definitely not a high-rise luxury or chain hotel. The rooms are all studios with kitchen facilities; bathrooms have a shower but no bathtub. The rooms are sort of Japanese style ( tatami mats on the floor) and very clean, but the fixtures may be old. It is locally owned and run and the staff is very friendly.

I would return if I had a reason to go to Honolulu, and I would book a poolside room.

http://www.breakers-hawaii.com

Read the reviews on Tripadvisor carefully---comments range from "shabby" to "a hidden gem." The negative comments mostly arise from the older TV sets and weak wifi, and outdated decor. For the price I will happily put up with those niggles.

Appreciate your suggestions on places to stay in Honolulu . . . and thanks, Edgar, for your warning about resort fees! Pam

Hawaii is the one place where we abandon our usual hotel price range and splurge a little. We have enjoyed staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It isn't crazy expensive, the pool area is beautiful and the location is good. We did well with a run of the house rate (on one trip we landed in the pretty posh Alii Tower with its own pool). We especially like that the beach at the hotel is wide and open compared with the more narrow and rocky shore (as I recall) that one finds as you walk in the direction of Diamond Head. I have issues myself with the "resort fee" common at luxury digs, as if I can sleep in the room but it's extra to walk through the lobby or dip in the pool? not negotiable. But I did stand my ground (I think it was the Maui Hyatt) when, on top of the resort and parking fee they tried to asses a daily fee for the in room safe! I told them they could simply remove it from the wall...I had no intention of using it and less intention of paying them for it.

Denny makes an excellent point about comfort. I would add two nights would be better than one in terms of adjusting to time and recovering from air travel stress.

My Waikiki preference is to be at one end of Waikiki (such as Denny's Hilton side - Ala Moana Park side) or the other (Kapiolani Park/Zoo side). The Hilton side is a short walk to the Ala Moana Center where the Center Food Court area offers reasonably priced multi-cultural dinning opportunities. Both the Ala Moana Park and Kapiolani Park are scenic jogging venues with comfortable morning breezes.

If you want comfort but would like to economize a bit, the units with "mountain" or "city" views are cheaper because ocean and Diamond Head views go for a market driven premium.

If you can avoid renting a car, you will also save on parking because most hotels are valet parking only at a pretty steep daily price ($20 to $30).

I am just back from Oahu and must admit that Waikiki did not appeal to me. Is there any chance you could venture a little further out to some of the better beaches?

Well, we've stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village many years ago. At that time the cost was reasonable, location is great, and the facility was good. Since then, we've stayed up at Turtle Bay on the North Shore (which we really like) and last time at a Navy Lodge on Ford Island.

I've done many trips to Australia and New Zealand from the west coast. Personally, I'd rather bite the bullet and go non-stop and take that extra day when I get there. I also think it depends upon the season, and airfare.

Good luck, and happy travels, to OZ!

Try any of the Aqua Hotel properties. Usually okay on pocketbook. Nothing special but okay.

We lived in Oahu until 2013. I would second the stopover. Eat at a local place for either a plate lunch. Or better yet hit up Side Street Inn for kimchi fried rice and spicy chicken my opinion. I would not stay by airport. Taxi is expensive into town get the airport bus into Waikiki or the Roberts bus that goes to the hotels. Enjoy your Hawaii stopover.

Brandon

If you want to experience eating local in Honolulu, a real local alternative to the Ala Moana Center Food Court is the Highway Inn:
http://www.myhighwayinn.com/malahini-guide
with local favorites:
LAU LAU |like wow-wow, but with an “L”| is a traditional Hawaiian food consisting of a piece of pork and butterfish wrapped in luau (loo-ow) leaves (think spinach) and steamed for several hours.
LOMI SALMON |low-me sam-min| is a Hawaiian side dish made of diced tomatoes, onions and salmon. Similar to ceviche, lomi salmon’s culinary partner in crime is poi. This dish is on the saltier side as a result of the salted salmon’s introduction by whalers in the early 19th century.
POKE |poh-key or poh-kay| consists of diced raw ahi (yellowfin tuna), sea salt, sesame oil, limu (seaweed) and soy sauce. It’s served as an appetizer or a main dish (see poke bowl), but it should always be served with a cold beer and good times.

Or the above mentioned Kim Chee Fried Rice. See menu link for photo images of these dishes:
http://www.myhighwayinn.com/kakaako-restaurant-menu

And for breakfast anytime, try a Loco Moco:
http://www.frolichawaii.com/stories/our-top-5-loco-moco/
[That said, it's hard to beat a Hilo Loco Moco at the Cafe 100: http://cafe100.com/ ]

A few blocks from the beach in Waikiki should get you a more affordable room. I suggest you look toward the Kapiolani Park direction, because the beach there is gorgeous and easily accessible whereas at the Ala Moana end, you have to walk on heavily trafficked streets and through a maze of hotel grounds just to get to the thin strip of beach. I don't have a specific hotel suggestion because I live here, but you can easily find many choices by checking out Trip Advisor and doing the research.

If you want to shop at Ala Moana there are shuttles that go almost every hour, so wherever you stay, that should be easy to get to. Even if you stay next to the AlaWai Canal in Waikiki its only a 4 block walk to the beach. Everything is pretty accessible.
Carol

Aqua properties noted by Brandon are a good value. Aqua manages older properties that have gone through somewhat recent renovation and upgrade. http://www.aquaresorts.com/

On the Ala Moana side we've stayed at the Ilikai Hotel, a 50+ year property a short jog to Ala Moana Park under the Aqua umbfrella, but then "expensive" is all relative. http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/February-2014/Waikikis-Ilikai-Hotel-and-Suites-Turns-50/

As Carol notes, hotels on the other side, Kapiolani Park/Zoo side are more economical than the Ilikai side and a somewhat pastoral setting just across the street towards Diamond Head. The Queen Kapiolani is an older relatively speaking "affordable" property especially if you don't mind a "city" view room and is a short block from the beach. The Queen K does have a workable A/C but you have to hunt for power outlets to charge your devices. We just got back from a week's visit having stayed at the Queen K. (Valet parking is $30 per day but the resort fee was only $15-$16/day). Pool side happy hour drinks are half price 2PM to 5PM.

As Carol also notes, there are older low rise properties available. However, be aware that low price attracts younger vacationers. We overlooked the Beach Waikiki Boutique Hostel which had a roof top breakfast. The Boutique Hostel's clientele had an active night life and seemed to start gathering for breakfast sometime after 8 or 8:30. http://www.thebeachwaikikihostel.com/
As someone noted earlier, you may not be best served going economical.

As a Canadian "snowbird", I have visited Honolulu 30+ times and stayed in a variety of Waikiki hotels. To break up a trip "down under", I second the opinion to stay for at least 2 nights and NOT at the airport.

My location preference is the quieter green Fort DeRussy Park end of Waikiki (20 minutes drive from the Airport) - The Breakers (as mentioned by a previous poster) is a friendly "traditional Hawaiian" experience and The Luana (request a room overlooking Fort DeRussy Park, not the noisy street) are both short walks to the beach, restaurants on BeachWalk, Ala Moana Park and Shopping Centre, and if you choose, to the busy Kalakaua Avenue.

If you have not been to Waikiki for many years, you will notice many new developments! However, the Wailana Coffee Shop continues to provides good value (24 hours, I believe), and if you like ocean-front dining, The Shorebird is fairly reasonable for breakfast or lunch. Also, as mentioned by a previous poster, the Hilton Hawaiian Village is great if you want to "splurge" and don't mind a huge resort-type property. If you remember it from a previous visit, several new towers have been added in the past few years (another one is under construction beside the Alii Tower now). The former International Marketplace (between Kalakaua and Kuhio) was demolished and a shiny new development is under construction and opening this summer. Aloha!

Mardan

We stayed at the Hilton Waikiki Beach hotel in November. It's a couple of blocks from the beach and has some decent dining options nearby. I thought it was reasonably priced.

http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/hawaii/hilton-waikiki-beach-HNLWAHF/index.html