# [ 2008 ] Hawaiian Princess at Makaha Beach??



## califgal (Jan 19, 2008)

Has anyone stayed at the Hawaiian Princess at Makaha Beach on Oahu?  I found it on II Getaways.  We usually stay at Westins but was looking for a deal and more room for our family of 4.  Is the beach calm like Waikiki?  Clean units and comfortable beds?  Thanks.


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## tompalm (Jan 19, 2008)

About half of Hawaiian Princess (HP) is owned by private owners and the other half is TS.  If you are renting from a private company, or owner, you could get any type of room and bed.  I don't know about the TS, but you should be safe going through II.  

However, the HP is located a long way from town and the HP is not in the best part of the island.  There is plenty of crime out there and I would not recommend going out at night in the local area.  Do not go out on the beach at night.  There is security 24 hours a day on the property, and lots of security cameras so you can sleep safely at night.  If you are just looking for a place to get some sun, and be on the beach, it is ok.  The ocean can be rough in the winter and it is not the best place to go swimming.   If you are use to staying at the Westin, you probably will not like HP.


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## easyrider (Jan 20, 2008)

We stayed in Makaha and didnt notice any crime at the beach. The beaches around here are where many islanders camp and shore fish on weekends. Its true that many locals in this area are of humble means but there are also many wealthy people here too. When I was fishing with some locals they told me that some home-less working people stay at the state parks and move from park to park. The other home-less live right outside the state park and dont move but use the facilities. There isnt any real nite life out in Makaha. My wife prefers Turtle Bay and Wikiki over Makaha. 45 minutes to Honolulu from Makaha. These beaches include one by Wiamea ? with dolphins that swim around you . There are many beach with tide pools and perfect sunset viewing in this area including Yokohama Bay at the end of the road which is my favorite Oahu beach.


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## teepeeca (Jan 20, 2008)

O.K.---time for me to "jump-in" on this.

Have owned at the Hawaiian Princess since 1987, and have used it every year.  It is a 16 story building, with 75% of the unit wholely-owned outright, and 25% are timeshares.  ALL of the units are ocean-front, with the ocean about 75-100 feet from the building.  Everybody is very friendly, at least they have been to me.

They have 3 different sized units @ the timeshares.  The 2-br units (4 total) are located on the 15th floor (3 of them) and on the 1st floor (used to be the old "sales" office).  They have two different 1-br units, the smaller being the "interior" building units, and the larger "corner" units.

Every time we have been there, we have seen turtles (within about 2 feet of the shoreline, not on the sand); spinner dolphins; and most of the time whales.  It ahs a nice soft sand beach; good swimming and snorkling.

There are no "real fancy" restaurants in the area (except up by the golf course), but many local and casual ones within a 5 minute drive.

It takes about 45 minutes to drive into Waikiki (non-rushhour traffic), and 20 minutes, or so, to go to the Kapolei area/shopping centers.

(We will be there in about 5 weeks---looking forward to it !!!)

Tony


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## califgal (Jan 20, 2008)

Thanks for all the info.  I think we'll want a little more activity around us so we'll probably stay at the Sheraton Waikiki.


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## cgeidl (Feb 5, 2008)

*Not for us*

We traded for a week there and called to get a new week closer to Honolulu.Luckily Trading Places had a cancellation. If you do not have a car it is a long two hour plus bus trip to Honolulu.
We feel it is in a bad location for crime and the resort is fenced in like a prison .
The room we received was rather old and not in good condition.
The beach area is wonderful,the sunsets in the West can be special,and people that basically want a great relaxing location for a destination type stay would probably like Makaha but their is little to do outside the resort and IMHO it is not really a week destination Resort like the Marriott's at KoaLina.


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## Crash7676 (Aug 11, 2014)

teepeeca said:


> O.K.---time for me to "jump-in" on this.
> 
> Have owned at the Hawaiian Princess since 1987, and have used it every year.  It is a 16 story building, with 75% of the unit wholely-owned outright, and 25% are timeshares.  ALL of the units are ocean-front, with the ocean about 75-100 feet from the building.  Everybody is very friendly, at least they have been to me.
> 
> ...



I agree with Tony on this. It is a quieter area than Waikiki, for sure, the beach is clean and private, and there are no homeless people living on it, it is a PRIVATE beach. We always say turtles too, much to my child's delight! Grocery store nearby, as we mostly cooked in our unit. Yes, it has 24 hour security, which I of course appreciate and expect, but it doesn't feel like a prison. It feels like a safe resort. No it is not brand new, but they have been keeping up on refurbishments, and after looking around at prices nearer Honolulu, it is much more affordable.


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## frank808 (Aug 12, 2014)

Crash7676 said:


> I agree with Tony on this. It is a quieter area than Waikiki, for sure, the beach is clean and private, and there are no homeless people living on it, it is a PRIVATE beach. We always say turtles too, much to my child's delight! Grocery store nearby, as we mostly cooked in our unit. Yes, it has 24 hour security, which I of course appreciate and expect, but it doesn't feel like a prison. It feels like a safe resort. No it is not brand new, but they have been keeping up on refurbishments, and after looking around at prices nearer Honolulu, it is much more affordable.



The thread is 6 years old. But will chime in and say that there is no private beaches on Oahu.  State law does not allow private beaches. All beaches are considered public.


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## Crash7676 (Aug 12, 2014)

frank808 said:


> The thread is 6 years old. But will chime in and say that there is no private beaches on Oahu.  State law does not allow private beaches. All beaches are considered public.



Thank you. Good to know. Like everything else timeshare, nothing is what it seems. I can only report my own experience, which was a beautiful, quiet, clean beach with no homeless, not like what we saw closer to Honolulu. I was looking for other threads byowners of my resort, and only found this one mention.


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