The second Oahu Embassy Suites opens for business in the second city of Kapolei.
Back in September, the second Embassy Suites location for Oahu and Hawaii as a whole opened in Kapolei. This property also represents the second hotel for Oahu’s Second City. Kalopelis first hotel, as you may recall, is another Hilton brand, the Hampton Inn & Suites at the Kamakana Ali’i Shopping Center. To me, that property’s location made more sense, since it’s in a large commercial complex. This newer property, though, is about 1.5 miles away from the Hampton Inn next to Kapolei City Hall. But, it is a little closer to the original heart of Kapolei.
Embassy Suites Kapolei
Unlike the Embassy Suites Waikiki, the Kapolei location is a brand new building. The new, seven-story building is one of the tallest in the area. And it houses 180 suites, each of which contains a separate living area with sleeper sofa, work desk, and a wet-bar area with a mini-fridge, microwave, and coffee maker.
The property also boasts a laundry room, fitness center, two restaurants, a pool, and a 24-hour fitness center.
And like most Embassy Suites locations around the world, the Kapolei location also offers a free, hot breakfast daily to guests. Oh, and there’s no resort fee here too.
Location
The property’s location near downtown Kapolei strikes me as a little odd, even more so than the Hampton Inn. Kapolei itself isn’t really a touristy area like Waikiki or Ko Olina. But its proximity to major Department of Defense installations in Central Oahu, as well as Campbell Industrial Park makes choosing Kapolei for hotel locations a sensible one. Especially since pricing in the area is much lower than in the nearby Ko Olina Resort. In fact, base rate at the Embassy Suites Kapolei starts around $229 ($217 HHonors Rate), which isn’t bad for Oahu. Parking will set you back another $20/night.
Second Oahu Embassy Suites Opens, Final Thoughts
At current, the property is reporting occupancy levels of around 20% to 30%. That isn’t good, but considering the property has been open for little less than a month and isn’t in a tourist area, it isn’t bad either. And, for its part, the hotel knows its primary clientele will be business/government guests, as well as locals and visiting families. They’d like to attract leisure guests, but I think that’s going to be a hard sell; especially when rates at the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club can dip as low as $272 while being in a much better location.
But there must be a strong business case for these hotels to be here, or the wouldn’t exist, right? And, in fact, a Residence Inn by Marriott is being built nearby, too.
And is it just me, or do some of the design elements look similar or the same as those of the Hyatt Place Waikiki?
