The Best Hotels in Oahu for a Honeymoon

best hotels in Oahu for couples for honeymoons anniversary trip or more

Looking for the best hotels in Oahu for couples? We got you covered! Whether it be your honeymoon, an anniversary trip, babymoon – or just a Hawaiian vacation for two, we are sharing our very favorite Oahu hotels. Jason + I have traveled to Oahu quite a few times in the past 10 years. Last November, Jason + I (along with our two daughters) spent a week in Oahu, Hawaii. I wanted to share a bit about our trip for those planning a honeymoon, anniversary trip or an island getaway! Hawaii is one of our most favorite spots. Each island is different and offers lots of unique experiences. We love Oahu since it offers a bit of city life and island life – the best of both worlds! So, here are a few of our fave places to eat, stay, explore and more. :)

The Best Hotels in Oahu

So are you looking to be in Honolulu near all the action (they have lots of amazing foodie restaurants as well as great shopping and the famed Waikiki Beach) or are you a more a get away from it all couple? Or maybe you’d like to experience a bit of both? When Jason + travel to Oahu, we love to stay in two places to get a bit more variety since there are so many great options! Let’s take a look at some of our favorite hotels for couples in Oahu! And yes, Jason + I have stayed at all these hotels and would recommend each one. They all offer something a bit different, so hopefully this helps with our decisions.

The Best Hotel in Oahu to Get Away from it All

The Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina

FS Oahu hotel view

Want to really get away from it all? The Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina is perfect! We’ve shared how amazing micro weddings are here in the past, but it makes a great place to vacation or honeymoon as well! Jason + I have stayed here three times we just love it so much!

The Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina is about an hour’s drive from the Honolulu airport and really gives you that remote island vibe. The hotel has 3 pools – a family pool, a keiki pool and an adults-only pool.

The pool below is the adults-only pool and is the largest infinity pool in Hawaii!! The perfect spot to spend the day and catch the sunset. Oh, and if you are traveling with your family, the Four Seasons has an amazing Kids Club where you can drop your kids off (our girls LOVE it) and you can pretend you are on a couples’ only trip for a few hours! They also have a Mai-Tai truck that serves drinks swim-up style from this pool!

FS Oahu pool

A few other reasons we love The Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina for couples!

• Their Spa! It’s truly amazing. I had a massage last time we were there and it was so relaxing. Love a great spa on vacation – plus it has its own pool as well!

• The food here. While at the Four Seasons Oahu at Ko Olina, we typically ate at the resort since there weren’t a ton of other options close by – plus the food at the resort was really good! Breakfast is our favorite meal there. Normally they have an amazing breakfast buffet, but right now with Covid, they aren’t doing the buffet. I highly recommend the coconut chia seed pudding, the Eggs Benny and the Avocado Toast. Yum! And don’t miss the Macademia Lattes – with Oat Milk!

The other two restaurants are Mina’s Fish House (a line-to-table seafood restaurant for lunch, dinner and drinks. We recommend the poke sampler and the Hawaiian Snapper entree), and Noe (described as Capri-meets-Oahu this Italian restaurant features pasta and fresh fish. Definitely order the whipped ricotta with truffle honey here as well as the Yellowtail Crudo and Maccheroni pasta with crab, spinach and lemon. Poolside service for lunch and of course you can’t go wrong with the poke.

If you are looking for a break from the hotel, we also had dinner one night at Monkeypod Kitchen (just a short 10 min walk from the hotel) and we really enjoyed our meal (and the live music!) there. Highly recommend the Ahi.

FS Oahu restaurant
Mina’s Fish House interior design is gorgeous!

And the number one reason we love the Four Seasons? The service is just the best. Everyone just wants you to have the most relaxing best time and we could feel it.

The Best Newest Hotel in Oahu for Couples

Kaimana Beach Hotel in Honolulu

Kaiamana Beach Hotel in Oahu Hawaii

The Kaimana Beach Hotel is one of the newest hotels in Honolulu. We had the most amazing stay here (read more about our stay here) and if you can swing one of the penthouse rooms, splurge for that as the views can not be beat! The decor here has a modern boho vibe and we loved the private beach right in front of the hotel.

They offer their own complimentary paddleboarding (definitely take advantage of this!) and the sunset views at the restaurant are a perfect place to enjoy a cocktail.

We already said that for our next visit, we are definitely staying at the Kaimana Beach Hotel for a few nights. The morning views here were my favorite and still dream of those views!

The beach at Kaimana Beach Hotel

The Best Hotel in Oahu for Design Lovers

The LayLow in Honolulu

The Laylow is one of our fave hotels in Oahu for couples. Jason + I stayed here a few years ago and had the most amazing stay. I love a hotel with great design and this one definitely made my design heart happy! Plus, the food is SO GOOD here! Breakfast, Happy Hour, Dinner…it’s all good!

This is their patio where you can enjoy meals and in the evening they often have DJs spinning. The perfect place to start or end the day.

Laylow Hotel in Honolulu for Couple's Vacation

They have a really creative bar and some great cocktails.

They do have a pool here (which is a bonus since not all hotels have pools), but it’s quite small. Just something to keep in mind!

If you are looking for a hotel with great design, food onsite food, and very central (you can easily walk to the beach, shopping or dining), the Laylow is a great option.

The Best Hotel in Oahu for a View of Diamond Head

Waikiki Beach Marriot Resort & Spa

We were lucky enough to stay at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa here during our most recent Oahu visit. The hotel just finished a multi-million-dollar transformation that includes newly designed guestrooms and suites, a modernized open-air Nanea Lobby, Royal Kaila Spa, the Queensbreak pool with private cabanas, and a new open-air restaurant and bar concept serving delicious locally influenced cuisine.

The most comfortable bed at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa

Let’s start with the room. They did an amazing job with the room renovations and our room was my most favorite part of this hotel. We were lucky enough to stay in a suite that had two bedrooms, a living room and a dining room. My two most important things for a hotel room in Hawaii? The beds and the view. Let’s start with the beds. SO comfy! Slept really well each night here. And the views? Also SO SO good. We had a view of Diamondhead as well as the ocean. The best of both. We loved watching the sunrise over Diamond Head each morning on our large balcony – another bonus! The balconies were perfect for a morning coffee or a glass of wine to watch the sunset in the evening…

The sunrise above Diamondhead was my favorite time of day

Ok, let’s talk food! I was most excited to try the new Queensbreak restaurant. It had just opened a week before we arrived and we were lucky enough to chat with the chef a bit during our dinner. I love the concept here. It’s open-air, they have live music each night, and the food is a global Hawaiian vibe. Yum! Here is what we had and I would recommend: Fresh Island Poke, Tonkatsu Sandwich (so unique here!), Fish Tacos (probably the best we had on the island!), and the Mango Souffle for dessert!

We also really wanted to make sure to have some sushi while in Honolulu and had dinner one night at Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar – which is also part of the hotel. Our meal was amazing here. Lots of unique options including the Nobu-Style Miso Butterfish, the Fresh Hawaiian Ahi Carpaccio, and the Cajun Seared Walu Sashimi with Yukke Sauce. Everything was delicious and highly recommend it if you want some creative sushi one night.

View from our room at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa

The Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa is a great option if you want an Oahu hotel right in the center of things. The beach is right across the street, there are 2 pools, and you can easily walk to lots of shopping and great restaurants.

The Best Hotel in Oahu for a fan of Modern Design

The Modern Honolulu

The Modern Honolulu

The Modern Honolulu is a great option for those that want to be near the city, but a bit removed. We’ve stayed here twice and it’s always been a great stay. It’s right on the outskirts of the city, so you don’t feel too trapped but you are still within walking distance to lots of great shops + restaurants. The hotel has a modern vibe which we totally dig. Love all the greenery + ferns around the hotel!!

We really love the pools here and spent A LOT of time at the pool above (the pool below is the adult-only pool). Such a great place to relax and they have the best Frozen Mint Mojito drinks!!! Definitely order one or two!

The Modern Honolulu

Above is their breakfast + lunch restaurant The Grove – perfect for a quick breakfast before a day at the pool or beach – and yes, the beach is a short 5 min walk away.

Another reason this is one of the best hotels in Oahu for couples? The pool below! That is the adults-only pool and it’s a tropical dream….

The Modern Honolulu

The Best Restaurants in Honolulu

If you stay at one of the hotels in Honolulu, you have LOTS of great dining options. Honolulu is a foodie’s dream city! Below are a few of the places we’ve eaten at and enjoyed.

breakfast/lunch

For a quick breakfast, we love enjoying an acai bowl (see below for more on that), but if you want a great hot breakfast, we love The Hideout (it’s at the Laylow hotel but open to all guests). They serve Stumptown coffee and both the Breakfast Sandwich and the Hideout Eggs Benedict are amazing! Avocado Toast is also delicious here.

For a great brunch, don’t miss Hau Tree. The Lobster Benedict is a can’t miss! Also, their banana bread – get some to go!

lunch

We often had lunch by the pool or an acai bowl, but after our hike at Lanikai Pillboxes Hike (more below) we stopped for lunch in Kailua at Over Easy and it was SO GOOD!! Highly recommend it for breakfast or lunch (I had the Kailua Pig Hash and Jason had the Fried Eg Sandwich – both delicious!)

acai bowls – a must when in Hawaii!

Sunrise Shack (the founders are professional surfers and has a rad vibe!) Love the Blue Dream Bowl and the Jungle Matcha Bowl.

Lanikai Juice

Heavenly

Tropical Tribe (right across from The Modern and they offer both Brazilian style acai bowls and local Hawaiian style acai bowls)

dinner

Piggy Smalls offers creative Vietnamese dishes in a fun, hip atmosphere. The menu changes each season, but we really enjoyed our meal here. Definitely try the Classic Pho French Dip Banh Mi and the Fried Brussels Sprouts.

Moku Kitchen is described as “a chef-driven concept that brings Hawaii’s rich upcountry farming and ranching heritage to downtown Honolulu’s urban lifestyle” We loved it so much that we ate here twice on our last visit. Great food, fun vibe. Highly recommend: Hapa Poke, Kalua Pork and Pineapple Pizza, the Fish Tacos, the Sauteed Ahi, and to drink, No Ka Oi.

Deck this rooftop restaurant has great food and a fun vibe as well. You can catch views of Diamondhead if you are there before it’s dark as well! Get the Kauai Prawns and the fresh catch of the day.

Tommy Bahama Restaurant – I know this sounds strange, but they have a restaurant on the rooftop of their store and it was really really good. Farm-to-table food with live music just can’t be beat. The Macadamia-Nut-Crusted fresh catch and their World Famous Coconut Shrimp are both amazing!

We also had a really great meal at Roy’s Waikiki (the ambiance leaves a bit to be desired, but the food was really good!)

Our Favorite Coffee Shops in Oahu

Oahu coffeeshop
Chadlou’s Coffee

We love finding local coffee shops when traveling and you are in luck in Oahu as they have lots of options!

Island Vintage Coffee – their iced mac nut lattes are what dreams are made of!! So good and still dream about this weekly – ha!

Hokulea (the coffee shop at the Four Seasons) also offered iced mac nut lattes that were pretty amazing so be sure to try one if you stay there!

If you do the Lanikai Pillboxes Hike and want to grab coffee after, we LOVED the vibe + coffee from Chadlou’s Coffee Roasters.

Kai Coffee – this reminded me of Blue Bottle Coffee. Try their Kai Latte with Oat Milk!

Honolulu Coffee – another great spot for coffee. Try their Hawaiian Latte – it has coconut and macadamia in it!

The Best Island Treats in Oahu

banan bowls
Banan

Banán – they turn locally grown bananas and other island-grown ingredients into a dairy-free soft serve! I tried the Green Tea version served in a papaya topped with strawberries, puffed quinoa, shaved coconut, and honey. It was so good!!

Leonard’s Bakery – this is the place all the locals will tell you you need to try. They serve malasadas which is a Portuguese doughnut without a hole. I recommend the Macadamia Nut or Guava malasadas! Yum. As a heads up, there is always a line, but if you love donuts, you won’t want to miss these!

What to Do While in Oahu

paddleboards at FS Oahu

Hawaii is the perfect place to just R-E-L-A-X!!! So we love to just enjoy the pools and beaches. Lots of wave jumping, snorkeling, paddle boarding, and cocktails by the pool.

We also love hiking in Hawaii and there are lots of great places to hike. Our favorite hike in Oahu is the Lanikai Pillboxes Hike. You get the most amazing views (as seen below).

Oahu pillbox hike
View from Lanikai Pillbox Hike

Another fun trip is to drive to the North Shore to catch some of the legendary surf competitions – esp if you are there in the winter months when the waves are huge! The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, considered the Super Bowl of surfing, is held on its shores every year in November and December at Waimea Bay, Haleiwa Beach and Ehukai Beach (Banzai Pipeline). We love watching the surfers plus you can grab some shrimp from Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck and shave ice from Matsumoto’s Shave Ice. Makes for a fun day trip!

If you love shopping, there are lots of shopping options in Honolulu and makes for a fun afternoon if you need a break from the sun.

Honolulu Hawaii sunset

And my Don’t Miss This thing in Hawaii? A walk along the beach to catch the sunset … preferably with a cocktail in hand….you really can’t beat the sunsets here….until next time Oahu!!

Where do you love to stay when in Oahu?

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