I've stayed in youth hostels in third world countries that were better than this place. I like moist cake, not a moist hotel room. If you need a cheap, centrally located hotel with no amenities and aren't bothered by things like a broken air conditioner, moldy lampshades and gross bedspreads then by all means stay here.

After staying at Castle Maile Sky Court in early April 2008, I can honestly write this is not an expensive resort hotel with the amenities one would find, however, the hotel offers a basic, clean room that is priced extremely reasonable on Hotwire. This hotel is designed for the traveler who spends their time in the sun, shopping or dining at the excellent restaurants nearby. The rooms are small, but comfortable with a coffee maker and small refrigerator. This is a no-smoking hotel, too! Vit's Steak House on the premises offers good food at reasonable prices. The hotel staff is friendly and they are willing to provide assistance. They also have a travel desk if you need help figuring out where to go or what to see in Waikiki. The hotel sits on a fairly busy street, but what hotel doesn't in Waikiki? If you are looking for a bargain, don't plan to spend your trip in your room watching cable TV, or in the hotel's pool or spa, and you like the beach, the Castle Maile Sky Court is the perfect 2-star hotel!

I guess for the cheap price, I got what I paid for. The room was dark and smelled like mildew. The carpet was dirty (I was afraid to walk around without shoes). The bathroom tub was rusty and moldy. The AC was fine and I didn't see any bugs which I was worried about. The elevators were slow and frequently full so I would have to wait until another came. The worst part was that they were fumigating some of the rooms for bugs while we were staying there. They just told people to cover up their food and lock away their valuables and be out of the room from 9am-4pm. Are you kidding me???
The location was close to the shopping area and restaurants which was good. We basically tried to stay out of the hotel as much as possible and luckily we only spent 2 nights there.

I don't know who these people are who end up at this hotel completely unaware that it's of the category of a high-rise Holiday Inn mainland. Why would you expect it to be like a resort that costs 5 times as much??

Yes, it does show it's age a bit. Yes, the rooms are small. Yes, the TV doesn't get many channels and most of them cater to foreign language tourists. Before you book a hotel in Waikiki, you should probably honestly answer the question: are you coming to Hawaii to get a spa experience, or are you coming to check out the islands? If it's the latter, and budget matters, the Maile is a great choice.

We got in at 1pm and were able to check in immediately. We had no problems with the elevators that people claim they wait 15 minutes for (trust me, these people are exaggerating). I think the worst wait we had in 3 nights was about 4 minutes waiting in the lobby. We were on the 22nd floor and never had a long wait when going down.

Our first night in, we called housekeeping and requested extra pillows. They responded with the pillows at the door within 15 minutes (and that's not exaggerated).

We checked out the tiny pool on the 5th floor; it really is tiny. The spa, on the other hand, was relatively large -- about half the size of the pool itself. We didn't partake of either. There are a lot of lounge chairs on this level strategically placed so you can take advantage of the sun at almost any hour if that's what you desire.

Wifi in the lobby was fine, worked every time we went to use it.

You're a 2 block walk to Waikiki beach (granted, a rather long 2 blocks, as one is through a park). Who are these people who are so obsessed with time whilst in Hawaii? Are they on a dialysis schedule or something??

I will say we were less than thrilled with Vit's Steakhouse, the place that took over the space formerly occupied by the TGIF's that used to be off the lobby of the building. But that's not the fault of the hotel, and deserving of it's own review.

The one negative I can say about the place is that the smoke detector in our room was removed completely, as you can see from our photos.

We found the staff and housekeeping to be perfectly acceptable for the price. Again, if you're heading to Hawaii and expecting a five-star experience, don't pay rock bottom yet still expect it; you are not going to get it! But if you're willing to accept staying at the aged equivalent of a budget chain at home, you'll find the dollars spent at the Maile can certainly be put to good use elsewhere in Oahu.

We would stay here again if we found such a deal as we did this year.

But if you're looking for a clean, relatively quiet, central place to stay for a discounted price, there aren't too many cheaper deals than this.