The Watermark 1551 Ala Wai Boulevard Unit 503 Honolulu HI 96815

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Property History from MLS

Tax Info including a Plat Map PDF and GIS Parcel Map

Department of Planning & Permitting General Information

Department of Planning & Permitting All Permits

Dept. of Emergency Management Public Safety Info

Tax Records and Property History in this Neighborhood

Tax Records and Property History in this Building

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How long have you lived in the Waikiki neighborhood?

I've lived in Waikiki for over 5 years now.

What factors influenced your decision to move there?

I work in town, and I wanted to live somewhere that is close to work. I didn't want to spend a lot of time driving in traffic on a daily basis.

Also, it was very important for us to not have to drive if we wanted to go get a bite to eat or to go down to the beach. It's a very convenient location. The building that we're in is actually quite quiet. You don't hear some of the typical noises that one would expect for Waikiki. It's actually a very quiet neighborhood, and we're just a couple of blocks away to the beach. We can walk to restaurants and different hotels for events and things like that.

So the convenience and the proximity to entertainment and restaurants is really why we initially decided on Waikiki.

So you can walk to the beach and to the restaurants. Can you walk to your shopping also?

Yes. Actually there's quite a bit of shopping that we can do. If we're going grocery shopping though, I do tend to drive, because right in Waikiki, we end up spending a little bit more for the convenience factor. So we'll just drive right up the street, up Kapahulu. It's maybe a 3-minute drive, and we do all of our shopping there. Or we'll take a drive to Costco or something, if we need to stock up.

How does it compare to where you lived before?

Before, we were at a building right in the downtown area. At that time, I was working in downtown, so I would walk to work and that was very convenient. But the typical building that we were in was pretty noisy, and it didn't have air conditioning, so in the summer months and October, it was actually quite warm. And downtown kind of shuts down in the weekend. It's really great for businesses--Monday through Friday, it's an energetic area. But in the weekends, it kind of shuts down.

So Waikiki is different in that aspect--there's always a lot of energy. It's very positive when you walk around the neighborhood because a lot of people are on vacation, and they're so happy to be here in Hawaii. Just looking around, it's kind of a nice reminder for us living here, to see all these happy people and makes us reflect on, "Wow, gosh, we are really lucky to live in such a beautiful place--to be able to walk down to the beach and see the sunset, any day of the week." It's wonderful.

Where would you go to the beach when you lived in downtown? Or do you walk to Ala Moana?

We would just have to get in a car, drive, and actually look for parking in Waikiki, or try to find parking in Ala Moana.

Living in Waikiki is great. We just load up our little wagon with our son and put all the toys in there. We don't need to worry about parking. We just go right on up wherever we want to go. We can spend the whole day down there, if we're lucky enough to have a day with no work to do.

That's awesome. And the fact that you have a quiet building is really nice too, because if there's any complaint I hear sometimes about Waikiki, it would probably be the noise. There wouldn't be anything else, I guess.

Yeah, and there really are a few nice little pockets in Waikiki that are a little off the beaten track where it's still close to everything, but a little more secluded. So you're not going to have some of the noise factors that you might have in other areas of Waikiki.

What about the traffic? For example, getting to work and to stores? A lot of places you can walk to, but when you do have to get in your car, what is it like then?

Honestly, it is so easy getting in and out of Waikiki because there are a few different ways to get there. It's not just going down Kalakaua. So if there's a parade or something in a particular day, then we just go the back route. It might take us a little bit of extra time, but it's never been too bad of an inconvenience.

I would say that maybe right around Halloween, it's probably more problematic. A lot of people come into Waikiki for Halloween, so it might be a little problematic trying to come back into Waikiki in those times. But in the over 5 years that we've been there, it's been a very rare occasion where it's taken me more than 10-15 minutes to get back home. I'm usually back home from my office in less than 15 minutes.

Do you have any concerns with crime in the area?

I don't. I feel very safe. Most of the buildings in Waikiki do have secure buildings as well, so you would need a key to be able to enter the building.

The worst thing that has happened to us is someone took the pedals off of my husband's bike, but it was kind of our fault for leaving it in the garage, which was not locked up at the time. And that could happen anywhere.

What about the schools? What are the schools like?

Waikiki Elementary School is actually a blue ribbon school. It's rated very well. It's one of the best schools on Oahu.

Right now, our son goes to a place called Waikiki Community Center. It's very convenient. Their price is good, their hours are nice, and has extended hours to accommodate people who live in Waikiki and might work a little bit later or have to get to work a little earlier.

But we're actually looking forward to going to public school a lot. A lot of people try to kind of convince us the importance of sending a child to a private school here in Hawaii, but after doing some research and looking at the ratings for Waikiki Elementary, we're excited for him to go there.

Great, and then I guess as he gets older, there are a lot of options--private schools not far from Waikiki, like Punahou for example, or other schools?

Yes. I haven't looked into those yet, but again, we're so close to everything where it hasn't become too much of a factor for us yet. I know we're going to find something that is a good match for him.

It sounds like there's a lot to like about your neighborhood. What do you like best about it? Is it kind of just getting out and walking to where you want to go or to the beach? Or anything else?

I guess it's really just the convenience and the location. My favorite days on the weekends are when I can just do a little picnic lunch and go down by Kapiolani Park and just run around and kind of enjoy the outdoors. That's my favorite. And not having to get into a car on the weekend. It's fantastic.

Is there anything you would want to change about your neighborhood, if you could?

If I could, I would like to have a little area where the kids could meet up, or my son could meet up with his friends. That's the one thing I feel that we're missing a little bit in Waikiki. There's just not that real sense of community for the kids to just go down and play on the street, like they do in some neighborhoods.

Right, because the streets are a little bit more crowded, that type of thing?

That's the only thing that we would go to a park or to the beach. It's not like they could just go downstairs and play.

Once you're at the park or the beach, then they have a huge place to play. But you can't walk outside and play.

Exactly. But it's really not a negative factor for us because it's so easy to get to the park.

Yeah, because you can walk to the park so quickly and you've got more space than you could ask for.

Yeah, and the zoo is right there too, which is a great open playground for kids to just run around and be free.

I know there's a ton of restaurants there. Do you have any favorites?

It's a little bit of a walk for us, but I love Roy's Restaurant for a really nice, special occasion. Their service is always so good. They're very kid-friendly as well. They'll give my son a coloring book and crayons and a little toy to play with while we're there. So that's my favorite.

Sansei restaurant is really close by as well. They have great sushi.

A lot of places have some really nice happy hours, for pupu's and things like that.

You mentioned that if you're going to buy a lot of things or you go grocery shopping, you go a little bit outside of Waikiki. What's your favorite place to grocery shop or shop for other things?

Safeway is the closest for us with a pretty good selection. But my preference is actually Foodland. For me, it's worth it to make just a little bit more of a drive. Foodland is just up the road from Safeway. I prefer Foodland because it's more of the local produce and things like that. So I prefer to support that particular company. I like their selection a little bit better.

But if I really need to do some stocking up on things, then I'll just go into Hawaii Kai Costco. Or even Sam's Club.

Are there any events in your neighborhood or nearby that you like to take part in?

There are always different parades that are going on. For example, my son's school was telling me that today, they had some type of parade. Through the Waikiki Community Center, there are always different things they are doing for the kids there, so we often participate in that. Book reading, things of that nature.

Would you recommend buying in Waikiki?

Yes. I think for someone who likes the convenience, and night life is important for them, or not needing to drive to places, where you could stay in one nice, contained community, then it's good for some people. Waikiki is probably not for everybody, but for me, at this point in my life, it's perfect.

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