11 affordable hotels that are perfect for a winter sun holiday

The scoop: rooms from about £60

In the 1960s Hawaii was riding high. Having recently acquired statehood, it was where American tourists flocked to soak up the Aloha spirit. Surfing was carving out a place in pop culture, Elvis starred in Blue Hawaii, propelling Oahu and Kauai islands onto the big screen, and crooner Don Ho sung to packed crowds in palm-print shirts and floral leis. White Sands opened at the heart of the action, in Waikiki, Honolulu, at the turn of that decade, and its recent makeover refers back to this heyday, with a nod to the 1970s, too. The styling is the work of Honolulu-based studio The Vanguard Theory, also responsible for the funky good looks of the nearby Surack Hotel. Unlike that space, which takes its cues from the Hawaiian surf scene, the design here skirts around the Pacific, mixing Japanese shoji-screen-inspired headboards with ceramic Polynesian Tiki mugs, porcelain ‘hang loose’ shaka hooks and warm, mid-century-modern furniture. The beach is only two blocks away, but most people gravitate to the hotel’s palm-fringed courtyard with its swimming pool surrounded by cream sunbeds and coral- scalloped parasols. It will soon become even more of a hangout when the team behind hit joint Fête in Honolulu’s Chinatown opens Hey Day pool bar and restaurant. For now, there are brews from local Kona Coffee Purveyors in the lobby and surf-and-turf tacos at the end of the street. It’s the perfect taster of Hawaii, old and new.

Book your stay

Scroll down for more photos of these hotels.