Costco Situation

Costco is great. On the Islands, there are Island specific things that are sold at Costco that really make it a different experience from shopping at a mainland Costco. They have gift packed chocolate macadamia nuts, body boards, surf boards, stand up paddle boards, snorkeling gear, fresh never frozen tuna sashimi, and poke, and these are just a few of the things I can remember that are available. And Costco still maintains the standard for great quality products at great prices in bulk.

The down side is that with great prices, comes great crowds, especially in Honolulu. The Costco on Alakawa St in Honolulu (525 Alakawa Street, Honolulu, HI 96817) is just pure madness.

The parking is horrible. I came here with my wife when we first moved here, and we were renting a tiny gray Chevy Aveo. We managed to find a spot very far away from the store. We shopped. We came back, and the rear right bumper was busted. Not scratched, or bumped; I mean, it was about to fall off. No note. No sign of the perpetrator. I guess this is a common enough occurrence which did not warrant any apologies or exchange of information. Had we rented an Escalade or something, maybe that would have been understandable, but we had a Chevy Aveo, the tiniest car in the lot, and still they managed to not scratch, or bump, but completely take out the right side of the rear bumper. We got the damage waiver so it was no big deal, but if it was a car that you owned, you would have been very angry. From this moment, we realized that small cars are your best friends on Oahu, especially if you live in town.

The crowd is horrible. If you like fighting other shoppers and standing in long lines, this is your store. This Alakawa Costco is a sports shopping arena, where you get a physical and mental work out every time you shop here.

So, after that experience, I gave up and tried the Costco in Hawaii Kai (333 Keahole Street, Honolulu, HI 96825.) It was a much longer drive to get there, but this one is much better overall. There’s fairly ample parking, not as crowded, and cleaner overall.

Your other alternative is the Costco in Waipahu (94-1231 Ka Uka Boulevard, Waipahu, HI 96797.) Although geographically, it did not make any sense for me to shop here, my friend Tim in Waipahu assures me that it is much better than the Alakawa Honolulu Costco.

Actually, when you think about it, I can’t imagine any Costco being worse than the one on Alakawa. Avoid the Alakawa Costco at all costs!