Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel
by the TopOfHotel team
Kitano Mendana is the Japanese-run Honiara seafront classic — home to Hakubai, the only place in the country serving sushi this good, with a walkable location for the museum, the market and the government quarter.
Kitano Mendana is the Japanese-run Honiara seafront classic — home to Hakubai, the only place in the country serving sushi this good, with a walkable location for the museum, the market and the government quarter.
In-Depth Review
Rooms and decor
Picture a seafront hotel that has been part of Honiara since the 1980s, kept on its feet for four decades by a Japanese team from Kitano Construction — that's the appeal of the Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel. It has been the capital's reliable address for so long that diplomats, NGO staff and business travelers all know the name. The property has roughly 134 rooms split between the older East Wing and the renovated West Wing (often called the Ocean Wing). Book the new wing and you'll get a cream-and-brown room with dark wood floors, a comfortable bed with clean linens, and a private balcony that opens onto the garden or onto the Pacific. The East Wing rooms are almost the same size and noticeably cheaper, but the atmosphere shows the building's age. The hotel doesn't try to be boutique or showy — it goes for clean, orderly, low-friction Japanese standards. If you like a room that just works, this place will land well.
Food and amenities
The single feature that sets Kitano Mendana apart in Honiara is Hakubai, the in-house Japanese restaurant that reviewers repeatedly call the most authentic in the country. Quiet wood-and-paper Japanese interior, a sushi counter where the chef (flown in from Japan) builds plates in front of you, plus sashimi, tempura and short kaiseki-style set menus that are almost impossible to find anywhere else in the Pacific Islands. Next door is Capitana Restaurant, which handles the buffet breakfast and international service through the day — local Solomon plates, Western dishes, plus a few Chinese and Thai items. On the leisure side there's a rectangular outdoor pool ringed by palms and loungers, a pool bar for cold drinks, a fitness room for shaking off a long flight, and a set of meeting rooms that business travelers and international aid organizations book regularly. Front-desk staff speak fluent English, and a few speak Japanese — Asian guests will feel particularly at home.
Location and getting there
Location is the other big card the hotel plays. It sits on Mendana Avenue, the main artery hugging the north coast of Guadalcanal Island. Directly across the street is the Solomon Islands National Museum, which covers pre-colonial culture, the Pacific War, and modern Solomon identity in one compact building — you can wander over without crossing more than two lanes. From the lobby it's 8-10 minutes on foot to the Honiara Central Market, the most lively market in the country, and a few minutes more to Point Cruz Yacht Club — a low-key spot for evening drinks where you can watch yachts coming back into the harbor. Banks, the post office, embassies and several long-running restaurants are all in walking range. Honiara International Airport (HIR) is about 15 km east — roughly 30 minutes by road. The hotel will arrange an airport transfer with notice, and the lobby tour desk can book Iron Bottom Sound dive trips and Guadalcanal WWII battlefield day-tours.
Things to know before booking
To make the decision easier, here's what reviewers consistently flag. First, the East Wing rooms are genuinely worn — carpets, curtains and bathrooms show their age. Many reviewers explicitly tell future guests to upgrade to the Ocean Wing or an Ocean View room; the price difference is small and the experience gap is huge. Second, Wi-Fi is slow and patchy — this is a Solomon Islands infrastructure issue, not a hotel issue, but expect email-and-messaging speeds rather than streaming. If you must take Zoom calls, buy a local SIM from Our Telekom or bmobile at the airport as a backup. Third, the pricing doesn't feel cheap by regional standards — Honiara has very few 4-star options, so Kitano and Heritage Park dominate the top tier with little competition, and the food in the non-Japanese outlets can feel pricey for the quality. In the broader Pacific Islands context, though, the standard here is still well above average — book direct or compare a couple of sites, since weekday and weekend rates can move noticeably.
Our take
After reading hundreds of real reviews across Agoda, Booking and Tripadvisor, the picture is consistent: Solomon Kitano Mendana sells you a central Honiara seafront address, orderly Japanese-style service, and the country's best Japanese restaurant — all under one roof. If your mental image of this trip is meetings in the government quarter by day and an authentic sushi dinner with a Pacific sunset to close it out, this is the most coherent answer in town. If you're hoping for full-tilt Asian 5-star luxury or modern boutique design, Kitano won't hit that spec. Overall we land at 7.6/10 — best for business travelers, couples wanting orderly service, and families wanting peace of mind in the Solomon capital. One ask: book the Ocean Wing and reserve a Hakubai table on day one.
Score Breakdown
Assessed by our editorial team from data and real guest reviews
The Honest Verdict — pros & what to know
- Central Mendana Avenue address right on the seafront — directly opposite the National Museum, with the central market and government quarter 8-10 minutes on foot. Equally easy for sightseeing and for business meetings.
- Managed by Japan's Kitano Construction group, so service runs orderly, polite and detail-oriented in a way you almost never find in the Pacific Islands.
- The in-house Hakubai restaurant is widely called the best authentic Japanese kitchen in the Solomons — sushi, sashimi, tempura and short set menus prepared by a chef brought in from Japan.
- The renovated Ocean Wing rooms have dark wood floors, cream tones and private balconies — ideal for sundowners over the Pacific.
- Outdoor pool, pool bar, full meeting rooms and a fitness room — works for business travelers on conference duty and for families wanting a swim after sightseeing.
- East Wing rooms are noticeably cheaper but visibly worn — the carpets and furniture have been through a lot of years. If budget allows, jump up to the new wing.
- In-room Wi-Fi is slow and unreliable in patches — this is a Solomon Islands infrastructure issue rather than a hotel failing, but Zoom calls and video streaming will struggle. Bring a local SIM as backup.
- Pricing feels steep relative to what you get, mainly because Honiara has very few comparable 4-star options — Kitano and Heritage Park split the top tier with little competition, and the in-house non-Japanese food can feel expensive for the quality.
Who It’s For
Match Score by travel style
Amenities
Location & Nearby Spots
Things to do near Honiara
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Insider Tips
- Book an Ocean View room in the West/Ocean Wing only — it's just steps from the old wing but the room age and the balcony view are night and day.
- Reserve a table at Hakubai in advance, especially for Friday or Saturday dinner — order the sushi set or the tempura set. Regulars literally fly through Honiara to eat here.
- Walk across the street to the Solomon Islands National Museum (entry around 50 SBD / US$6) for Pacific War history and Solomon culture, then close the afternoon at Point Cruz Yacht Club with a sundowner and the harbor view.