Oh Aloha!: The Waikiki Whirl
Pooltime in Waikiki
With mainland flights into Lihue, Kahului and Kona, we often overlook Oahu. But Honolulu’s tropical, traffic-jammed city vibe deserves a return visit, especially with recent upscale upgrades on Waikiki Beach.
The iconic Royal Hawaiian (rates from $350, 808.923.7311) opened after a much-needed $85 million remodel, bringing the “pink palace of the Pacific” back into the luxury resort game. The airier design scheme may be a bit W-esque for traditionalists, but we love the shocking pink perfection of the place, especially the hotel-within-a-hotel Royal Beach Tower’s Zen-tastic two-story spa suites. But when it comes to towers, it’s hard to trump the man himself. The Donald’s 38-story, 464-room Trump International Hotel Waikiki (rates from $425) opened in November, and we can’t wait to check out its (no doubt understated) tropical deco design and chef Laurent Tourondel’s BLT Steak restaurant.
And the red-headed love child of Ian Schrager and Bill Marriott, Edition, the duo’s new boutique hotel brand, will debut its Waikiki location in mid-2010, with a Studio 54 and Iron Chef Masahara Morimoto’s first Hawaii restaurant.
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