Hawaii is more sought after than ever before. A record-breaking 7.3-million tourists are expected to visit in 2005. Occupancy rates in hotels are running 80 to 90 percent. What does this means for visitors? Book in advance, especially during the very popular summer months and Christmas vacation -- and don't expect "deals" during these months. With a little advanced planning, you can find plenty of bargains the rest of the year, however.
Here's a roundup of the changes that have occurred in Hawaii since the last edition of Frommer's Hawaii.
Planning Your Trip
With more visitors coming to Hawaii, the airlines have increased the number of flights and in some cases added new flights. Low-cost carrier American West (tel. 800/327-7810; www.americanwest.com), which currently has flights from Phoenix to Honolulu and Maui through its code-share partner, Hawaiian Airlines, will begin its own nonstop service to Honolulu and Maui on December 16. Then in March, they will add non-stop service between Maui and Las Vegas, plus nonstop service from Phoenix to Kauai and the Big Island.
Both Hawaiian Airlines (tel. 800/367-5320; www.hawaiianair.com) and Aloha Airlines (tel. 800/367-5250; www.alohaairlines.com) now have non-stop flights from Honolulu to San Diego. In addition, Aloha is flying direct from Maui to San Diego. Starting September 29, Hawaiian will also fly direct from Honolulu to San Jose.
Northwest Airline (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com) has joined Hawaiian Airlines in offering direct flights from Portland to Honolulu. Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com) has doubled its flight capacity to Hawaii from both Salt Lake City and Atlanta, two cities where it's the only airline offering direct scheduled service.
A new airline start-up, FlyHawaii Airlines (tel. 808/599-5588; www.flyhi.com) claims it is still on target to have its low-cost, interisland turboprop planes up and running by the first quarter of 2006. The ATR72 aircrafts, which seats 68, will start with daily flights between Honolulu and Maui, with flights from Honolulu to Kauai, Hilo, and Kona coming a few months later. Chris Parsons, FlyHawaii's vice president of administration, says that tickets will cost about $50 one-way (currently Hawaiian and Aloha Airlines offer tickets starting at $79 one way).
Beginning in early 2007, the Hawaii Superferry (www.hawaiisuperferry.com) will provide interisland ferry service between the islands at an estimated cost of $42 to $70 each way. In addition to carrying 900 passengers, the 385-foot wave-piercing catamaran will also carry 282 vehicles and travel up to 45 miles an hour (a 3-hour travel time from Maui or Kauai to Honolulu and a 4-hour travel time one-way from the Big Island to Honolulu). The $75-million vessel is currently under construction.
The Norwegian Cruise Line (tel. 800/327-7030; www.ncl.com) has added the 2,144-passenger ship, Pride of America, to join the Pride of Aloha, in 7-day cruises around the Hawaiian Islands stopping on Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and both sides of the Big Island.
Oahu
Be sure to book in advance when reserving a hotel room in Waikiki. Not only are more visitors coming to Hawaii , but Waikiki has lost some 800-hotel rooms from the redevelopment project Waikiki Beach Walk. The biggest project to take place in Waikiki in decades, this total renovation of 8 acres (bound by Saratoga Road, Kalakaua Avenue, Lewers Street, and Kalia Road) will change the look of the entrance to Waikiki. Outrigger Hotels & Resorts is overseeing the $420-million demolition and reconstruction of 11 different hotels. The hotels will be razed, upgraded, or changed to suites or condos so that only five hotels and timeshare condominiums remain. Construction is expected to be completed by 2007. If you want to see what's going on, Outrigger has a website, www.waikikibeachwalk.com, that consists of four web cameras positioned so you have a front row seat in the biggest redevelopment that's ever taken place in Waikiki.
Aston Resorts, which managed some 28 different hotels and condominiums statewide, including 12 on Oahu, will be rebranded this month as ResortQuest Properties (tel. 877/ 997-6667; www.resortquesthawaii.com).
The Doubletree Alana Hotel-Waikiki (tel. 800/222-TREE; www.hiltonhawaii.com) has just completed $2.9 million in renovations to the boutique hotel's guest rooms, including new carpet, wallpaper, woven palm frond curtains, refinished and reupholstered furniture, new 25-inch televisions and "Sweet Dreams" pillow bed tops. In addition the hotel has wireless "G" Internet throughout the hotel and hard-wired DSL high-speed access on four floors.
BiggageDirect (tel. 800/959-4424; www.baggagedirect.com) is offering a no-hassle return trip home. Guests of the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach and Outrigger Reef on the Beach can receive their boarding passes and ship off their luggage to the airport before they even check out of their hotel room. A BaggageDirect representative will deliver their boarding pass and pick up and transport their luggage to the airport, take it through the federal security screening, and make sure it is checked to the final destination, taking the stress out of leaving Hawaii. The visitor can board the plane carefree knowing their luggage will be delivered to its final destination. If travelers are going to Los Angeles International Airport or San Diego International Airport, they can arrange for their luggage to be delivered to their homes as well. The cost begins at $30 for the primary traveler and $15 for each additional passenger. Currently BaggageDirect is only serving passengers traveling on Aloha, ATA, Continental, and Hawaiian Airlines.
The Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa (tel. 800/367-5370; www.marriottwaikiki.com) has added the Tepa Tasi Luau and Show to its culinary lineup. Every Friday, beginning at 6:30 pm, guests follow the lit torches to the outdoor luau on the Pualeilani Terrace. As the sun sets, guests interact with Hawaiian cultural experts and artisans or try their hand at making leis and palm frond weaving. A buffet dinner with everything from roasted Hawaiian pig to poi (with a few familiar items like steamed mahi-mahi and grilled steak) is served, followed by contemporary Polynesian entertainment featuring the dances, songs, and chants of the Pacific islands. Cost is $80 for adults and $50 for children ages 5 to 12. A cocktail show package is available for just $40 (for both adults and children).
Several new restaurants have opened on Oahu, including the E & O Trading Company (Ward Centre, 1200 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu; tel. 808/591-9555; www.eotrading.com), a chain eatery featuring Southeast Asian cuisine (Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and East India) served on small, tapa-sized plates, open for lunch and dinner, with entrée prices ranging from $7 to $13 for small plates.
The Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel (5000 Kahala Ave., Kahala; tel. 808/739-8770; www.mandarinoriental.com) has added another restaurant to its collection: the Cabanas Seaside Grill. The outdoor dining area consists of a cluster of white canvas tents situated by the ocean. In the privacy of your own cabana you can order from the Mediterranean-influenced menu. Entrees are pricy (fresh fish is sold by the pound at market prices from $32 to $58 a pound), but you can't beat the ambience.
The neighborhood eatery Town (3435 Waialae Ave., Honolulu; tel. 808/735-5900) offers a great selection of what chef/owner Ed Kenney calls "American Bistro" food, and judging by the long lines and hard-to-get reservations, it's a hit. Entrees range from $7.50 to $17.
Close to the Hawaii Convention Center, Shokudo Japanese Restaurant and Bar (1585 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu tel. 808/941-3701; www.shokudojapanese.com) has created quite a buzz, not only for its design (fashioned by Tokyo designer Yasumichi Morita, who created Megu in Manhattan) -- a dramatic, high-ceiling dining room with tiered seating in the bar -- but also for its cuisine, which ranges from traditional Japanese to fusion. Even the menu is stunning, with color photos of each dish. Entrees are large and range from $9 to $20.
If you are looking for a culinary education while you're in Hawaii, former Honolulu Advertiser restaurant critic, Matthew Gray, offers a Hawaii Food Tour (tel. 800/715-2468; www.hawaiifoodtour.com). A former professional chef, Matthew offers three different guided restaurant tours of Honolulu. You are picked up from your Waikiki hotel in an air-conditioned van and driven to the various restaurants. Along the way, you'll learn about Hawaii's history, culture, and architecture, and get the opportunity to sample some great food that you probably wouldn't have tried if you didn't have a food critic urging you on. The tours range from the Hole in the Wall tour, where you visit four very tiny restaurants and sample food ranging from Vietnamese to Indian to local-style eats for $59 per person to the Gourmet Trilogy Tour, recommended for food and wine lovers, where you to three different restaurants, progressing from appetizers and champagne to Mediterranean cuisine and dessert for $149 per person.
After 8 years on Maui, the Hula Bowl, the college all-star game, is moving back to Oahu to the Aloha Stadium (99-500 Salt Lake Blvd., Honolulu; tel. 808/486-9555; www.alohastadium.hawaii.gov) on Jan. 21, 2006.
Big Island
The major resorts on the Big Island report several key changes. Kona Village Resort (tel. 800/367-5290; www.konavillage.com) has a range of new services and a new activity: Hertz Rent-a-Car (www.hertz.com) is now on site. The resort also has a new airport transportation service for guests. They have decided to bring back Paniolo Nights, a weekly feast with food and music celebrating the heritage of Hawaii's cowboys. A private adventure to the volcano is offered as a new activity for guests. Guests leave the Village from the resort's private helipad and fly in a helicopter to the current eruption site at the Kilauea Volcano. The tour lands at a private house in a lush oasis surrounded by recent lava flows in the Royal Garden subdivision. The guests return to the Village after a tour circling the island. The Red Roof Adventure is $475 per person.
Next door, at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai (tel. 888/340-5662; www.fourseasons.com), the Lava Lounge is open on the top floor of the oceanfront signature restaurant Pahu i'a. The main attraction, in addition to the sunset, is the lounge's signature martinis (MaiTai-tini, Tiny-tini, Lychee-tini and Pele's Fire-tini) and the live piano music by Ron Creager. Downstairs, Chef Brian Doherty has taken over the kitchen at Pahu i'a, steering diners from tempting appetizers (ranging from ahi and foie gras to Kona lobster and Dungeness crab salad) to creations constructed of just-caught Hawaiian fish (steamed snapper, seared ahi, slow-baked opah, and poached Kona lobster) to mouthwatering desserts (homemade pikaki ice cream).
Up the Queen Kaahumanu Highway, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel (tel. 866/PRINCE-6; www.maunakeabeachhotel.com) is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and is offering an Anniversary Package rate of 40 percent off rack rates (discounted rates start at $345 a night) plus daily buffet for two until December 22, 2005.
The Fairmont Orchid (tel. 800/845-9905; www.fairmont.com) has just completed a new outdoor spa with 10 island hale (small huts) nestled among the waterfalls and tropical foliage, plus five oceanfront massage cabanas. Chef Stephen Rouelle has taken over the helm at Brown's Beach House and is creating wonderful cuisine from the Big Island's produce, products, and seafood. His signature dishes include Big Island shutome (swordfish) poached in olive oil and Keahole vanilla lobster bisque.
Maui
Destination Resorts Hawaii's (tel. 800/367-5246; www.drhmaui.com) is now offering the terrific amenity of free long-distance calls (yes, you can call New York City or Abu Dhabi for free) at all their condominium properties in Wailea and Makena (Wailea Ekolu Village, Wailea Grand Champions Villas, Wailea Ekahi Village, Wailea Elua Village, Polo Beach Club, and Makena Surf). In other news, all of the company properties have high-speed Internet access and free parking, and the Polo Beach Club is completely nonsmoking (no smoking on the lanais, units, pool, or Jacuzzi even!).
Even if you can't make it to Maui this year, the Hale Pau Hana Resort (tel. 800/367-6036; www.hphresort.com), in Kihei, has a live web-cam covering Kamaole Beach Park II, so you can lust after the terrific weather and tropical setting.
In Kaanapali, the Sheraton Maui Resort (tel. 800/782-9466; www.sheraton.com/maui) is continuing renovations to the 510-unit property with new carpeting, wallpaper, furniture upholstery, and the new Sheraton "Sweet Sleeper Bed" (with dreamy pillow-top mattress, high coil count, and "Stay True Foam" to guarantee you will sleep in absolute comfort). In addition, all the rooms are now wired for high-speed access, and unlimited access is part of the daily resort amenity charge ($17 a day). For children, the resort has just started a "Bubble Makers" Junior Scuba Class designed for kids ages 8 and up where they learn scuba skills and underwater safety while hunting for sea treasures. Fee is $49 per child.
Just down Kaanapali Beach, the Royal Lahaina Resort (tel. 800/44-ROYAL; www.hawaiihotels.com) has reopened Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai Bar, outfitted in tropical decor and serving a variety of Polynesian liquid libations from 6pm to midnight daily. Additional entertainment is available at the Royal Lahaina Luau every Sunday and Tuesday to Friday evenings. Cost is $77 for adults and $38 for children 12 and under.
Speaking of luaus, the best luau in the state, the Old Lahaina Luau (tel. 800/248-5828; www.oldlahainaluau.com) is adding a new day program, Ho'omana'o, on Wednesday and Friday, from 8:30 to 11am, which serves a huge breakfast, provides Hawaiian entertainment, and offers interactive cultural experiences centered around hula, warfare, agriculture, and fishing. Tickets are $69 for adults and $49 for children 12 and under. They suggest that children 7 and older would be appropriate because there is a great emphasis on education.
The latest restaurant to open on Maui is the Pineapple Grill at Kapalua Resort (200 Kapalua Dr., Kapalua; tel. 808/66909600; www.pineapplekapalua.com), where Chef Joey Macadangdang (former protégé of Roy Yamaguchi and executive chef at Roy's Kihei) has created a new twist on Pacific Islands cuisine with such Asian/Filipino dishes as Asian-style bouillabaisse (with lemongrass) or Lehua honey-cured pork chops. Entrees range from $26-$32. The restaurant sits atop Pineapple Hill overlooking the Bay Golf Course and the ocean. If you can tear your eyes away from that view, an exhibition kitchen at the entry is worth a look, with a black-marble bar with plasma-screen TVs and a dining room subdivided into themed mini-rooms.
The Pacific Whale Foundation (tel. 800/942-5311; www.pacificwhale.org) has opened a new Interpretive Center in their Ocean Science Discovery Center, in the Harbor Shops at Maalaea. The free center has displays on whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and other ocean critters, video showings, and a tidepool with live animals. Open daily 10 am to 3pm.
The Sunset Jazz Show, every Sunday from 5 to 8 pm, joins the lineup of free entertainment at the Whalers Village (tel. 808/661-4567; www.whalersvillage.com), in Kaanapali. Center stage features the who's who of the jazz world, from George Benson to Paul Marchetti to John Zangrado. Other free entertainment at the Whaler's Village include Drums of Tahiti with Polynesian Dancers; a Polynesian Hula Show; and a Tahitian Dance.
Molokai
Until December 25, 2005, the Lodge and Beach Villas at Molokai Ranch (tel. 888/627-8082; www.molokairanch.com) is offering a Spirit of Molokai Package, which includes accommodations, breakfast, and a choice of either 18 holes of golf, a 50-minute massage, or horseback riding for $138 for the Beach Village (rack rates are $268 to $358, without breakfast or activity) or $178 at the lodge (rack rates are $398 to $478, without breakfast or activity).
Lanai
After extensive renovations that include the addition of a new fitness center and "indoor movement studio," the Manele Bay Hotel (tel. 800/321-4664; www.lanai-resorts.com) will be rebranded as Four Seasons Resort-Lanai at Manele Bay on October 1, 2005. The sister hotel, located in Lanai City, the Lodge at Koele, will begin renovations next year to bring it up to the famous Four Seasons standards, and will be rebranded in late 2006.
Kauai
Closed since Hurricane Iniki slammed into Kauai and nearly destroyed it, the Coco Palms Resort, which Elvis Presley made famous when he filmed Blue Hawaii in 1961, is now scheduled to reopen in 2008. Located on 45 acres in Wailua, the resort will be developed into a 104-room hotel, with three restaurants and 200 condominium units. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2006.
The Hyatt Regency Kauai (tel. 800/55-HYATT; www.kauai-hyatt.com) has been rebranded as the Grand Hyatt Kauai. Hard to believe that this luxury hotel (one of Hawaii's best) can get "grander," but the new multimillion-dollar renovations of this already "grand" resort has taken the level of casual elegance to a new level.
Several new restaurants have opened. In Lihue, e.b.'s EATS (3-3142 Kuhio Hwy., Lihue; tel. 808/632-0328) is a tiny bakery/deli/cafe that serves up a healthy breakfast and lunch at an unbelievably low price (most of the items are under $9).
Also in Lihue, the chain restaurant Genki Sushi (Kukui Grove Shopping Center, 3-2600 Kaumualii Hwy., Lihue; tel. 808/632-2450) offers families a place to bring the kids along, who will be fascinated with the conveyor belt carrying plates of sushi around the counter.
Up north, another new restaurant to open is Kilauea Fish Market (4270 Kilauea Lighthouse Rd., Kilauea; tel. 808/828-6244), perfect for a takeout picnic lunch or an easy dinner to go. Most items are under $10.
A couple of restaurants in Kapaa have been so successful that they have moved to bigger quarters: Blossoming Lotus (Dragon Building, 4504 Kukui St., Kapaa; tel. 808/822-7678; www.blossominglotus.com) has relocated just around the corner but still serves the same great organic gourmet vegan cuisine. The Olympic Café has moved to 1354 Kuhio Hwy., Kapaa (tel. 808/822-5825), but serves the same huge breakfast, filling lunch, and reasonably priced dinners.
Recently the Sheraton Kauai, Poipu Beach (tel. 808/742-8200; www.sheratonkauai.com), launched the island's only oceanfront luau, the Surf to Sunset Luau, held on Monday and Friday, beginning at 6 pm; $68 to $80 for adults and $34 for children ages 6 to 12.
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