HotelChatter

For the Sake of Hotel Art / Hotel Bookshelves / Waikiki Hotels / Edition Hotels / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags

Books, iPads, and Surfboards Are Just a Few of the Waikiki Edition's Favorite Things

Where: 1775 Ala Moana Boulevard [map], Waikiki, HI, United States, 96815

The brand-new Waikiki Edition Hotel officially opens on October 15 but lucky guests have been able to stay at the hotel during its soft-opening for the past two weeks. And while we've learned that the hotel has loaner iPads available for guests, we just found out the lobby also sports an old-school bookcase. Ok, it's a little savvier than a traditional bookcase.

A large, rotating bookcase divides the lobby space so it can be closed off to separate and define the Lobby Bar, which is hidden behind this secret passage as if tucked away in a castle. This bookcase will feature rotating art installations by local artists as well as curated collections of objects, books and memorabilia.

And are those iPads we see there on the shelves? Possibly. No, actually they are digital frames. But still, that's not all the lobby of the Waikiki Edition has to offer.

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Hot Hotelier News / Ian Schrager / Edition Hotels / Waikiki Hotels / → All Tags

Congrats to Ian Schrager as He Welcomes His First of Two Babies This Year

Where: 1775 Ala Moana Boulevard [map], Waikiki, HI, United States, 96815

Page Six reported yesterday that master hotelier Ian Schrager welcomed his first son into the world as his wife Tania gave birth the other day to a baby boy they named Louis. (Ian also has four daughters.) Congrats! Our tight-fitting muscle onesies in black and grey are in the mail!

But Ian's good news also made us feel like checking in on another one of his babies--The Waikiki Edition which he created in partnership with Bill Marriott.

Last we heard, the hotel was set to open on October 5 at $195 a night. So far, that date and rate are still holding. But of major concern? The hotel is a month away from opening and there are still no room photos.

HotelChatter did get some photos of the hotel's exterior during construction but we're still curious as to how this place looks for real. Anyone wanna help us out?

Hotel Contests / Hawaii Hotels / Aston Hotels / → All Tags

Take a Picture of a Hawaiian Sunset and Win 3 Nights in Waikiki

Where: 229 Paoakalani Avenue [map], Waikiki, HI, United States, 96815

This weekend, instead of sitting on your butt and not winning contests, how about you sit on your butt but win a contest? Aston Hotels is asking everyone who's ever been to Hawaii to send in their best Hawaiian sunset photo for a chance at winning one of three 3-night stays at their Aston Waikiki Sunset resort.

But this can't be just some iPhone photo; the images must "capture the essence of a Hawaiian sunset" and they will be judged for "composition, creativity, clarity and technical quality." This whole contest is to celebrate the hotel's $15 million renovation, so you won't be staying in some old Hawaii hotel that smells of moth balls. This is a place with rooms that have fully-equipped kitchens, flatscreen LCD TVs and private lanais, so putting a little effort into choosing your photo is advised.

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Aqua Hotels Hawaii / Hotel Deals / Hawaii Hotels / → All Tags

It's Nifty to be Fifty in Hawaii

Where: Waikiki, HI, United States

If you hadn’t picked up on it, turning 50 is totally in vogue this year (see: Madonna, Prince). It’s all about empowerment, people.

That’s why we’re 100 percent behind Aqua Hotels & Resorts’ birthday bargain deal in honor of Hawaii’s 50th anniversary of statehood. (Also, we like cheap hotel rates.) Offering a “Nifty to Be Fifty Statehood Special,” the 12-hotel chain in Waikiki is charging just $50 for the first night of a three-night stay — valid all the way through Dec. 30, 2009. And since additional nights are only $119 at Aqua Boutique hotels and $89 at Aqua Lite properties, well, color us impressed (not to mention lusty for a jaunt to Hawaii).

And to prove just how nifty it is to turn 50, Aqua also offers a free amenity for guests 50 and older (per room), plus a complimentary 1959-inspired “Aloha from the 50th State” postcard and an optional 30-minute mini-massage at the spa for $50.

[Photo: Flickr user derek728ia]

Nobu / Hawaii Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / Waikiki Hotels / → All Tags

Score a Taste of Nobu Waikiki Parc for Less than $20

Where: 2233 Helumoa Road [map], Waikiki, HI, United States, 96815

Sigh, Nobu Restaurant: if only we were able to dine with you and indulge in your delicious cuisine without feeling our wallets go empty while our stomachs filled up.

Oh wait! Now we have another option.

Nobu Waikiki (inside the Waikiki Parc Hotel) has just launched a "European-style pre-dinner feature" called Apertivo to be served in the Lounge at Nobu:

Among his 21 globally-based restaurants, Chef Nobu has hand-selected Nobu Milano and Nobu Waikiki to celebrate this sophisticated pre-meal European-dining tradition. Available Monday through Friday from 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., Aperitivo will feature a tasting trio of the chef's selections of the day, served with a choice of a Nobu cocktail.

The price? $18 per person. Score.

So now you can say you dined at Nobu and nobody ever needs to know you just popped in for a little taste before dinner -- and, by the way, we were there a few weeks ago and the food was damn good.

[Photo: Nicole Lee]

Waikiki Hotels / Donald Trump / Hotel News / Hotel Hype / → All Tags

Two Donalds in Wakiki

Where: Corner of Saratoga and Kalia Roads [map], Waikiki, HI, United States

[UPDATE: Looks like all the condo units in Trump's new place sold out in one day. That's $700 million worth of rooms. Insanity.]

Don Ho hearts the Donald. The iconic kitsch crooner par excellence ,bought not one but two adjacent units in the $400 million Trump International Hotel and Tower at Waikiki Beach Walk. (Here, Ho is shaking on the deal with one of Trump's people.)

Donald the developer is collecting beaucoup bucks for this proposed project that has a hefty condo component and will also house the first new 5-star hotel built in Hawaii since the Four Seasons Hualalai and the first in Waikiki since the 1980s.

Despite average price tags of $1.5 million, 80 percent of the apartments are sold. The tower is to be located in a primo oceanview spot on the western side of Waikiki. Everyone -- a big alooooohaaaa to the Donald!

Image via Star-Bulletin

Related Stories:
· Donald Trump Wants to Lei You [HotelChatter]

Bed Bugs / → All Tags

Bed Bug Update: Not Even Hawaii is Safe

In tropical locations, we expect there will be bugs. But for some reason the thought of bed bugs invading hotels in Waikiki, Hawaii just doesn't seem fair.

Several hotels have been the target of lawsuits from former guests and now an 75 to 80 percent of all hotels in Waikiki are dealing with bed bugs in some way.

Recently, a local TV news team followed a bed bug expert into a hotel room (unfortunately, they did not say which one) and had him inspect the entire place including bedskirts, mattresses, box springs, and headboards.

But the expert revealed there are some new places the creepy crawlies can hide like in curtains, picture frames, and even electrical outlets.

We did a quick search of hotels in Waikiki and we found two guest reviews that mentioned bedbugs. The offending hotels? The Waikiki Resort and the Waikiki Beachside Hostel.

But if you know of any other Waikiki hotels (or other hotels in general) keep us posted.

Related Stories:
· Sleeping tight could get you a bite at hotel [KHON2]