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Trump Waikiki Is Now Open for a Lei

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 223 Saratoga Road [map], Honolulu, HI, United States, 96815
November 17, 2009 at 8:04 AM | by juliana | 0 Comments

If you're a discerning traveler who only enjoys spending the night at Trump Hotels, then you can finally start booking your Hawaii vacation as Trump Waikiki has finally opened its doors to real live guests yesterday. The AP reports:

The 38-story, 463-unit tower is located steps from the sand and Fort DeRussy Park. It features a library, wine cellar and a spa, along with 24-hour room, valet and concierge services. The fully furnished suites, which have views of the Pacific and the Honolulu skyline, feature everything from high-end appliances to Italian marble counters.

Oh and let's not forget about the hotel's very kid-friendly services!

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Lounge at a Hawaii Resort for Just $57 a Night

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 78 6844 ALII DRIVE [map], KAILUA, HI, United States, 96740
September 11, 2009 at 12:20 PM | by KatieK | 0 Comments

This rainy East Coast day has us pining for sunny vacations. Turns out, for once, we might actually be able to afford it too. Now through Sept. 17th, you can book stays at Kona Coast Resort starting at just $57 (!). That’s a savings of 45 percent off stays up to five nights and 65 percent off stays five days or longer; valid through Dec. 18 (not counting Oct. 3-11 or Nov. 22-27). We’re impressed!

Kona Coast Resort sits on the beaches of the Big Island’s Kona Coast, with fully furnished villas on 21 tropical acres, swimming pools, hula lessons and dive instruction, a 36-hole golf course and on-site spa services.. The package also includes a Pool Time Fun Kit complete with a tote bag, flip-flops, and tic-tac-toe towel and game.

Book the deal at the resort’s weekly updated blog, ShellHospitality.com/blog. Mahalo!

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St. Regis Princeville Will Indeed Re-Open on Oct. 1

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 5520 Kahaku Rd [map], Princeville, HI, United States, 96722
September 2, 2009 at 11:14 AM | by KatieK | 0 Comments

Despite our fears for the worst, it seems the St. Regis Princeville is actually still on track to reopen Oct. 1 (or Sept. 26, if you trust its website). The first-ever St. Regis resort on Hawaii, the Kauai resort is finishing up a multi-million dollar renovation that includes a new Halele’a Spa, golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones II, and a new resto—called Kaua’I Grill—by Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

To ring in the good news, the 252-room St. Regis Princeville is launching the Quintessential Celebration Series, a four-part guest party through October and November. The four celebration offers will be available to a limited number of guests and will include a five-night stay for two, beachside welcome reception, two days of activities and events, and a ticket to the St. Regis Princeville Gala Evening with “notable honorary guests.”

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Maui Owie: The Maui Prince to Close Next Month

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 5400 Makena Alanui [map], Maui, HI, United States, 96753
September 1, 2009 at 8:34 AM | by juliana | 1 Comment

The first Hawaiian hotel casualty of the recession has been claimed--The Maui Prince Hotel and Makena Golf Course will close on September 16, according to news reports. The hotel's management company, Prince Resorts Hawaii, was forced to close the hotel after the owners defaulted on a mortgage of $192.5 million. And it wasn't just the mortgage the owners couldn't keep up with--they couldn't keep up with their end of the operation contract either.

So while a hotel in foreclosure usually doesn't affect the guest experience during their stay, once the hotel owners are unable to meet the demands of their contract with the hotel management company, then things really start to go south.

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Start Your Vacation By Waiting in a Line at the Grand Wailea Resort

Where: 3850 Wailea Alanui Dr [map], Wailea, HI, United States, 96753
August 21, 2009 at 8:54 AM | by juliana | 0 Comments

Last month, we told you that the Grand Wailea Resort and Spa in Wailea, Maui might have the coolest pool amenities (little grottos, a kiddie pool with a beach, waterslides galore) but that the place was too crowded with children for anyone to truly enjoy.

Well, we thought you might like some photographic evidence of just how crowded the pool scene is: here's a snapshot of the line for beach cabanas that we snapped last Friday.

Guests (only hotel guests are allowed access to the resort) must wait in this line before obtaining one of the beach cabanas. As usual with pool chairs and the like, the early bird gets the coveted seat on the beach and by early bird we mean folks who rise before 7:30am.

Also, a quick word about those cabanas--they look ratty and old. We stayed at this resort back in 1996 and we're pretty sure those are the same cabanas in use then. Not surprisingly, the GWR is a part of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection, whose resort properties continue to disappoint with their old, run-down facilities.

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Antonio Sabato Jr. Looks for Love (On Camera) at Hilton's Waikoloa Village

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 69-425 Waikoloa Beach Drive [map], Waikoloa, HI, United States, 96738
August 11, 2009 at 9:20 AM | by globetrotting gourmet | 0 Comments

Yeah, we’re kinda embarrassed that we think former Calvin Klein manty model Antonio Sabato Jr. is still kinda hot. Maybe it’s his chiseled cheek bones, perfectly tanned skin, and taut, muscular abs, but we will never ever hold his appearance on Ally McBeal against him. Sigh.

The commitment-phobic Italian actor has jumped from daytime to prime time soap operas (and back again), and most recently, playing his hunk-alicious self on Ugly Betty. He managed to wed Alicia Tully Jensen for one whole year, knock up both Virginia Madsen and Kristin Rossetto, and has been linked to Nicolette Scorsese, Vanessa Marcil and Rachael Cook.

Now, at ye old mature age of 36, Sabato, Jr. seems to think he’s ready to settle down (uh huh) and like every D-list celebrity in need of a career refresher (hello, Bret Michaels, Denise Richards, and Janice Dickenson!), he’s hooked up with a reality show to make his dreams come true. Barf.

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Trump Waikiki is Going After Your Family

August 4, 2009 at 4:21 PM | by Jenna | 3 Comments

Trump NYC aims for 'tweens (hey, we're just callin' them like we see 'em — though we've been told by some very authentic Trump NYC fans that the hotel is very luxurious and wonderful), and now Trump Waikiki is going for families. Which is...interesting.

With steep room rates on the ol' calendar — we heard $300-$395 and $650-$670 for standard and oceanfront rooms, all the way up to $1,440 for two-bedroom suites — this palce has luxury written all over it. Uh, luxury...and family.

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Table One at Halekulani Now Taking Reservations for August 1

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 2199 Kalia Road [map], Honolulu, HI, United States, 96815
July 28, 2009 at 4:12 PM | by globetrotting gourmet | 0 Comments

Since we heard that The King of Cocktail, Dale DeGroff had a hand in revamping Halekulani’s Lewer’s Lounge cocktail menu, we decided to pop into the swank Hawaiian spot on a recent tour of the islands. We muddled through some cocktail R&D, had a delish dinner at House Without a Key, and got an unexpected culinary two-fer, as the poshy posh resort had just announced the August debut of their Table One.

The resort’s Executive Chef Vikram Garg is touting Table One as a “restaurant within the restaurant” located in the atrium of the hotel's Orchids restaurant (pictured above.) Is this kind of like the hotel within a hotel trend we see in Vegas? Regardless, it sounds exclusive.

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Honua Kai Wants To Save You Money On Maui (We Think)

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: North Beach Kaanapali [map], Maui, HI, United States
July 23, 2009 at 10:05 AM | by amandak | 0 Comments

Last time we checked out the Honua Kai Resort & Spa on Maui, they were just about to open the first half of the resort and had $195 opening specials. Today, it's still a year before the second half of the resort opens, but the specials are back with the frugal vacationer in mind.

The new deal is that from September 1 through December 12, Honua Kai is offering you a "dream deal" with up to 50% off rack rates, which brings them back to the $195 a night rate they started with. Their press release on the deal is very careful to name lots of reasons why you can save money at the Honua Kai: for example, you get a shade umbrella for free next to the pool, instead of the $100 a day you might pay at other Maui resorts for a shade cabana. You can also save some bucks by cooking in your own suite, they suggest, because you can now buy any ingredients you're after at the Aina Gourmet Market.

Be careful with the fine print, though. Even though Honua Kai seems very keen to save you money, there are quite a few mentions of a $25 per day "daily resort service fee" on their website, so check if you'll need to pay that too before you do your calculations.

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After a Time-Out, The Ilikai Has Gotten It Together and Will Re-Open

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1777 Ala Moana Blvd [map], Honolulu, HI, United States, 96815
July 14, 2009 at 11:50 AM | by Jenna | 0 Comments

Okay, so Hawaii's Ilikai (famous for the Hawaii Five-0 opening-sequence shots) fairly-suddenly closed last week, citing too-extreme operating costs. But now it seems to have taken a hot time-out, has gotten itself together and will re-open again. Yeah, alright.

According to reports, the hotel will "reopen as soon as practically possible under a new management team and operational structure." That is, iStar, the owners, said its subsidiary had "reached an agreement with the union representing workers at the hotel." Will it re-brand or will it open as the Ilikai still? It's looking like the latter — we could book a room (for $97) on July 21st.

The hotel is going to go back and rehire about 50-ish employees under new terms, and drama, drama, drama — but we're still sitting here wondering whether this is ever going to become Hawaii's Edition or not.

What's the deal here? Does anyone know? Someone clue us in — Edition's website hasn't been updated in a long, long time.

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Uh, Why Do People Care About the 'Trump' Name So Much?

July 14, 2009 at 8:55 AM | by Jenna | 1 Comment

Uh-oh! Remember how we told you that Trump Fort Lauderdale was having some sorta-bigtime issues and may not have the Trump name on it after all? The condo-hotel development's "opening date" of late 2009 was a little bit ambitious, and developers had sent a letter out to condo buyers to notify them that the folks behind the project were in default of a licensing agreement that allowed use of Trump's name on the project — and then, when buyers heard that there was a pretty decent possibility that Trump's name was going to be yanked from the building altogether, they wanted nothing to do with the place and sued developers for misleading them into thinking Trump was definitely going to be in on the project. Whoops!

And then we told you that Trump Waikiki was having no such issue, and was moving along just fine. But: not so!

Pacific Business News reports today:

Buyers of 11 of the units at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Waikiki filed a lawsuit Monday against the developer seeking to cancel their purchase contracts because use of Donald Trump’s name on the luxury condominium project is not guaranteed.

Sounds mighty familiar.

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Add Tropics Bar & Grill To Your Waikiki Bar-Hopping Itinerary

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 2005 Kalia Road [map], Honolulu, HI, United States, 96815
July 8, 2009 at 2:43 PM | by globetrotting gourmet | 0 Comments

Note: This "cheeseburger in paradise" might look a little different on your plate.

It’s rare we meet a bar we don’t like, and since a night out on Waikiki wouldn’t be complete without making the Mai Tai rounds, we were stoked to hear about Oahu’s latest addition – Tropics Bar & Grill at The Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa.

It may lack the see-and-be-scene cachet of nearby “it” bar at Nobu or the Mai Tai Bar, but for some good ‘ole al fresco eatin’ and drinkin’ smack dab on Waikiki Beach with photo-op worthy sunset shots of the Pacific Ocean, the lively spot can’t be beat.

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