July 2008 archive
Customers will cough up $15 for the first piece of checked luggage on flights between the Mainland and Hawaii starting for travel after Oct. 1 purchased on or after Aug. 1. This matches other airlines doing the same thing nationally.…
The next best thing to being there -- in 10 minutes or less.…
Money Mag sez Hawaii has six of the 25 cleanest air towns around, way out of proportion for such a small state. Mililani, Waipahu, Pearl City, Waimalu, Honolulu and Kaneohe logged rankings 20 through 25 on the clean list thanks…
Long remiss. Round up of latest resto news. More local photo reviews (finally) from Ono Kine Grindz , Izakaya Gaku (great Japanese sushi and small plates) and Mario's Cucina (Puerto Rican). Hank's Haute Dogs opens a Waikiki joint with two…
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Love this tour. Hope this lady gets very lucky on her honeymoon. This gives you a great idea of what the renovated rooms look like. Also love this hotel -- probably a top honeymoon choice for those who want…
Woman vacationer bitten on arm by shark off Lahillahi Point near Makaha on the Waianae Coast of Oahu. Rescue officials say they spied a 16-foot tiger shark shortely afterwards in nearby waters although it's unknown if that shark was the…
Turn down soundtrack on this and ignore the people pics but this is the best photomontage I've seen yet of Grand Wailea. It gives you insights as to why Hawaii's resort properties are looking dated, in many cases. The…
One o the primo destinos in all of Hawaii for camping has long been Haleakala Crater on the island of Maui. Alas, the hadnful of cabins operated by the National Park Service have long been next to impossible to nail…
The nice marketing folks from the Halekulani got angry with me for this post suggesting (clearly joking) that guests might get a nice upgrade if they claim that they have bedbugs. Not only is that not hotel policy, it was…
The dearth of classy, contemporary boites in Lahaina, Maui has long been a sore spot. You could belly up to the bar at a nice restaurant (Lahaina Grill, Pacific'O, Mala) but tipplers seeking appropriate launching pads for evening libations faced…
This is a crowd favorite. Picks up a bit of surf all the time. Blows out with true trades. Best in early mornings or late afternoons -- good for windsurfing when its blown. Rarely gets super scary and is…
This is a crowd favorite. Picks up a bit of surf all the time. Blows out with true trades. Best in early mornings or late afternoons -- good for windsurfing when its blown. Rarely gets super scary and is…
Chef Jojo Vasquez who kicked the kitchen of the Banyan Tree on Maui in Kapalua Resort up several notches left over a month ago to open a new resto on Oahu with a famous Iron Chef competition winner. Sayonara, Jojo.…
Here's the caveat. I eat at a lot of places around Hawaii and had not eaten at the Pineapple Grill so last time I was on Maui I jumped at the chance. ate at the Pineapple Grill for lunch and…
This reported in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin today:. Local hoteliers, who expect to see a 10 percent to 30 percent year-over-year drop in fall bookings for the industry's bread-and-butter hotels, plan to ask the Hawaii Tourism Authority for emergency action, including…
This is a pretty good slide. I wouldn't recommend for kids -- kinda dark. But the Hyatts all have great pools in Hawaii. Enjoy the lad behavior, as well..…
A nice post with a guide to Hawaii's summer fruits from a newish blog, Beat of Hawaii. Some of the information is not correct but it's generally good. A few corrections. Mangoes are available for a month in the summer…
Hawaiirama sure knows how to pick'em. I posted yesterday about bedbugsat the posh Halekulani. The hotel said it took care of them plus its bedbitten guest in April. Now it looks like this grand dame hotel is going to take…
I love Napili Beach. It's not a secret but its not totally blown, either. There are no major hotels on this gem of a bay, just south of Kapalua Resort. It's ringed by condos but none are taller than…
The only thing worse than getting bitten by bedbugs in a hotel room is getting bitten by bedbugs in a really, really expensive hotel room. Try adding that this room is in Hawaii (possibly for your honeymoon) and at one…
First it was a charge for a second checked bag. Then it was a charge for a first checked bag. Checkmate and angry interisland travelers. $10 more down the drain but hey, since all the airlines are swimming in red…
This place looks a lot like Pipeline but its actually a locally famous break in Northwest Maui called Windmills. It's pretty hairy. Check it out.…
Here's one of my favorite beaches in the islands for kids. Shallow waters in the near shore area, clear and cool, sandy bottoms are nice on the footsies. The far side of the beach is pretty much isolated with…
Aloha to Hawaiigaga.com! I have been trying out this new vertical search tool for Hawaii vacation rental units. It's pretty cool, although activity content remains thin. Still, a nifty Web 2.0 app and something quite useful compared to the…
Nice video segment on this Hilo classic. Secret sauce for shave ice? They custom make their own syrups. This is actually at a fishing supply store. No joke. (Warning: This video segment is from a program called Kamaainabackroads.com, a…
Check it out here at search.hawaiirama.com. Tell us what you think and what can be made better -- or if it totally rocks, tell us that, too. Hint -- this thing is best for detailed searches into Hawaii topics. We…
Comedy for a hot day in Hawaii. Gotta love Rap.…
C.J. Kanuha surfing in the hot zone. Not sure of the swell direction. Does it matter? Pray to Pele.…
The good folks over at Maui Time Weekly lay out the top 5 plate lunch palaces on the Valley Isle. I have been to Hana Hou in Haiku and can tell you its a superb plate. For the uninitiated, plate…
I posted a video of the pool at the Grand Wailea a bit back and it is the reigning champion of Hawaii hotel pools. The Hyatt runs a close second. It's more sprawling and more jungle like, with three…
So some people know that Maui onions rival Vidalias from Georgia fot the crown of sweetest on Earth. So sweet you can eat them raw and kiss your sweetheart. Witness the Maui Onion Festival raw onion contest, pictured here. This…
Hawaiian Airlines loves to publicize that it has, year in year out, one of the highest on-time arrival rates in the airline industry. This is good. Except when you consider that all their flights (I think) land in Hawaii or…
Hey, Lesa Griffith from the Honolulu Academy of Arts checking in. You haven't seen an Academy post in a while because, well, we started our own blog, aloHAA. Curators and other staffers documented the run-up to our big summer program,…
Turn down the sound (painful commentary) and check out the views from the ResortQuest Waikiki on this video. This is a partial ocean view. Doh! You'll get this room for a pittance compared to far less tasty fare in…
Curator Julie Cline has turned the Four Seasons in Wailea into perhaps the leading showspace for contemporary art in Maui and possibly in Hawaii overall. She has a beautiful whitewashed canvas. What's more, she regularly runs tours of the…
Here's a link to a nice, amateur tour of the honeymoon suite at the Halekulani. They won't let us embed the video but follow the link. It's a solid effort and the lady is lucky to stay in such a…
Sales of single family homes on Kauai for June 2008 are well down from comp numbers in 2007. Sales prices managed to skitter upwards. I'd say that won't last long. Bargain hunters, book your Hawaii tickets. We're heading for a…
Here's my post on HotelChattter.com regarding the new Aqua property in Waikiki. We love this feisty little Hawaii hotel chain, Aqua Hotels, for taking a modern spin on Waikiki resorts. Alas, they've only been able to grab second-tier (and sometimes…
Hulopoe Beach on Lanai is one of the best places in the islands to swim with spinner dolphins. It's also got a fun surf break, excellent snorkeling, and you can camp there if you don't feel like paying Four…
This is the best hotel pool in Hawaii and among the best in the world. It's almost a water park. Kids force their parents to spend exorbitant sums to stay at this hotel primarily to have easy access to…
Home prices on the island of Oahu fell on average by 8.8% last month, the steepest decline in recent memory. The fall compared prices of sales of existing single family homes on Oahu for June 2008 with the same period…
