A message from the Oahu Visitors Bureau that I like -- come to Hawaii this fall and support Susan Komen breast cancer research efforts. Here's a deal from Aqua Resorts.…

The grand dame of Waikiki hotels, the iconic Royal Hawaiian, reopened after extensive renovations roughly two weeks ago. Upgrades included renovations of the old rooms and decor, revamped restaurants and dining menus, and a new super pool for kids and…

I don't know how to do umlauts on the keyboard. SuperCW knows how to do everything else. Sigh. I wish I had her nightlife stamina. At any rate, she stayed at the Waikiki Parc, the hipper but cheaper version…

I've been noticing this for weeks as I passed through Waikiki on the way to surf or take my kids to the beach. More tents. More unkempt folks wandering the sidewalks in various states of confusion. More trash on the…

The Ilikai is one of the older hotels in Waikiki and never one of my favorites -- no easy beach access, set on a busy street, very boxy architecture, low ceilinged rooms. But it seemed destined for brighter times with…

Now might be the best time in literally 50 years for deals on luxury hotels in Hawaii. Which is good for travelers but sad for the hotels. I am hearing rumors that the higher-end properties are facing occupancies in the…

Word came out yesterday that the W Diamond Head will be reflagged as a Castle Resort property called the Lotus. It's a lovely little hotel that has slid since a big renovation and great expectations. The club downstairs is among…

So Disney is hoping to open up out there by 2011. The Ko Olina Resort Area is sorta kinda starting to take shape as Marriott gets some company out there. The resort will sport 350 hotel rooms and 480 vacation…

Apparently hoteliers are a little worried over on the Big Island. According to Pacific Business News, "Big Island occupancy dipped 1.3 percentage points to 57.1 percent, whole room rates plunged 10.1 percent to $156." I thought that must be a…

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 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…

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…

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…

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…

The good travel agents over at Travel Hawaii have done some homework on what guests pay to park at different hotels in Waikiki. It's a definite eye-opener. Rates range from free at the ResortQuest Waikiki Beach Tower to $25 per…

Aloha, Bruce here form Hawaii Aloha Travel, I am a local based travel agent who specializes in helping people plan Hawaii Vacations. I contribute reviews to Hawaiirama and also have my own blog, podcast and vodcast with lots of information…

Bruce blogging over at Hawaii-Aloha.com has a great video review of the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki. He's all over this puppy and Bruce makes this visits unannounced so there's no way to paper over any problems. This hotel is…

Aloha, Bruce here from Hawaii-Aloha.Com Last weekend we stayed at the Resortquest Waikiki Beach Hotel. Located on the far eastern end of Waikiki close to Kapiolani Park on Kalakaua Avenue, this property is just a few steps from a good…

Family crashed as the Kahala for a 4-night stay two weeks ago and got lucky enough to snag one of the newly renovated rooms at the classic resort which had been struggling of late, according to many online posters. A…

Time was, the Royal Garden Hotel in Waikiki was a happening place. The marble lobby aped elegance and the upstairs rooms were quite fine. The lush pool was a showpiece and Cascada Restaurant, helmed by Chef Sayada, put out supremely…

Hawaii's Governor Lindal Lingle floated a proposal today for the state to purchase Turtle Bay on Oahu's windy, wave-swept North Shore. She claimed that Hawaii has a "once in a lifetime chance" (according to PBN) to preserve the rural lifestyle…

Love Farecast. Want to come to Honolulu for a sweet P-Day long weekend? Da picks for hotel deals, according to the wizardry of Farecast, are the Moana Surfrider, recently renovated, lovely old style, and dirt cheap at $209 per night.…

Aloha, Bruce here again! Friday night we had an opportunity to stay at the Sheraton Waikiki and to tell you the truth, I really didn't know what to expect because it's been a while since I've actually stayed at the…

If you don't remember, I'm Bruce from Hawaii-Aloha.com, a Hawaii-based travel agency with excellent local expertise and an unbiased POV. I thought I would bring you up tp date with whats happening at the Moana Surfrider. The Moana hotel originally…

Honolulu Advertiser running a story on the latest in Hawaii's county governments' attempts to frighten away tourists (precisely when the visitor numbers are fallling) -- apparently city investigators have been mounting sting operations on vacation rental operators by posing as…

Alas, it won't be a full-fledged Polynesia-themed Magic Kingdom but Walt Disney unveiled plans for a new resort on Oahu's West Side in the up and coming Ko Olina Resort district. Disney has apparently purchased 21 acres of oceanfront property…

The legendary Pink Palace, an iconic presence on the sands of Waikiki, has long been a bit of a paradox. It oozes elegance and bygone luxury yet has clearly lacked TLC, staff training, and any decent food to speak of.…

The Outrigger Reef on the Beach has undergone a lot of renovations in the past year. True, it's still a box on the beach and hardly an architectural marvel. But the Outrigger chain has done a nice job of renovating…

As if the Kahala Resort hadn't had enough bad press lately. Apparently, famed stage and screen has-been actor walked on a $3,000 room charges tab from the Kahala after stealing the show in a local charity theater performance in Honolulu,…

I am a huge fan of Farecast.com, a sight that predicts airfare trends (and can help you save a lot of money by timing your buys). Farecast also is doing hotels and they are comparing past rates to current offerings…

As if Hawaii didn't have enough celebs. Then again, we can understand why Penn would love the North Shore enough to buy. It's is wild enough to still feel real, edgy enough to be a bit primal, yet quiet enough…

Just got a good question in from Dr. S in our comments. I get asked this question a lot. So here's the answer, Dr. S. "We are coming to oahu in oct with 4 kids (7 mos, 3 yr, 6…

I just blogged about the Royal Hawaiian yesterday but heck, hard to miss this news. The owners of the the four big Starwood properties in Waikiki -- the Royal Hawaiian, the Westin Moana Surfrider, the Princess Kaiulani and the…

With occupancy rates continuing to fall in Hawaii and the summer travel season sleepier than normal, lots of deals to be had out there. The Sheraton Royal Hawaiian is offering a pretty good one -- $289 for an ocean view…

Grantham Resorts is running a $79 construction Garden Isle. The offers warns about noise and construction inconvenience during the day but notes that evenings and Sundays are quiet. This is more an offer for people who want a rack to…

T&L taps Malia Boyd (I know both her and her husband, Stewart Yerton) for its semi-annual Oahu roundup. Malia talks to local promoter Tim Bostock and his wife for a local perspective. They provide some nice tips of places a…

I've been getting a steady stream of comments from unlucky folks who got ripped off by Hawaii Travel Network, a reseller of travel packages and attraction tickets (luaus and whatnot) that suddenly went AWOL without paying its bills, leaving hundreds…

Waikiki has been getting a lot of travel section and magazine press of late. A slew of hotels have rebranded, revamped, and renovated. A new, massive and quite attractive airy mall has opened, the Waikiki Beach Walk. The ugliest tourist…

For most of the past two decades, the historic and lovely Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel may have been the most underwhelming hotel in Hawaii. A lovely wooden, turn-of-the-century Victorian structure in virginal white, the Moana is one of two remaining…

It was no surprise when the Kahala Resort announced a major renovation. The rooms, while stylish, were getting tired. Parquet floors in the tropics may not have been the best idea. The Trip Advisor masses were calling the Kahala a…

Via Travelocity, $784 for r/t air and four-night stay at a top-notch Waikiki hotel with ocean view room in every room. Dinner for 2 at Hakone, an excellent Japanese restaurant in the hotel. Rooms alone usually run for over $200..…

I've been blogging a lot about how soft travel to Hawaii makes this an insanely great time to visit. Well, witness this room/air deal from Pleasant Hawaiian Holiday, a massive wholesalers and packager. The deal is $435 for rt/airfare from…

I had been meaning to write up this wonderful condotel set at the far side of Waikiki close to Diamond Head and the uncrowded shoreline on the eastern side of this resort town. Here's an image of the view…

This Star-Bulletin article details a new effort by the City and County of Honolulu to shut down illegal vacation rentals. According to some counts, 2,000 rentals do not have the proper permits and face fines of $1,000 per day. The…

I've covered here before the Sheraton Waikiki's ongoing renovations. So when a news release hit my box claiming the hotel had completed $55 million in room renovations, I thought it might be a good time to update with the good…

Just tracked a bunch of excellent last minute deals for Hawaii trips at Hawaii.com. This site, while full of semi-canned content, puts out emails that are perhaps the best sources of discount Hawaii package vacation listings. Here's a few picks…

I've been searching for hotel rooms for a quick New Year's jaunt down to Waikki to enjoy the madness and the fireworls. And, not surprisingly, good room deals are hard to find. Many hotels are already sold out. I wanted…

Norwegian Cruise Lines, the megacruise line that runs two boats around the Hawaiian Islands, intends to start running 10 and 11-night Hawaii cruises come September 2007. If you want to really get a chance to enjoy Hawaii, this is reasonable.…

Call it Hawaii's own version of the Big Dig in Boston. The $625 million Waikiki Beach Walk Project has disrupted traffic, made a handful of Waikiki hotels far less habitable, kicked up dust and turned up the volume so loud…

In an interesting twist, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle in her second innaugural address came out squarely against major development at Turtle Bay and surrounding beaches. This fit in with her argument that should Hawaii continue to rely on land development…