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| Oahu The surfers and skyscrapers of Waikiki Beach make Oahu travel world famous, but the memorial at Pearl Harbor, downtown Honolulu’s Iolani Palace and Chinatown, Bishop Museum, and the Polynesian Cultural Center also captivate travelers on Honolulu vacations. Beyond the Hawaii hotels in Honolulu, Oahu turns rural and beautiful Hanauma and Waimea bay beckon.
Pan Pacific Festival
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Waikiki Beach
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Top Ten Things to Do in Hawaii
Most Popular Things to Do in Oahu
- Glimpse bottlenose and spinner dolphins
- Experience the new Waikiki Beach Walk
- Spend a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center
- Stroll into Duke’s on the Beach
- Visit the Pearl Harbor memorial
Recommended Hotels Halekulani
With views of the ocean and Diamond Head, this premier luxury resort is an oasis of calm amidst the bustle of Waikiki.
The 453 spacious guestrooms and 41 suites feature elegant furnishings, deep soaking tubs, flat-screen TVs and wireless Internet access.
Impeccable service, gracious hospitality, fine cuisine, and stunning sunsets top the list of guest favorites.
What to Expect: - Two feather-helmeted, granite sculptures guard the entryway to a central courtyard with comfortable wicker chairs and splashing waterfall. Upon arrival, guests are escorted to their rooms for private registration and introduction to the hotel's amenities. Celebrating couples, vacationers, and business travelers enjoy the calm, almost-residential atmosphere of this five-acre oceanfront resort that dates from 1917.
Amenity Highlights: - The bottom of the heated oceanside pool is covered with an orchid mosaic composed of about a million glass tiles, and surrounded by a terrazzo deck; attendants supply cold towels, cooling spritzers, and CD players with headsets. In the spa, treatments focus on South Pacific healing methods and are offered in suites opening onto private courtyard patios. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available throughout the hotel.
Insider Tip: - In front of the resort, a freshwater channel passes through the reefs into the ocean. Guides can lead guests to spots in the ocean where the cold mountain water can be felt, places considered by ancient Hawaiians to have healing properties.
Kahala Resort & Spa  |  |
Nestled on an exclusive ivory-sand beach, this legendary resort, just east of Diamond Head, pampers guests with plantation-era hospitality.
338 refreshed, spacious rooms and suites with spectacular vistas overlooking the ocean, mountains, or dolphin lagoon. Suites include a Suite Amenity added-value program.
Five stylish restaurants, a world-class spa, leisure facilities, fitness Center, lush tropical gardens and the private lagoon with our own resident dolphins.
What to Expect: - Opened in 1964 and frequented by Hollywood's elite (Frank Sinatra, Tom Cruise, Michelle Pfeiffer), entertainment notables (Faith Hill, Luciano Pavarotti, Billy Joel), every US president from Nixon to Clinton, and royalty (Queen Elizabeth, Princess Grace, the Dalai Lama), this resort attracts the rich and famous and the discriminating and sophisticated. Ordinary families cavort next to the glitterati. Consistent awards prove this resort is among the world's best .
Amenity Highlights: - For a modest fee, guests (kids, too) can swim and interact with the resort's most loved residents, the Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. Emphasizing education, Dolphin Quest scientist/trainers run the program in the 26,000-square-foot salt-water lagoon. The Kahala Hotel and Resort's elaborate pool complex includes a large ocean-view pool lined with blue Italian-glass tiles, a big spa, and a children's wading pool - all surrounded by a sundeck furnished with thickly padded lounge chairs and fronted by a sunning lawn graced by coconut trees. Responding to celebrity requests, the resort built five 550-square-foot spa suites (one for couples) where guests can receive various massages and body treatments in an utterly tranquil, private setting, beginning with a foot-bathing ritual.
Insider Tip: - The Kahala Burger, available at the open-air Plumeria Beach Café, brings guests back to the resort year after year.
The Royal Hawaiian Beachfront resort This iconic resort, reopened in 2009 after an extensive renovation, is located on the sands of central Waikiki, within the Royal Hawaiian Center on Kalakaua Avenue. Luxurious oasis Guests of The Royal Hawaiian enjoy the weekly "Aha Aina, A Royal Celebration", two outdoor pools, a private beach, tropical garden, and health spa with outdoor cabanas. The oceanfront Azure restaurant serves fresh seafood. Modern retreats Located in the original Historic Building or modern Royal Beach Tower, all 529 guestrooms offer iPod-compatible clocks, LCD TVs with premium channels, high-speed Internet access, and compact refrigerators.
What to Expect: - Hugging a 12-acre tropical garden with tranquil health spa, the Royal Hawaiian opens to a stately lobby reminiscent of the 1920s, when the hotel was originally built. Set on a private stretch of Waikiki Beach, the pink-themed hotel is popular with couples, families, and business travelers.
Amenity Highlights: - On Monday evenings, the oceanfront lawn becomes the stage for Aha Aina, a Royal Celebration Hawaiian show (surcharge). Other dining options include an oceanfront restaurant serving contemporary island cuisine, a poolside bar, and a lounge offering appetizers and live Hawaiian music nightly.
Insider Tip: - Within five miles of the hotel at Honolulu Harbor's Pier 7, the Hawaii Maritime Center (surcharge) explores the history of the islands with museum exhibits, a Polynesian sailing canoe, and a four-masted, full-rigged ship.
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