Enjoy The Holidays
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Honolulu's hotel scene is jumping
The hotel scene in Honolulu never seems to sleep these days. You'll find new players, old favorites and lots of change. Here is a recap of what's happening on the Oahu scene. We'll leave it up to you whether you want to book one, Danno.
Waikiki Edition
As I checked into the super-chic Waikiki Edition hotel, I was welcomed with a chilled towel and lemonade spiked with cilantro, but no flower lei, traditional at upscale Hawaiian hotels. Indeed, this could have been Los Angeles.
The 353-room Edition is the first of a new brand that's a collaboration between hotelier Ian Schrager and Marriott International. It's at the western end of Waikiki, next door to the venerable 46-year-old Ilikai, but these neighbors couldn't be less alike.
The Edition, which opened Sept. 28, occupies a 16-story tower that once was part of the Ilikai, sold off by a financially strapped former owner. Like the Ilikai, it is not a beachfront property; guests at both hotels use the same pathway to the beach, about a 10-minute walk.
Edition did a $40-million makeover, leaving only the basic structure intact. Every room has an ocean view, sort of — a very small slice of the ocean — as well as a Day-Glo ukulele and a trio of colorful sarongs for guests' use. And that's about as Hawaiian as it gets.
To compensate for not being on the beach, the Edition has created its own Sunset Beach, with an infinity-edge lagoon surrounded by sand imported from neighbor islands. For $100 a day, a couple can book preferred seating, with champagne and hors d'oeuvres.
Waikiki Edition, 1775 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu; (808) 943-5800, http://www.editionhotels.com. Doubles from $345.
Ilikai Hotel & Suites
The "Hawaii Five-O" TV show is back, and so is the Ilikai Hotel & Suites. The iconic setting for the opening shots of the original TV series is working to regain its luster as it recovers from financial woes that closed it for two weeks in 2009.
On a recent morning I stood on a lanai, taking in the view of Ala Wai Yacht Harbor and the ocean, just as actor Jack Lord famously did in those aerial shots. I'd asked to see that very lanai, but, alas, it belongs to Unit 2610, now a privately owned condo. So manager Terry Dowsett took me to the unit directly below, telling me, "They're shot right above us" for promotional stills for the new series.
One floor below is close enough that management has plans for this 1,000-square-foot, two-bedroom oceanfront suite, No. 2544. "We're going to play that up more, call it the Jack Lord Suite," maybe decorate with stills from the old series, Dowsett said.
The Ilikai, the first oceanfront high-rise luxury hotel in Hawaii when it opened in 1964, originally was a behemoth of more than 1,300 rooms; it now has 1,007 units, of which 203 are hotel rooms. The rest are time shares and condos.
Depending on your viewpoint, the location is a plus or a minus. At the quieter western edge of Waikiki, it's not the best for those who want action. But the hotel's neighbor to the east is the Hilton Hawaiian Village, with its shops and restaurants, and it's a short walk to Ala Moana Shopping Center and the Honolulu Convention Center. The Ilikai pool is a walled-in space with too much concrete and too little greenery, and I found it less than inviting.
My king ocean-view room was 500 square feet, not including a large lanai. The somewhat dowdy rooms are to be renovated next year, and although the trend is to dark woods, I hope they keep the handsome blond bamboo furniture inset with mother of pearl.
Ilikai Hotel & Suites, 1777 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu; (808) 949-3811, http://www.ilikaihotel.com. Doubles from $129.
Trump International
All is not what it seems at the Trump International Hotel Waikiki Beach Walk, which opened a year ago. Although it describes itself as "just steps" from the beach, it's actually a long, long block. And even though it has Trump in its name, it's not a Trump-owned or -developed property.
That said, there's a lot to like.
Snuba makes underwater diving a cinch
As I plod toward the surf, I'm trying to channel a bit of orca because nothing in the ocean messes with Shamu. I just hope some do-gooder doesn't try to free me or toss me a mackerel. I plan to be underwater for 25 minutes, and I'm told the artificial blubber of the neoprene wet suit will be comforting.
My wife, Terri, and I have hooked up with an outfitter for a swim with a twist — snuba — off the beach in Kaanapali, Maui. Think of it as scuba for dummies. Mask, fins, regulator, cool bubbles floating upward — the vast numbers of which indicate I need to slow my gaspiration rate — it's regular "Sea Hunt" stuff, and you don't need a license or certification.
"The 'OK' gesture is a question and an answer," says Yorkie, our guide. "If I do it and you're OK, don't give me a thumbs-up because that means you want or need to go up." If I were running things, we'd be flashing the old Hang 10 sign, but she is in charge so I take in her speech about safety, comfort and having fun in the briny depths. I pledge to remember to equalize often the air pressure in my ears while descending, and should I engage, à la James Bond, in an underwater tussle with a thug hell-bent on world destruction, I will be able to clear my mask. I also vow to tightly purse my lips around the regulator and not gnaw on it. A few more how-tos and a quick run through a medical checklist, and it's water time.
PLANNING YOUR TRIPThe best way to Maui
From LAX, Delta, United and American offer nonstop service, and Alaska, US Airways, United and Hawaiian offer connecting service (change of plane) to Kahului Airport. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $528.
Shoreline Snuba, http://www.shorelinesnuba.com, (808) 281-3483, offers beach excursions from the Marriott Maui Ocean Club, Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas and the Kaanapali Beach Club in Kaanapali. It also coordinates boat dives with several vendors in both west and south Maui. Couples and family dive packages available.
As the name suggests, snuba is scuba-esque, but the tank stays on the surface rather than lashed to your back. Purists might scoff at the T-ball quality of it all; Jacques Cousteau was a rookie once too, and he's the guy who invented modern scuba.
Terri and I are doing the shore version, swimming out from the beach with a small raft containing the tank rather than dropping in from a boat or fixed platform at sea, as can be done in some locales.
Remembering Yorkie Lesson No. 11 — "Your body will follow your head" — down I go. Ten, 15, maybe 20 feet, which is the limit to the air hose; I haven't been this deep since my older sister invented the game she dubbed Baby Brother the Submersible, which I equated more to controlled drowning.
Go ahead and laugh, scubaistas, but this rocks. Twenty feet isn't exactly down to the abyss off the backside of Molokini, the blown-out volcanic crescent off south Maui, and the tank-on-the-raft thing hints at training wheels. Yet I'm gliding underwater largely unencumbered, and I can breathe rich, wonderful puffs of good old air. Nice.
Yorkie plops a hunk of rock in my hand, and it starts to wriggle, something a rock shouldn't be doing. She puts the grayish mottled lump back on the sea floor and puts an index finger upside her head. That's my cue that a bit of education is in the offing, but the lecture will have to wait. Back topside, she tells us the little darling is a sea cucumber.
For the wary, Yorkie — and I would surmise all guides with Shoreline Snuba — is conscientious and helpful, pausing often to give the OK sign and expecting one in return. At one point she swims over — she's tank diving — and adds another hunk of ballast to my weight belt. What with the neoprene and being zaftig, I was a touch too buoyant. Now my body does follow my head.
Terri plays tag with a small school of tangs and directs us to a honu munching away in turtle bliss on a sea salad clinging to a rock. Yorkie taps her temple to remind us to talk later about the two lionfish wedged in a crevice. Clown fish, eel, wrasses, several of my all-time fave Hawaiian sea critters, the plucky/cranky riot of color the locals know as humuhumunukunukuapuaa, or the Picasso trigger fish; it's a nice sampling if not the broad, deeply representative census to be found on more active reefs. Taking it all in at fish level for 25 minutes isn't chopped bait. This is one area in which snuba beats snorkeling.
Snorkeling, however, is free once you have the gear, and you can do it as long as you want and wherever you want. Our excursion cost $95 a person, the wet suit is $10more. Photos, which we didn't buy, plus a few trinkets, can be had as part of an all-of-the-above package for $149. With orientation, waddling to the beach, kicking around, diving, rolling back onto shore with all the grace of a penguin on land — me, not Yorkie and Terri — and talking about what we'd seen, we burn up about 90 minutes. Time and dollars well spent? Yes, for scuba neos like us. And the little Cousteaus will love it.
But if you go, know that the killer whale has migrated back to the mainland.
A sunrise bike ride down Hawaii's Haleakala volcano
Every day, about an hour after first light hits the green hillsides of upcountry Maui, the spokes begin to sing.
If you stand along the road by Sunrise Market in the hamlet of Kula, you'll first hear the buzz, then with a whoosh the bicycles come around the bend: tourists by the dozen, their heads encased in heavy-duty helmets, their bodies wrapped in rain suits, their speed about 20 mph. They're going 27 miles, following about two dozen switchbacks, rolling past hardened lava and cane fields, fruit stands, lazy livestock and three small towns. And 99% of it is downhill.
"It's a little surreal," says M. Sarah Creachbaum, who passes the riders every morning on her way to work as superintendent of Haleakala National Park. "They're like space people, with the helmets and the colored outfits."
On a busy day, 300 of these riders come around the bend, tempted by a simple, powerful, double-barreled idea: to see sunrise from the lip of Haleakala, a 10,000- foot Hawaiian volcano, then glide down the slope to the sea.
Planning your tripSeven companies on Maui hold permits to offer bike tours that begin with van or bus trips to sunrise viewings atop Haleakala. The guided rides go from the edge of the park to sea level, a 6,500-foot descent over about 27 miles of two-lane public roads.
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Yet this ride can hurt you or even kill you.
In February, a 64-year-old rider from Mankato, Minn., died of head injuries after she crashed (she was wearing a helmet) into an embankment near the town of Makawao. She wasn't the first. Since it first popped up in the 1980s, the volcano-ride trade has grown into a full-fledged industry, fallen into crisis amid a spate of injuries and deaths, then righted itself again. As many as 90,000 customers a year ride down Haleakala, typically paying $115 to $150 each for a sunrise tour and guided ride.
So how does it work, this balancing of risk and thrill on two wheels? One morning in late October, I signed on to find out.
At 2:45 a.m. — yes, you read that right — a bike-tour van picked me up at my hotel along the island's western shore. After a stop to collect equipment and sign release forms with about a dozen fellow riders, we made the two-hour drive through the darkness to the top of Haleakala, passing the eerie glow of cane fires as we went. (Workers burn dried cane leaves in the fields as part of the harvest.)
At 5:15 a.m., we stepped out near the top, 9,740 feet above sea level, and into a parking lot crowded with hundreds of bundled-up tourists, a dawn of 40-degree gusts, numb digits, swirling clouds and volcanic moonscape, all of which erupted in golden light when the sun hurled its first beams at us from the horizon. Locals note that many winter sunrises are rain-soaked and cloud-bound, but this one was well worth the early wake.
For the seven bike-tour companies with permits to offer sunrise viewing and downhill rides, the day's adventure was just getting started.
At 7:30 a.m., after transport to our starting point just outside the national park (about 6,500 feet above sea level), we saddled up and got a stern safety briefing from guides Everett Bennett (driving) and Joshua Sisson (riding). I chose Cruiser Phil's, a small 12-year-old outfit, because it had done well in a 2008 National Park Service safety study (www.nps.gov/hale/parkmgmt/bikesafety.htm).
"I need you to ride defensively," Sisson said. "I don't mind if you take a quick glance at the view, but not on the hairpin turns. We've got a problem with guys getting halfway around these bends, whipping around and chatting with the dude behind them, and then missing the second half of the turn and going off the side of the road. I've seen it happen."
Then, bundled up in jackets, gloves, rain suits and motocross helmets with chin-protectors, we rolled. Our one-speed Worksman bikes were heavy (why worry about weight when you're going downhill?) and featured heavy-duty brakes.
One turn, two turns, three turns. Green valley, blue sea and, because the high ground is cattle country, the occasional cow pie. I expected to be intimidated, but I wasn't — just invigorated.
"You're looking out at the valley of Maui," Bennett said when we paused to take pictures. "The north shore is over here." To the west, he continued, "snorkel boats going out to Molokini. Lanai in the background. Windmills up on the ridge."
Kauai remains a popular film location
Kauai has been a favorite film location since it stood in for Bali Hai in the 1958 movie version of "South Pacific." It has been Maui in the Adam Sandler-Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy "Just Go With It" (released this year), and it played the Caribbean in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," the fourth of the Johnny Depp swashbucklers. Sometimes it even plays itself. In "The Descendants," which is to open next month, a father (George Clooney) takes his children to Kauai after his wife is incapacitated. "Every location is the real place," says co-producer George Parra. Here's a guide to movie sites (some on private property), with tips on how to explore them from film location manager Angela Tillson, who has been guiding film scouts around the island for 23 years.
Na Pali coast
What it is: Rugged cliffs in northwest Kauai. Not accessible by car — only by boat, foot or helicopter.
What it starred in: "Hop" (as Easter Island in the opening of this year's animated live-action movie); "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" (as a mythical island in the not-yet-released "Journey" sequel); "Six Days, Seven Nights" (as Tahiti, 1998); "King Kong" (as Africa in the 1976 film); "Tropic Thunder" (2008, set in Vietnam). "Just Go With It" used aerial shots of the coastline.
How to see it: "Try seeing Na Pali by boat or on a guided kayak tour," Tillson says. "You don't want to go on your own unless you're an experienced kayaker because of the currents; you have to know how to land a kayak on the beach."
Info: Tillson says there are several good companies that can get you there. (She suggests Googling "Boat tours down Na Pali" for a list.) The cost for seeing Na Pali by boat or sea kayak, based on checks with several supplies, ranged from $139 to $229 before tax (depending on length of tour and what's included). Kayak tours generally are available from April to early September.
Hanalei Town, North Shore
What it is: Small, charming town in front of Mt. Namahana with waterfalls in the background.
What it starred in: "South Pacific," "Lilo and Stitch" (2002) and "The Descendants." In fact, the Tahiti Nui bar (5-5134 Kuhio Highway) plays itself in "Descendants," and Parra says it's a great watering hole, popular with locals.
How to see it: It's west of Princeville across a one-lane bridge. As you arrive in Hanalei Town, you feel as if you've traveled back in time.
Info: See Hanalei Town under North Shore on http://www.gohawaii.com/kauai.
Hanalei Bay and Hanalei, Lumahai and Blackpot beaches, North Shore
What it starred in: Hanalei Bay appears in "South Pacific," "Lilo" and "The Descendants." "Hanalei Bay is unique just by the enormous size of it, very raw and mostly untouched," Parra says. Two rental cottages belonging to the Hanalei Land Co. were used as locations in "The Descendants," and Tillson recommends them for lodging. (Nalu Beach Cottage rents for $750 per night or $5,000 per week, and the Kauikeolani Estate (a historic house previously called the Wilcox Estate) rents for $15,000 a week with a one-week minimum. Hanalei Land Co., (888) 900-1454, http://www.hanaleiland.com.
"South Pacific's" Nellie Forbush washed that man right outta her hair in nearby Lumahai Beach. Sailors sang "Nothing Like a Dame" at Blackpot Beach near the Hanalei Bay pier (adjacent to the St. Regis).
How to see them: From Hanalei Town, if you stay on Kuhio Highway, the next beach will be Lumahai Beach (a five-minute walk from the road). (Lumahai is unmarked, but you'll see cars parked along the highway). To get to Blackpot Beach, Hanalei Bay and the pier, you turn right on Aku Road off Kuhio Highway, then go one block and turn right on Weke Road (which parallels Hanalei Bay). The road dead-ends into the parking lot for Blackpot Beach and Hanalei Pier.
St. Regis Hotel, Princeville
What it is: Luxury hotel
What it starred in: Cast and crew of "Just Go With It" and "The Descendants" stayed at the hotel. The latter filmed scenes in the lobby and at the Princeville Fountain, the focal point of the main entrance to the Princeville area.
How to see it: You pass the fountain to enter Princeville, which is about 32 miles northwest of Lihue airport.
Confused About Selecting a Star Hotel in Hyderabad
Are you confused about deciding on a star hotel in Hyderabad? Do not be nervous. The tips help you to select a star resort at inexpensive cost. The resort chosen should be near the railway station or bus station. At the time of check-within the customer should show authorities issued picture identification details. There can be an advance payment for each verify-ins. Room amenities of some star hotels embody hypo allergenic bedding, complimentary newspaper, DVD participant, lavatory phone etc. If you would like translation service from a star resort, you ought to pick out one with such facility.
How to Find Cheap Airfare for Your Hawaii Vacation
You need to search the online completely in case you need cheap airfare to Hawaii. There are such a lot of sites that offer discounted airfares. So it is best to take a look at these sites frequently in case you're on the lookout for low-cost airfare.
It's also possible to buy your tickets from the airlines sites. Many airlines which have flights to Hawaii put discounted charges on their websites. The discounts might vary from day to day. Typically the airlines also release special Hawaii fares. To just remember to don't miss on to these opportunities, go online to the web site thrice in a day.
There are also some massive journey websites which provide low cost airfare to Hawaii. So that you go to both of these websites - Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz. You may get discounted charges as these journey sites work in collaboration with many airlines. The rates might differ for every site. So make sure you visit all of the three websites to get the very best airfare.
You can go to some journey based mostly search engines in case you aren't an excessive amount of into the internet. These sites collect all of the obtainable data from a number of other sites. All these details are then displayed together and thus it turns into easier to find low cost airfare.
You may as well go to travel engines like google like Sidestep. They've a huge database which accommodates information from journey internet sites, airways sites, and it additionally has information about automotive and room rentals. You will discover all this and more from here.
You too can use sites like Yahoo or Google to seek out out about cheap airfare. You also turn out to be a member of some corporations like AAA. Resort homeowners have extra benefit. There are resort websites the place you will get to know all about traveling. You too can go to websites like Priceline, Hotline and eBay. You can also shop by bidding at numerous sites.
There's additionally a program run by Priceline.com by which you can get low cost ticket for Hawaii. You are presupposed to enter your date of travel, your vacation spot city and how a lot you are keen to pay for the airfare. The site will then contact all the airways and see if they get the ticket on the worth quoted by you.
Nonetheless these tickets cannot be refunded so whether you like the flight or not, it's a must to manage it. The rate shall be in fact the cheapest.
Airline Travel With a Stroller
Airline journey will be an exhausting, confusing, and exasperating expertise these days. With rules and laws on what you're allowed to deliver on board altering on a regular basis, and with every airline putting their very own spin on the rules, it may be impossible to know what you possibly can and might't do.
Touring with an infant or toddler makes flying about one hundred instances harder, it seems. So most mother and father choose to navigate the busy airports with the assistance of a stroller. Touring with a stroller can positively make things easier, however earlier than you e-book your subsequent flight, we have compiled a list of particular rules and laws concerning the transportation of your child's stroller during your flight.
Most airlines contemplate a stroller to be a piece of baggage that, fortunately, is just not topic to any extra baggage fees. In other words, you may have your regular carry-on and personal merchandise identical to everybody else, and bring the stroller as an extra piece with out charge. Most airways do require that you gate test the stroller except it may match under your seat or in the overhead bins. However since most strollers do not fit in these spaces, gate checking is the best way to go. Some airlines even have restrictions on the scale of the stroller. Most either advocate and even require that your stroller be a small umbrella stroller. Hawaiian Airlines particularly doesn't permit jogging strollers. Different airways would not have a specific rule for it, so that will imply it is open for interpretation. If you plan on bringing a jogging stroller or different large stroller, you may wish to call the airline instantly earlier than you travel to inquire if it is ok to do so.
Here is a listing of several airways and their particular rules that we've compiled based mostly on what was printed on the official airline websites on September 9, 2009. Please bear in mind that these rules might change at any time, so before you journey remember to double check along with your airline to verify the same rules apply. Not all airlines were specific in spelling out their guidelines about strollers, so we've put what we have been capable of find. For more detailed information, contact the airlines directly.
Air Canada: One stroller to be checked in at the gate, along with two items of checked baggage.
Air France: Children beneath the age of two are entitled to a particular allowance of 10kg plus one cabin baggage merchandise, plus one of many following gadgets: foldable stroller, bassinet, or car seat.
Alaskan Airways: Strollers and car seats may be checked with out charge.
Allegiant: Every fare-paying passenger is allowed to take a stroller or car seat to the boarding area. The stroller or automobile seat may also be checked at the time of check-in. If the stroller or automotive seat is taken to the gate, it will likely be gate checked.
American: You can carry on one bag plus one private merchandise per passenger. You may additionally deliver an umbrella stroller for a lap or ticketed youngster in addition to your two carry-on items.
British Airways: One totally collapsible stroller is allowed.
Continental: Continental accepts one stroller along with a customer's baggage allowance. When checked as baggage, all oversize and chubby costs will apply. First and second bag charges to not apply to both a stroller or car seat. Continental will not be liable for damage to strollers. Excess Valuation may not be purchased for strollers. If you're touring with both a stroller and a automotive seat in addition to the luggage allowance, solely considered one of these items is carried free of charge.
Delta: Strollers will be checked totally free and are usually not counted as part of the standard baggage allowance. Strollers may be checked at curbside, the ticket counter, or at the gate.
Direct Air: Strollers may be accepted as Gate Examine gadgets, if obligatory, topic to the Customary Baggage Service Price and counted in direction of a passenger's allotment of two checked items.
Frontier: Strollers should be gate checked.
Hawaiian Airlines: First and second checked bag fees do not apply to strollers with the exception of jogging or massive strollers. You may verify in your stroller at the gate or at the check-in counter free of charge when accompanied by a ticketed adult passenger. Jogging strollers are not permitted for gate examine-in.
JetBlue: A lap infant may deliver one diaper bag, one stroller, and one automotive seat. Infants which can be jetting at no cost do not qualify for the checked baggage allowance. Strollers are thought of a "particular item" which might be carried on without spending a dime in addition to your normal carry-on item. It may go on board if it should match in the overhead or underneath the seat, otherwise it must be gate checked.
KLM: A small, completely collapsible stroller may be taken into the cabin. It should have the ability to fit in the overhead compartment or beneath the seat in front of you. A stroller can at all times be checked in as check-in baggage at no further charge.
Midwest Airways: Strollers usually are not topic to any further baggage fees.
Northwest: One totally collapsible umbrella-style stroller may be carried on board in addition to the carry-on baggage allowance. Strollers may be carried on board if space is available. Otherwise they must be gate checked. There is no charge for either domestic or worldwide flights if within free baggage allowance.
Southwest: Clients traveling with infants will be allowed to test one stroller per toddler without charge (this is in addition to the regular free baggage allowance). Strollers may additionally be used as stick with it items or may be gate checked at no further charge.
United: Strollers may be checked to your remaining destination with out a price, in addition to your regular baggage allowance. United extremely recommends utilizing an umbrella stroller when traveling. Umbrella strollers may be accommodated on board the aircraft when space permits rather than your carry-on bag. Massive-sized, non-collapsible, or heavy strollers are awkward and facilities aren't designed to accommodate some of these items. United shouldn't be responsible for damage that happens to strollers that aren't packaged in a box and checked on the examine-in counter.
US Airways: When you're paying 10% of the grownup fare for an toddler to fly on a global flight, you're allowed 1 absolutely collapsible stroller. On domestic flights, you can have a stroller along with the checked baggage allowance at no charge.
Virgin Atlantic: Strollers permitted, however have to be X-Ray screened.