Halepuna in Waikiki is the new baby sister hotel to the prestigious grand dame Halekulani, Waikiki. Halepuna Waikiki opened just before COVID outbreak at the end of October 2019. So let's take a look at what this more affordable version of the Halekulani is like!
We are at the last few days of our dream Hawaii vacation with 2.5 weeks exploring O'ahu. Our skin is a toasty golden colour, a smattering of light freckles adorn our cheeks and our limbs are limber from long sleeps and naps taken at whim. It's mid afternoon when we have arrived at our fourth and final hotel. Halepuna Waikiki is located across the road from its big sister Halekulani and occupies the space that was formerly the Waikiki Parc Hotel. Halepuna has 284 rooms and 4 suites hotel located just 500 feet or 2 minutes from Waikiki Beach. The two sister hotels are intertwined and Halepuna guests can visit Halekulani for their food and beverage options and charge back their meals and treatments to their room.
The price point for Halepuna is around $368USD compared to Halekulani at $680USD but guests have the same warm and deferential staff. Another point of difference between this and other Waikiki hotels is that there are no resort fees (this is a fee of around $50USD in addition to a room rate that is widespread in Hawaii).
Our room is a corner ocean view room with a king bed and is around 288 square feet or 26.7 square metres. There's a balcony with an attention stealing view of the Pacific Ocean below in all of its turquoise glory. The room footprint while quite snug, is well appointed and adorned with plenty of new technology. There's a smart lighting system that gives you full control of the lights from the bed and plenty of charging and power points near the bed. The blinds can be drawn up or down with the press of a switch. Internet is fast and free.
There's also a fridge, tea ketttle and coffee machine provided. The bed is very comfortable with silky smooth Mascioni Elba sheets. This hotel out of all of the ones that we stayed at seems the most COVID conscious with most staff wearing masks and everything is sanitised including the tv remote control, pencils and writing paper. All of the toilet paper and tissues are brand new and unopened.
The bathroom has a single sink and a bath shower combination and a Japanese toilet. Toiletries are kept in the drawer and are by the Spa Halekulani and the towels are luxuriously soft.
After taking a look at our room we are eager to explore the two hotels a bit more so we venture across the road to the Halekulani. This hotel was first established in 1917 but consistent renovations have kept this grand dame looking much younger than her years. The name Halekulani means "House Befitting Heaven", a most appropriate title.
We take a seat at bar Cattleya, named after the orchid that graces the resort. The Cattleya orchid can also be seen in mosaic form at the bottom of the pool rendered in 1.2 million South African glass mosaic tiles. The bar's wine list is full of small wine producers with some special wines from Italy, Spain with a couple of Turkish wines. We try a wonderful Pasaeli Turkish rose from the Aegean region and pair it with some plump Kona lobster and Kahuku shrimp gyoza (a must order) with a spicy ponzu sauce as well as a generously portioned charcuterie and cheese board.
For any visitor to O'ahu I'd gently suggest having sunset drinks at least once at Halekulani's House Without A Key bar. This outdoor bar and restaurant is named after the book of the same name by author Earl Derr Biggers. He wrote the Charlie Chan novel while at Gray’s-By-the-Sea boarding house, near Halekulani. Clifford and Juliet Kimball, owners of the original Halekulani, continued to purchase land near their hotel expanding the footprint of the hotel - in those days it was as simpler hotel with bungalow style accommodation. In 1926 they purchased Gray’s-By-the-Sea which at that time included a young Kiawe Tree planted in 1887. This area was renamed the House Without A Key bar.
The iconic Kiawe tree that sits in the middle of the bar is now 135 years old and its branches spread out wide offering shade to many. The bar accepts bookings online which is very handy because it does get very busy. Walk-ins can also eat at the bar but the best view is at a table by the water with the Pacific Ocean in front of you and Diamond Head to the left. From 5.30pm every evening there is live Hawaiian music and hula dancing from former Miss Hawaii & Miss Hawaii-USA winners under the beloved Kiawe tree.
For sunset drinks the Mai Tai is a must order there and the version served at Halekulani is a bit different from others. Instead of pineapple juice they use lime juice which transforms it from a very sweet cocktail to something entirely refreshing. They're so popular that in 2018 they sold around 3,333 mai tais per month.
Or you might be feeling in the mood for a Coconut Cake Martini, inspired by their world famous coconut cake (which you can also order at the bar). It is made with vanilla infused vodka, Kalani coconut, Amaretto DiSaronno, lemon juice, blended coconut flakes and almond salt. We also try a Table 97 named after the table that Ernest Hemmingway would sit at. The martini is made with Makrut lime infused London gin, fresh lemon juice, kula strawberry syrup, aquafaba and Absinthe essence.
One of Halekulani's main restaurants is Orchids, set along the beachfront. We watch as nature paints the sky pink and the sun does down. Orchid's executive chef is Christian Testa and the menu reflects his Italian heritage blended with Hawaiian flavours.
The Kona Kampachi is a Hawaiian yellowtail caught in the open ocean off the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. Here it is sliced thinly and paired with Ho Farms cherry tomatoes, slices of jalapeno, chives, red Hawaiian salt with a lemon olive oil dressing and tapioca chips. It's divine and fresh, the flavours perfectly balanced.
The mushroom risotto is a wonderfully rich and flavour forward risotto with seasonal mushrooms, basil, mozzarella, parmesan, white truffle oil, porcini dust and a pan seared slice of Hudson Valley foie gras to make this a wonderfully luxe risotto.
I usually wouldn't order steak much in Hawaii because the weather lends itself to fresher flavours and seafood but the 10oz. Prime New York Striploin is masterfully cooked and one of the best steaks I've had in a long time. It's served medium rare as ordered, with Maitake mushrooms, roasted potato and carrot purée.
The lasagnette is one of the chef's specialties and it's a deconstructed lasagne featuring fresh house made Fazzoletti “ “Handkerchief” pasta, prawns, scallops and avocado. The seafood is cooked perfectly and this is an interesting take on a classic favourite.
Branzino (also called a European seabass) is a fish that you don't get in Australia and so we wanted to try it here. The fish itself is white, mild and flaky and quite versatile and here it is paired with sautéed artichokes, pearl onions and veal jus.
But I've made sure to save room for the dessert. The tiramisu is a creative spin on tiramisu. It's a Kona espresso tiramisu with a mascarpone mousse, kona espresso centre and served with a pistachio anglaise and candied lemon. It's also light and balanced in flavour although I didn't really get the classic tiramisu flavours.
Halekulani is known for a very famous dessert: the coconut cake and no trip to O'ahu is complete without trying it. Over the years this cake has changed. Baker Moses Kawaha started working at Halekulani in the early 1960s and inherited the coconut cake recipe. He used custard and fresh grated coconut and not the dried coconut used today. After the hotel closed down from 1980 – 1983 for a major renovation it reopened with a slightly upgraded coconut cake recipe changing the custard to a coconut and amaretto whipped cream and using dried coconut flakes instead of freshly grated coconut. The raspberry coulis and a cream anglaise drizzle is the final flourish.
"The cake still tastes the same like the original," explains Bonnie Bise, Public Relations Manager of Halekulani and Halepuna Waikiki, "My 'historian' is our housekeeping supervisor who used to work at the “Old” Halekulani in Food and Beverage so this information comes first hand." It comes to the table as a study in whites, a thick slice covered in shredded coconut. I take a fork and sink it into the cake and I can already tell from that moment that it is incredibly light in texture. The chiffon cake's texture is so moist, fluffy and light that it feels like an angel food cake with coconut cream between the layers. It's so good that a few days later I take a piece on the plane to eat mid air to ease the pain of leaving Hawaii.
Legend has it that the recipe for this cake (which is available all over the resort) is 4 pages long but can only be made at the hotel. The pastry chef tried recreating it at home but it didn't have the same flavour or texture and the theory goes that it is because of the hotel's proximity to the sea.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever been to the Halepuna or Halekulani? Have you ever tried a Mai Tai with lime juice instead of pineapple?
NQN was a guest of Hawaii Tourism Oceania and Halepuna and flew to Hawaii as a guest of Hawaiian Airlines but all opinions remain her own.
Hawaiian Airlines service from Australia - www.HawaiianAirlines.com.au
Halepuna Waikiki by Halekulani
2233 Helumoa Rd, Honolulu, HI 96815, United States
https://www.halepuna.com/
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