A stay at the venerated Halekulani has been on my wish list ever since we first stepped foot on Waikiki's sandy shores. I've visited Hawaii five times since and it seems like every trip has built me up for the experience of staying at the hotel that many consider to be the best on O'ahu. On our last trip in 2022 we stayed at Halekulani's little sister Halepuna Waikiki across the road and this time we are staying at Halekulani, the elegant Grand Dame of Waikiki Beach.
It has been a wonderful 9 nights in Hawaii and we are ending off on a high at Halekulani. This hotel regularly tops best hotel lists and is a luxurious retreat steeped in history. It began its life in 1907 and was built by wealthy landowner and philanthropist Robert Lewers. Back then it was a small collection of five small bungalows named Hau Tree named after the hau tree, which still stands on the property.
From 1917, the property was sold to the Thurston family who expanded the footprint of the hotel, adding new buildings and rooms. It was in the 1960s that the hotel transformed into a luxury resort with the name Halekulani meaning "house befitting heaven" in native Hawaiian. In the 1980's a Japanese real estate company Mitsui Fudosan enhanced the offerings and added new buildings. More recently in 1984 it was sold to the Japanese company HTH Corporation who continues to own and manage the property today. This is reflected in the Japanese level of service and aesthetic.
When we check in, the sea breezes fill the lobby but the unflappable front desk gentleman checks us in quickly and then shows us around the hotel pointing out the different services and restaurants available before taking us upstairs and showing us to our room. He explains the room in detail before bowing and leaving. Everything we learn is seamless here, the bellhops know to bring our bags up which they do so without delay. All of the staff are gracious, helpful and welcoming combining Hawaiian spirit and Japanese service.
There are 453 rooms at the Halekulani and our room #1104 is an ocean front king room in calming creams and blues to reflect the ocean outside. The room spans 419 square feet (39 m²) or 520 square feet with the lanai (48 m²). The well sized balcony or lanai has a lounge chair and a set of table and chairs so that you can watch the Pacific Ocean outside. Look down and you'll see Halekulani's 82 feet/25m oval pool with its emblem of an Cattleya orchid rendered in 1.2 million pieces of shimmering glass tiles in front of Waikiki Beach. Or close the plantation style shutters for the best night of sleep ever. I'm not even kidding.
There's a comfortable lounge and a king sized bed with thick, smooth and soft sheets. A tablet shows all of the hotel's information from dining to spa services. A welcome gift arrives for every guest upon arrival and it's fresh papaya, banana and Big Island Candies cookies.
The closet can slide open between the bathroom and main bedroom with full sized mirrors on the bathroom side. The rooms are high tech and well thought out with lights that illuminate when you enter a room - even the pre-warmed toilet seat opens the lid when you approach, makes noise, flushes and closes the lid automatically when done.
There are charging points at every point you would need one. Privacy and maid service is requested electronically by the press of a button and lighting settings including a daylight and a warm sunset mode. The bathroom has a marble topped vanity and a standalone bath and shower. A comprehensive range of Halekulani spa amenities are included. Bathrobes and slippers sit in the closet along with an oversized safe. Water is provided in recyclable and reusable containers that are restocked daily.
We head downstairs to the pool area as the glistening crystals of the orchid beckon me down from my room. A friend told me that when she was staying at a neighbouring resort as a child she was so obsessed with the crystal orchid pool that she snuck into the hotel to take a peek at it and a quick swim.
The staff there are friendly and when we choose our lounge chairs they outfit them with a monogrammed terry cloth covering. We take a quick dip into the pool before it closes at sun set - apparently visitors to Halekulani's restaurants have a habit of jumping in the pool after dinner (or perhaps small Australian children! :) ). We slumbered until 10am but if you do get up early, head to the pool at 9:30am for complimentary introductory surf or stand up paddle board demonstrations.
Halekulani has a range of restaurants on site and is known for its dining options. Halekulani Bakery has reopened after COVID and is located in the lobby of Halepuna Waikiki across the road. Get in early to nab the popular ham and cheese croissants or the New York style spiral croissants or classic European croissants. You can eat inside or at one of the outdoor tables.
Next to the Halekulani Bakery is Umi by Vikram Garg, a fantastic seafood restaurant open for breakfast and dinner (full review here).
For a sunset drink there is no better place to enjoy a sense of place and time than their House Without A Key bar named after the novel by Earl Derr Biggers. Guests can sip Halekulani's signature mai tais, eat snacks or order their famous coconut cake while listening to Hawaiian music and watching the sun set. We head there on our last night without a reservation but they reserve some seats for Halekulani guests and within 5 minutes they show us to a table right near the band singing. It's a Mai Tai for Mr NQN and a The Gable fantastic non alcoholic cocktail with cucumber juice, pineapple cordial, lemon, aloe juice and a long mango ice block for me. A former Miss Universe shows us her elegant hula moves with the band and I can't imagine wanting to be anywhere else in the world. Well, except perhaps eating dinner at one of the restaurants here.
There are two restaurants at Halekulani: La Mer is their French restaurant open for dinner only while Orchids is their oceanfront restaurant set amongst the palm trees and perfectly manicured green lawn. Waitstaff in white jackets and white tablecloths give the tropical vibe a fine dining vibe. Italian born Chef Christian Testa has been with Orchids for 7 years and has designed a menu with Italian flavours and modern Hawaiian seafood and meat. We dined here in November 2022 and there are some menu items that have remained due to their popularity (the Kona Kampachi carpaccio) but tonight we want to try some of the newer items.
Every meal at Halekulani must start with their signature Mai Tai. A Mai Tai is usually a sweet drink but at Halekulani they've balanced it by using lime juice instead of pineapple which is a deft trick. It's my favourite Mai Tai on the island and uses Bacardi Gold Rum, Bacardi Select, Orange Curacao, Orgeat, Lime juice and Lemon Hart 151 Float.
The beef tartare is divine and actually perfect for sharing. There's diced prime beef fillet, slices of 24-month aged Parmigiano-Reggiano accented with lemon zest and truffle aioli and a final flourish of shaved seasonal truffle on delicate crostini. It's a stunning version of the classic beef tartare, each flavour enhancing the next.
It's technically winter at the moment so the idea of a lobster bisque appeals a lot. They use Keahole lobster for this bisque and you can really appreciate the depth of flavour in this with cognac cloud of crème fraîche and lemongrass and a perfectly cooked piece of lobster. It comes with a puff pastry stick and the soup is poured at the table.
If you love bouillabaisse and cioppino then the Day Boat in Carta Fata is well worth ordering. It's served in a plastic bag in which it is cooked. They snip it open at the table and the aroma of seafood and tomato fills the air. Inside the package there is the catch of the day, scallops, prawns, Manila clams, fresh tomato sauce, Kalamata olives and an enormous potato. Every piece of seafood in this is perfectly cooked, not overcooked or undercooked and the soup is delicious with the butter garlicky bread.
Another dish that focuses on seafood is the Frutti di Mare or seafood medley. There is lobster claw, scallops, Manila clams, black tiger prawns, cuttlefish on a bed of Peruvian purple potato with lemon oil to finish. Again the seafood is lovely and tender but if I were to choose out of this and the Day Boat in Carta Fata the day boat is my pick.
I love Pata negra or black pig - it is like the wagyu of pork. Here it is one fillet of pork paired with braised endive, fennel apple purée, peppercorn sauce and gremolata. The star of the plate is of course the pork with its succulent, beautifully marbled texture but the accompaniments also do their job of offsetting the natural unctuousness of the meat.
It's time for dessert and there is one item that is a given. Halekulani's signature coconut cake is a fluffy, light dream come to life. Chiffon cake layers are filled with coconut amaretto cream and finished with coconut. It has to be tried at least once although I suspect that if you try it once, you'll join the throng of fans, myself included.
Both Mr NQN and I almost fight over The Tropics with its tropical flavours. On the outside is a pineapple sponge cake filled with white chocolate mousse enclosing kalamansi lychee gelée cubes. Like the coconut cake, it's wonderfully light and perfectly sweet without being overly so.
The milk chocolate and macadmais nut bar is a slender chocolate and hazelnut log of mousse/pudding with a scoop of salted caramel gelato and Surinam cherry. It's sweet, rich but balanced and the perfect chocolate dessert for ending off a meal.
And every night when we return to our room, the thoughtful housekeeping staff leaves us a small gift from lip balms to adorable little fridge magnets and when we drive off to the airport the valets make sure that we have everything and are comfortable in the car, giving us bottle of water making it feel like a home away from home. Or a house without a key.
So tell me Dear Reader, is there a hotel in the world that you've always wanted to stay at?
NQN stayed as a guest of Halekulani Hotel but all opinions remain her own.
Halekulani Hotel
2199 Kālia Rd, Honolulu, HI 96815, United States
Phone: +1 808-923-2311
https://www.halekulani.com/
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