Usually, for our anniversary, Mr. Aloha and I head back to Kauai, where we were married. This year we decided to change it up and take a long weekend in Waikiki.  I knew it wouldn’t be as quiet as the shores of Kauai, but I also wasn’t prepared for how busy it actually is. 

There are so many hotels we didn’t know where to start, except that I have lifetime loyalty status with the hotels under the Bonvoy umbrella. There were several to choose from the Sheraton, the Royal Hawaiian, The Moana Surfrider to name a few. Most of the time, I prefer a more contemporary hotel, but I thought I’d be remiss in my history lesson if we didn’t stay at The Royal Hawaiian.  

The Royal Hawaiian was a beautiful, picturesque hotel, but I can’t recommend it. It was far too stressful for a relaxing weekend. We had a beautiful oceanfront balcony which we couldn’t enjoy in the afternoons for sunset because the music from the Hula Grill next door was so loud and covered up our own music and conversation. Only one day were we able to pay for beach chairs as people lined up at 7am in the morning to secure their seats for the day.  One morning we did get the free pool chairs by the tiny postage stamp pool–only to have them taken away while we were dining at the hotel restaurant next door. I will say that the staff at the restaurant both for breakfast and dinner were amazing. They remembered us and would take great care of us. Our anniversary dinner at Azure was amazing and I still think about the short ribs.

The upside to staying at the Waikiki Bonvoy properties is that you do get privileges at both the Sheraton Waikiki and the Moana Surfrider. We especially enjoyed going to the Moana Surfrider for lunch. There I enjoyed my first Blue Hawaii. Daresay I think I prefer it to the Mai Tai. We mainly walked around the Sheraton grounds–enjoying feeding the koi fish one morning. We would have liked to enjoy the Sheraton adult infinity pool, but that is only for guests who do stay at the Sheraton. 

We didn’t have a huge agenda for a time in Waikiki. We took a lovely run one morning and enjoyed seeing the Honolulu Police Department building (yes, we’ve watched too many episodes of Magnum P.I. and Hawaii Five-O). One evening we found the Musubi Cafe and enjoyed a light dinner back on our balcony. It is definitely a shopper’s paradise. I enjoyed meeting with Nancy Cheung who owns the local accessory chain, Happy Wahine, and is featured in our current kit. 

My favorite part of the trip, however, was meeting up with one of our customers, Meredith Forbes. Meredith has taken that step that some of us only dream of–she sold everything in New York and moved to Honolulu to start a new life. Meredith picked us up Sunday morning in her jeep and away we went. It only took about 15 minutes and we were out of the hustle and bustle of Waikiki and into the greener, lusher landscapes that I associate Hawaii with. 

Our first stop was a Leonard’s Malasada stand. I have only heard about these delightful puffs of pastry. Finally, I was taking a bite of the real thing. Our journey would take us to the North Shore. We stopped to enjoy the view at La’ie Point and a secret swim just south of Turtle Bay with a practically deserted beach front. 

We had lunch in Haleiwa at the Beach House. Afterward, we drove through the super cute shopping area—so many of my favorite brands are there. I was definitely making notes about where to come the next time we visit. Our kids would be sure to enjoy the ATV tour of where Jurassic Park was made, and I would like to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Our final leg was through downtown Waikiki to see some of the historic buildings.

Our five days went fast, and the next thing you know we were at the airport for the plane ride home. We found one last secret gem at the airport which is a friendship garden between terminals. It was a great place to soak in the Hawaiian sun until next time.