Week 2 & 3 - Hawaii

Week 2 & 3 (5 – 19 Dec)

Aloha.  We’ve just come from 2 weeks in Waikiki.  What can you say about Hawaii that hasn’t already been said, written and photographed.  It is the picture perfect postcard with great beaches, sunshine, shopping, plentiful food and lovely people.  From a tourist’s perspective Hawaii has everything you’d need for a great holiday.  The only down side to Waikiki for me is the crowds and luxury shopping that dominates the streets.  For a family back-packing around the world, leaving our “luxurious” life behind, the last thing I needed was to be “sold” how much more beautiful and successful I would look if I had a little piece of Louis Vutton,  Hermes, Prada, Bally, Coach, Tiffany & Co, Chanel etc in the my life.  The first time I saw them in 2010 I was shocked that there were so many.  They are not there for the locals or visiting Aussies, Canadians or Americans because from what I saw only the Japanese were buying.  There a significant number of Japanese living in Hawaii and many more tourists.  Which means there are some really great Japanese restaurants but we didn’t visit any of them on this trip as, having just come from Japan, Big A was over Japanese food (read my  Week 1 - Tokyo blog for more on why!).  

The food in Hawaii is really good with plenty of options from Denny’s cheap American fare to the high end Japanese restaurants like Nobu.  We found great value in the Cheesecake Factory.  We must have eaten there every other night during our two week stay and never spent more than $70 for dinner.  This would typically include 2 Edamame, 2 beers and kids drinks, a burger for the girls to share, a salad or couple of appetisers for Big A and I to share and a Lynda’s Chocolate Fudge cake to take home and eat the following day.  The Cheesecake Factory is located in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Centre opposite Jimmy Buffets and Macy’s on the main street.   We also ate at Wild Buffalo Wings which is on the way from the Hilton Hawaiian Village to Ala Moana Shopping Centre and Roys which is voted (on Tripadviser) as the Number 1 restaurant in Waikiki.  Roys had the best service I’ve ever experienced anywhere and the food was ok as well although I ordered Mahi Mahi and forgot how dry this fish is and wish I’d ordered something else from the menu.

We had booked into the Sheraton Waikiki for the first week and Best Western Coconut Waikiki the second (which saved us about $180 a night).  The Sheraton was booked due to it’s location right next to the Royal Hawaiian in the heart of Waikiki on the beach.  It had a fantastic pool with kids slide and plenty of space.  Right on the beach it was easy to move from one to the other and the staff around the pool were great.  The rooms at the Sheraton were really average both in size and design.  I like minimalist décor but this was simply bland and uninspiring.  Given the extent the Sheraton has gone to to ensure the public spaces are so well appointed it is a shame the contrast to the rooms is so great.  It was lucky for us that we had an ocean front room with a 180 degree of the Pacific Ocean (nice).  We certainly made the most of the view while we were there and prepared for our departure from ocean front comfort to the corner of windy and noisy at the Best Western Coconut Waikiki.  Over all this hotel was nice enough but all the things we loved about the Sheraton, pool, location,  free wifi – the Best Western failed to deliver.  It did have a pool, was located on the water and had wifi but the pool was rectangular, the water was the canal and the wifi only worked when I stood in the doorway.  They did offer to move us but we’d already unpacked and couldn’t be asked.

The two weeks were filled with much of the same bliss of long days at the beach and Sheraton pool, afternoon rests and then out for dinner.  We were lucky enough to have met up with the ‘McNightmare’s’ (Kona and Mrs) and they were just lovely.  Big A and Kona shared some bonding at their better halves’ expense but Mrs McKnightmare and I deflected their jibes with grace and dignity (well that was until the 2^nd or 3^rd bottle of wine!!!).  They invited us out for a fabulous night at the Outrigger Canoe Club and we spent a few more days and nights in their company which turned out to be such a great addition to our family vacation.  Speaking of family, yes even in Waikiki I can bump into someone from Rockhampton.  This time our kids had been playing for 2 or 3 days when the girl’s mum ‘Wilma’ came over and introduced herself.  It wasn’t until the father ‘Fred’ turned around that I recognized them from Rocky.  I probably haven’t seen them for +15 years so there was a lot to catch up on and even better to get to know them again as parents and “grown ups”.  Weird though as Fred and Big A swapped “poor bloke” stories (they have 3 daughters) Wilma and I could have sworn they were swapped at birth (along with Kona). 

We actually spotted Mark Occhilupo the Australian surfer on our last day in Hawaii and introduced our new found friends and relatives to him for a Kodac moment.  I’m sure 2 hours later when we dragged our collective children away from him he regretted being so nice to us, but he’ll get over it – eventually.

Big A’s perspective

I’ve been to Hawaii about 15 times now probably as I always used to fly via the US to Europe and from Oz when I lived in the US….and I love it….I just find it a really easy place to relax . Lazy days with the girls at the beach and pool…life really doesn’t get an y better. Then add hot buffalo wings, the Cheesecake Factory and the Outrigger Canoe Club ….just fantastic.

My ratings regarding the Sheraton – room – dated & sparse 5/10, location – perfect 10/10, facilities – pool was great 9/10, price – expensive 5/10…so overall 7.5/10.

However, for me the Best Western Waikiki was awful. Located on the corner of Noisy and Windy, tiny, unusable pool ….and really crap breakfast. Ratings : room – OK 7/10, location – awful 4/10, facilities – pool was tiny, internet useless 4/10, price – 7/10…so overall 5.5/10….I’d stay at the Aqua Wave and save $30/night.

Cheesecake factory – fantastic but be prepared to wait. No reservations so you HAVE to wait…and you might have to and around for an hour or more. But order 1 meal for 2 …they are huge so your bill ends up being less than one of the cheap crap places like Chilli’s, Senor Frogs or Sunset Bar and Grill etc.

Rental cars – Hanauma Bay and north Shore was great.….once we found them…road signs and directions are not the greatest.

The Shrimp Shack was OK but for me overpriced for what is was.

Kids amazed me at Hanauma Bay. Sunset and Pipe were awesome even though they weren’t at full bore …only about 6-8 Hawaiian (25 foot faces). Waimea wasn’t working but shore dump is worth the visit …watch the Japanese, English and Canadians get hammered in some of the biggest shore dump you’ll ever see…cracked me up!

The rental car was a heap…but lots of fun…and what do you expect from $40/day.

Hooked up with the McNightmares from Victoria, Canada - surely one of the nicest places in the world - these guys and their gorgeous daughter ‘Duracell” were just brilliant…’Duracell’ entertained our kids enabling both sets of parents a few minutes break each day.

Child Bride ran into another set of relatives…..I swear everyone in Rockhampton is related to everyone else…..and they keep in touch! Great family though….and with 4 girls on holiday to provide for,  how Fred still has a sense of humour and any hair is beyond me…having said that his girls are amazing, especially the eldest who helped occupy seemingly 10 kids on the last day!

So overall…Hawaii ….loved it.