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 2nd or 3rd
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment