Trip date: Dec 2023
In travel hacking there is something called repositing. This means that you fly to a different airport in order to take advantage of a great mileage redemption. And that's exactly what I did on my way to New Zealand. I paid $463 for an Alaska Air Premium Economy flight from Seattle to Honolulu. And then I was upgraded to First Class!
I hadn't been to Honolulu since I was in college so I decided to stay 2-nights and enjoy the stopover.
I had booked the Sheraton Waikiki using Marriott points and got a big King room with a partial ocean view and balcony. Feeling a bit lazy after my day of travel (it's a 6 ½ flight to HNL from SEA) I decided to stay within walking distance for drinks and dinner and go on a little mai tai crawl.
First stop was the Sheraton's beachside bar Rum Fire. My mai tai was pretty basic and just served in a pint glass, but the Christmas lights and decor around the pool were quite fun.
Next I walked over to the beautiful
Royal Hawaiian aka the "Pink Palace". This is such a gorgeous old property! I made my way to the Mai Tai Bar, also located right on the beach, and had a much better drink.
And just next door I had dinner at Duke's, which had the best of the 3 mai tais. Duke's is hardly fine dining, but I've been eating there since I was a kid so it is fun for me.
In the morning before breakfast I took a walk down Waikiki Beach and found it a lot smaller than I had remembered! It was fun to see all the surfers and Diamond Head in the distance.
One of the reasons I chose the Sheraton was that their
Edge Infinity Pool is only for 16+ year olds. Don't come at me parents, I just don't want to hear kids screaming while I'm chilling with my book & a cocktail at the pool!
I was able to reserve a single mini cabana for $60 for the entire day. It wasn't too crowded, the service was great, and this is definitely one of the prettiest pools and views I've been to. That was a very relaxing day!
That evening I took an Uber to the Kaimana Hotel for dinner at their restaurant
Hau Tree. First stop was the bar for a lovely martini. The bartender also told me that they had heard Jason Momoa was rumored to be stopping by since they were using his vodka brand. Exciting, but he didn't!
I had a table outside under one of the Hau trees; the setting is so pretty. The restaurant sits on the beach so the sound of the waves adds to the atmosphere. My appetizer of housemade vinegar and dill potato chips served with creme fraiche and caviar was perfect with a glass of champagne. I followed that with their fresh caught fish of the day and a lovely Russian River Valley pinot noir which they poured by Coravin. I really enjoyed this spot.
And that was about it! Mahalo Waikiki for the quick but enjoyable stopover!
The next morning I headed out to the airport for my flight to New Zealand. I was really surprised that HNL does not have any duty free shopping and also the Plumeria Lounge for Hawaiian Airlines business class passengers was possibly the most basic lounge ever. First world problems...
All Honolulu photos
here.
