STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

exsupahero · Kate Spade

Hawaii Trip. Help!

Maddie · Coach

Do you know where you're going in Hawaii? There was a Lucky a while ago that focused on shopping in Hawaii that someone else might have. In my experience, shopping is usually surf shops, really expensive old lady stores, or souvenir shops. However, I've never spent much time on Oauhu, where I imagine there would be better stores. kealoha lives in Honolulu, I believe so maybe she can help you out there.

Metric · Gucci

If you are in Honalulu there is a fantastic mall called The Ala Moana Centre. Its huge and full of great stores. I believe they just renovated also so it might be even better than when I was there last year.

Waikiki has lots of boutiques along the main road and The International Market has tons of kitschy and cool stands with lots of different kinds of jewelry, Hawaiian theme stuff, souveniers. Its really fun to spend an afternoon browsing, even if you don't think you like Hawaiin stuff it grows on you while you're there.

If you go to Waikiki you have to eat at Duke's Canoe Club. The food is fantastic.

sfclinevandy · Coach

In Maui, there is a really cute area in Lahaina with a lot of cute resturants and stores.

exsupahero · Kate Spade

Smart...

I'll be on Honolulu.

crystal · Kate Spade

whadaya know? i'm planning a trip too at the moment. it will be my 3rd time to oahu & i dunno about shopping cuz i figure they have all the same stores we do in cali, but for night life i'd like to reccomend Zanzibar on kuhio ave. it's soooooo fun, i went several times on my last trip & it was great! also, i would check out hawaii's version of chippendales at the cellar. it's a little seedy but way too much fun! for $5 they take u up on stage, put the 5 ones all over ur & take them off w/ their teeth! u have to buy tix, i think they were around $20, mabye less, but it's so worth it, i had the best time & the guys r soooo hott!! also, after u have free entrance to the club so u can stay & it really fills in & has good music. the rest of the time i was there i mainly just lie on the beach & did a few touristy things. we met a local guy at TGIF's on the first day there & he showed us (and drove us) around a lot. well, have fun!

kealoha · Kate Spade

IMO, stay out of Waikiki. The prices are hugely inflated & most locals don't shop there. Granted they have some cute stuff, but it's just grossly overpriced to warrant me shopping there. The only place I like is the DFS (Duty Free Shoppers) Galleria b/c they allow access to 2 or 3 floors & don't charge tax. If you're a cosmetic junkie, they've got Stila, MAC, YSL, Origins, Dior, Estee Lauder, Clinique, Bobbi Brown, Lancome, Guerlain, Chanel & other brands. Other than DFS, stay out of Waikiki.

You need to hit Ala Moana Center, Ward Villages (4 shopping complexes), & Kahala Mall. I live in Kahala & although the mall isnt large, they have some cute boutiques that I really love. Shasa Emporium is filled w/stuff that Kitson & Lisa Kline carry b/c the owner gets inspiration from those boutiques. There's a great accessory shop called Riches that carries Tano & Hype Bags & the cutest jewelry. Otherwise, they have Macy's, Gap, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor & other local boutiques. Definitely check out Shasa along w/Ohelo Road & Boutique A'Propos.

Ala Moana is anchored by Macy's, Sears & Neiman Marcus. High end boutiques include Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Company, Celine, Ralph Lauren, Etro, Emporio Armani, Armani Exchange, Hermes, & countless others. It's definitely a must on any shopper's list & expect to spend a full day there b/c there are 3 floors to this open-air mall. Wear comfy shoes & shop smart. Two of my favorite locally owned stores @ Ala Moana are Rafael Hawaii & Le Lotus Blue.

Ward Villages have a variety of stores. The best to check out is Nordstrom Rack. I don't shop @ the Villages other than NR b/c many of the stores aren't suited to my liking. However, it's something you should see. Lots of restaurants & a large theatre complex as well. The only thing I URGE you to do is eat a burger @ Kua Aina. Truly an experience.

As for dining & night clubs, you HAVE to do Duke's @ least once. Although the food isn't the greatest, the view there is killer & makes up for the food. Very lively & always packed so don't be alarmed if you have to wait 30+ minutes for a table. For night clubs, hit the Wave Waikiki & Ocean Club @ Restaurant Row. The Wave is an all-time favorite for any local & tourist; Ocean's gets a lot of locals, but minimum age to enter is 23. Also hit Aloha Tower for some shopping & dining. Haven't been there in ages, but I hear it's still happening.

As for weather, we've been drenched w/rain for almost a week. Generally, late March is nice & you should have good weather. Pack light b/c Hawaii is casual & not many people dress up. And whatever your friends say, DON'T buy or bring anything w/Hawaiian print. Hawaiian prints are a common misconception here. You'll see businessmen wearing Aloha shirts (suits are generally only for the judicial courts) & the women almost NEVER wear muumuus. If you want to be pegged for a tourist, wear ugly Hawaiian prints, but to blend in, wear what you normally wear @ home.

LMK if you need more help. You've got some time to plan, but those were things I think everyone needs to do. Watch the weather reports for 3 weeks before you come. Weather in Hawaii is fickle & it could be sunny one minute & storming the next.

Good Luck!

exsupahero · Kate Spade

Ahhh! You ladies are awesome. Special thanks to kealoha for your post. I will definitely save your post and start planning the trip within the next couple of weeks. I need to get out of California! It's so gloomy and cold here.

kealoha · Kate Spade

No problem. I think Ala Moana, Ward Villages (try Victoria Ward) & Kahala Mall have websites. It'll give you directions & a possibly timeline by bus, bike or rental car.

Oh, one thing you should do is hike Diamond Head. It sounds incredibly touristy, but the view is amazing & breathtaking once you get to the top. Perfect photo op for you to share w/your friends & family.

Ironically, I'm trying to get out of Honolulu. I've totally got rock fever & am heading to California in the next 2 weeks.

exsupahero · Kate Spade

Ugh but in a good way!

I finally got our flight tickets out of the way! I paid for myself, my friend, and my boyfriend.

Just tonight, I booked my 7 night stay at the Hawaii Prince Hotel which I thought was really cool since it isn't directly on Waikiki. What's a plus about this place is that it's in a quiet location and it had tons of good reviews. There won't be a gazillion kids around. I *think* the rooms won't be too beat-up like the hotels on Waikiki can be (since tons of families like to visit Honolulu, I presume) because it's "out of the way" from the beaches. And! Pretty much no matter what room we get, it all has floor to ceiling glass windows and a view of the ocean/marina. Awesome deal, I tell ya. I hope this will be a gooood stay too! Come on, good karma!

Now that I got the "big stuff" out of the way, I can actually think about the little things like activities and such. I'm happppppy because this trip is actually coming true!

exsupahero · Kate Spade

Thought I'd post an article on Honolulu that I came across...

"We want to do a little partying here and then relax on Maui," Chris Brothers, a 36-year-old Manhattan investment banker, said as he cradled a mai tai beside the pool at the Halekulani Hotel a couple of hours after arriving in Honolulu in early January. Mr. Brothers and his girlfriend, Monique Zordan, were adding some city time to their Hawaiian vacation after hearing that Honolulu was attracting a youthful, high-spirited crowd. A friend, Mr. Brothers said, had come back from Honolulu, raving about how it was a "happening place," and they weren't letting the opportunity pass them by.

"You don't want to just surf," said Christopher Madison, 27, as he sat with his friends in the Wonderlounge at the W Hotel, which, like the Halekulani, is in Waikiki. "You want to have a night life and hang out."

Not far away, young women in rhinestone-studded jeans were drinking Mumm Champagne and bouncing to the rhythm of thumping house music. "There's a new social life, a city social life, just appearing," Mr. Madison said.

Joining Honolulu's base of Japanese tour groups and American mainlanders in matching flowered shirts is a new group of fun-seekers. Vacationers in their 20's and 30's dance in clubs like the new Zen-themed, silk-pillowed O Lounge, in a converted Chinese restaurant just outside Waikiki, or at thirtyninehotel downtown, where laid-back artsy types lounge on a U-shaped sectional as a disco ball spins. They join the locals in a cleaned-up downtown for gallery evenings, happy hour and ethnic dining.

In a survey by Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell for its 2004 National Leisure Travel Monitor, 26- to 40-year-olds put Honolulu among the top five destinations they would like to visit in the next two years. The youngest adult travelers, 25 and under, ranked its desirability alongside that of New York, Miami and the Florida Keys.

Tourist visits to Honolulu were up nearly 10 percent in 2004 from 2003, the first increase since the 2001 terrorist attacks; the number of visitors who spent their entire vacation on Oahu was up nearly 14 percent.

These travelers are finding a transformed Waikiki, well into the process of morphing from a tacky resort of aging hotels and Elvis impersonators into what is beginning to pass for urban chic. After half a billion dollars in public and private investment, the main seaside boulevard, Kalakaua Avenue, has wide waterfall-flanked sidewalks and shady knolls, and about a dozen hotels have completed major renovations. One, the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel, now updated in bright yellows and reds and bamboo curtains depicting vintage hula girls, promoted its new look with the slogan "Aloha With an Attitude." Luxury retailers like Yves Saint Laurent and Tiffany have opened stores.

As the city's pulse quickens, more change is on the way. The Waikiki Parc Hotel plans to renovate its guest rooms and replace a cafe that serves an all-you-can-eat buffet from steam trays with a trendy bar.

The Halekulani is taking reservations for its Vera Wang Suite, opening this month. The 2,185-square-foot ocean-view suite was decorated by the designer best known for stylish wedding gowns. The hotel also plans a $400,000 revamping of its cocktail lounge, with chain draperies and dramatic lighting, the perfect forum for the caipirinhas and flaming drinks that are being created for it by Dale DeGroff, a longtime Rainbow Room bartender turned cocktail consultant.

The next big change in Waikiki will be a $350 million project by Outrigger Enterprises, which has 15 hotels there, to replace the fast-food restaurants and low-budget hotels of Lewers Street with a suite hotel, a resort condominium, a time-share development and a retail and entertainment center.

Beyond Waikiki, reinvestment in the downtown has put a new $11 million face on the 1922 Hawaii Theater and studded a gritty landscape with restored early-20th-century facades, drawing residents and visitors to places they didn't dare venture before.

"There was a time when really sophisticated travelers would avoid Honolulu," said Ron Letterman, chairman of Classic Custom Vacations, based in San Jose, Calif. "All through the 90's they said, 'I don't go to Honolulu - that's a big mess.' " Now, he continued, "that's all changed."

--Courtesy of the New York Times

-- Edited by exsupahero at 00:39, 2005-02-21

kealoha · Kate Spade

You'll be happy w/the Prince. It's an upscale hotel w/great facilities, but on the outskirts of Waikiki. It's about a 5-minute walk from Ala Moana & about 15 minutes to the heart of Waikiki. The only thing is that they're near a beach, but not on a beach. Another 5 minutes & you'll be @ Ala Moana beach park which is quite large, so you'll be fine.

I have to say that the article you posted is quite nice. I know that the Visitor's Bureau was really trying to target young singles & give Honolulu a different vibe, so it's nice to see that they're succeeding. I'm totally out of the loop when it comes to nightlife, but recognize many of the names mentioned. The W is a very nice hotel & their club caters to a different crowd. I think they're the only ones who might have a strict dress code, but otherwise, the fun places are very relaxed.

exsupahero · Kate Spade

TWO more days!!!

Sorry, I just had to post that.