The Halekulani is indisputably the personification of its name "house befitting heaven". This can be seen, heard and felt from the very second you enter the premises; from the relaxing jazz playing in the lobby, the beauty of the grounds, to the rooms, the colour pallet and attention to detail is incredibly pleasing to the eye. Very modern with many charming twists along the way, the Halekulani will have you feeling warmth and zen from within as you observe the minimalist, clean lines and charming mushroom tones.
There was a very spacious and serene sense of indulgence coming over us when we set our eyes on the immaculate gardens of perfectly trimmed grass along with its perfectly lined up flowers bordering the perfectly shaped hedges topped off with four incredibly majestic white pillars framing the entire picture for us. We must say that the rooms do not cease to live up to this incredible outside beauty either. The first thing that we noticed was that our room was quite spacious and romantically lit. It tastefully featured a combination of marble and wood while keeping some of its island characteristics as well. Walking into our room we were astounded when we caught a glimpse of the most incredible view we had ever seen through the window of our balcony.
As we dropped our bags on the floor instantaneously, we found ourselves running toward the very large “lanai” as though the view was magnetically pulling us towards it. Almost too impeccable to be true we gazed out into the night’s sky able to see each and every unbelievably polished star in the sky that night. The palm trees were the most photogenic trees I had ever seen, almost intentionally scattered and dispersed so effortlessly from one another, not located so to block our view of the incredible ocean, but existing just enough to provide the perfect cherry on top of the cake. The ocean was a bold and bright midnight blue that night even though the evening was in full effect when we arrived. The only light being provided to the ocean was the brightness of the stars and the lights from the city which we could see dancing mingling night’s sky in the distance. We could not believe our eyes as to how beautiful the ocean could look even though the darkness of night had come over it.
In the morning we were amazed all over again, it felt as though an artist had painted us an entirely different picture while we slept as daytime brought with it the most magnificent colours, so tonal that we could not see where the ocean ended and the sky began. Looking down onto the private beach that very first morning, watching the palm trees sway in the slight breeze and the waves crash gently onto the delicate sand, was the perfect way to start our time in Hawaii and became our favourite part about waking up.
If you do not wish to leave the Halekulani in a hurry you will find plenty of luxurious activities within its grounds. We particularly enjoyed the fine dining experiences and our most memorable one has to be at House Without a Key where we enjoyed incredible shrimp, fresh fish and the most scrumptious coconut cake with a beautifully perched lavender frangipani on top struggling to stay up in the abundance of smooth, soft, fluffy cake. We enjoyed sunset drinks at La Mer equally as much tasting the very popular mai tai. We made sure that we didn’t forget to take advantage of the Halekulani’s relaxing heated freshwater pool which again encompassed the island feeling while still remaining very modern through a beautifully designedorchid at the bottom of the large pool. This orchid was created by using more than 1 and a half million mosaic tiles and is quite spectacular at night when the pool is lit up.
One of the most fantastic aspects about staying at the Halekulani (besides the incredible views) and the exquisite dining was the juxtaposition of how close it was to the city center of Waikiki yet how it felt so secluded and far from the busy center life. It certainly was the best of both worlds and this contrast cannot be easily replicated by any other hotel in Hawaii.