The Kahala Hotel and Resort — Hotel Review Rating: 5.0 Pearls

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Oyster Hotel Review

Reporter: Michael W.
Updated: November 13, 2009

 Scene

Built in 1964 as one of hotel magnate Conrad Hilton's pet projects, the Kahala quickly became a Hawaiian icon -- Liz Taylor and Richard Burton hid out from the paparazzi in a cabana there after getting married (for the first time) in 1964. It has hosted celebrities from all domains ever since. Snoop Doggy Dogg, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Clinton, the 1987 (i.e., mid-"transformation") version of Michael Jackson -- they're all up there on the hotel's Wall of Fame just off the main lobby, along with dozens of others. Some have even left love notes. Carrie Fisher: "Aloha Kahala -- the only two Hawaiian words I need to know(?!) except mahalo + love." Elton John: "What a great experience to come back to a hotel that is paradise. Thank you SO much for the care and service."

Elton knows a good place when he sees one. And it's that care and service he mentioned that, as much as its quiet locale, separate the Kahala from its few luxury competitors in Oahu. Throw in four superb restaurants, a quasi-private beach, and the only swim-with-the-dolphins experience on the island (the only other one in Hawaii is at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island) and you have a unique Oahu experience more akin to the luxury resorts on Maui and Kauai than anything on its own island.

Others like it too -- and not just celebrities. The Kahala hosts scores of weddings every year, sometimes as many as four or five in a single weekend. It gets named on just about every "best of" list every year, including Travel + Leisure's Top 500 Hotels list and Conde Nast Traveler's Gold List. Even more impressive, it garners those accolades without the benefit of the glitz and flash of the other islands' best hotels. No one spritzes you with Evian water by the pool like they do at the Four Seasons Maui. You're not greeted by a wall of waterfalls and Fernando Botero sculptures like you are at the Grand Wailae. Instead you get a pet stingray, a "kissing point" out off the beach, and toddlers petting dolphins as part of the "Wee Family, Fins and Fun" package.

 Service

The service is what really separates the Kahala from its competitors in Waikiki. Some of the employees have worked at the hotel since the beginning (1964) -- a fact the hotel's management takes great pride in. In the dining rooms, I was addressed as Mr. W____. When you arrive in your room, Hawaiian slack-guitar music is playing on the CD player. Every employee you pass smiles and says hi. And listen to this:

At breakfast one morning, one of the acai berry compotes at the buffet was filled to the brim, and I spilled juice on my shorts on the way back to my table. Having seen the accident, my waitress immediately grabbed club soda and lemon juice and rushed over to work on the stain. (Get your mind out of the gutter! -- the stain was at the base of my shorts.) By the end of breakfast, when it was clear the stain hadn't completely come out, my waitress sent the manager over. I told her it was no big deal, but she insisted, and left to talk to the hotel manager. A few moments later she returned to let me know that the hotel would wash the shorts for me, no charge, and have them ready by the next day. All I had to do was hang them on my door. The next morning at breakfast, the first thing my waitress asked me was whether my shorts got cleaned. "Yep," I said. "Good as new."

• Guests are greeted with wet washcloths and leis.
• In-room check-in allows you to skip whatever lines might be at the front desk.
• Free back-and-forth shuttle service to Waikiki
• 24-hour room service
• Nightly turndown service includes ice-bucket refill and free restocking of coffee and tea.
• Newspaper delivered daily in blue cotton bag

 Location

The Kahala is named for the residential Honolulu neighborhood in which it sits. While technically part of Honolulu, Kahala feels like an upscale suburb: $3 million homes with palm trees and perfectly manicured lawns, quiet parks like Waialae Beach Park, and, adjacent to the hotel, the Waialae Country Club. (At one point, the club's golf course merges with the Kahala's lawn.) Removed from the bustle of Waikiki, the Kahala has a distinct advantage over its competitors down the road: namely, peace and quiet. That solitude is a double-edged sword, of course, if you want to spend a lot of time off-site.

• Parking costs $25 per night
• Honolulu International Airport is a 25- to 30-minute, $40 to $50 cab ride.
• Free hourly "shopping shuttle" to the shops and restaurants of downtown Waikiki; otherwise a 10- to 15-minute drive ($20 to $30 by cab)
• Pearl Harbor, Hanauma Bay, and Diamond Head Crater -- three of the most popular tourist sites outside Waikiki -- all within easy driving distance

 Beach

Directly behind the hotel lies 800 feet of soft white sand, a small public beach masquerading as a private one. Since all coastline in Hawaii is public land, the Kahala's beach is technically open to all, but it might as well be private. During my stay, almost everyone I saw there was a guest of the hotel. The few who weren't were affluent Kahala locals -- not exactly hoi polloi -- so they mixed in just fine. The result is a quiet, uncrowded beach, opposite, in every way, from its famous neighbor 10 to 15 minutes up the coast.

• Calm, warm waters and soft ocean floor -- excellent for swimming, even for kids
• No fish; not so excellent for snorkeling
• Free hourlong surfing and standup paddle-boarding orientation from the respected Hans Hedemann Surf School (real lessons range from $78 per person for a group lesson to $157 for a private)
• Free towels and beach chairs; umbrella chairs are $10 for an hour, or $50 for a full day
• Lifeguard on duty
• Honeymooners -- or anyone feeling a little romantic -- should check out the "Kissing Point."

 Rooms

The Kahala's website lists 11 different types of rooms and five types of suites. No matter which way you go, rest assured your room will be impressive -- $30 million of the $52 milion the hotel spent on renovations went into the rooms. Mine, a Mountain Lanai Room, was one of the more modest they have, yet it looks like this -- 550 square feet of functionality and class. The rooms are low-frills for a 5-pearl hotel: amenities are pretty much limited to ceiling fans, a CD of Hawaiian slack-guitar music, and Harney & Sons tea and 10-percent Kona blend coffee (restocked nightly). But the rooms' decor and little touches (bathrobes, slippers) make up for it.

• Excellent beds: Stearns & Foster pillow-top mattresses; Frette 100-percent Egyptian-cotton linens; plush down pillows
• Large, 40-inch LG flat-screen TVs that swivels out from the wall on a hinge; about 35 channels available
• In-room Wi-Fi costs $15 per night, but in-room Wi-Fi is rare in Hawaii
• No iPod docking stations; only a CD player
• Enormous, gorgeous, bathrooms -- among Hawaii's best -- include his-and-hers mirrors and sinks, soaking tubs, and walk-in showers with rainfall shower heads
• Bath products by Floris of London
• Suites have Saeco espresso machines and hardwood floors
• Views range from mountain, to garden, to overlooking the dolphin lagoon or the beach

 Features

As you'd expect, the Kahala boasts an impressive array of amenities, both in quantity and quality. Its trademark feature, though, is what really makes the Kahala unique. The hotel's 26,000-square-foot lagoon is home to six Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, and for a (bracingly steep) price, you can interact with them firsthand through the hotel's Dolphin Quest program.

• "Adult Dolphin Encounter" package ($220 per person, ages 11 and up) allows you to wade into the lagoon and get up close and personal with the animals for a half-hour. For more about the various programs and rates, click here.
• Smaller pool than at most mega resorts, but it's well maintained and includes a kids' pool and a Jacuzzi
• CHI fitness center sports modern, top-of-the-line cardio machines (with personal TV screens and free headphones), free weights, strength-training machines, and locker-room saunas.
• Daily fitness classes like "hula aerobics" and "power yoga" ($25 extra)
• World-class spa; click here for the brochure and here to see the damage anything in that brochure will do to your bank account.
• Free hourly shuttle to Waikiki
• Two beachside gazebos -- perfect for weddings; multiple ballrooms -- perfect for receptions
• Free scuba, surfing, and standup paddle-boarding orientations
• Property-wide Wi-Fi (rare for Oahu), but it costs $15 per night
• Self-parking costs $25 a night -- a bit more than at most Waikiki hotels; valet is $25 plus tips

 Family

With Dolphin Quest and a comprehensive kids' club, the Kahala is an ideal option for families.

• Dolphin Quest (see Features, above) has packages that involve children, including the "Kids' Aquatic Adventure" ($275 for 90 minutes) and the "Dolphin Duo" (parent and child; $630 for 45 minutes).
• The Keiki ("kids" in Hawaiian) Club, for children five to 12, offers a different program each day of the week; activities include pillow-making, bamboo pole-fishing, and treasure hunts. $65 for a full day; $35 for half
• Rollaway beds ($66 a night) and cribs are both available, and fit in any size room
• Plumeria Beach House and Seaside Grill serve up the most kid-friendly menus, though even Hoku's, the gourmet dinner restaurant, has a "Keiki Menu."

 Cleanliness

Fresh off a $52 million renovation, the Kahala looks brand new, and given the quality of the maintenance, it's likely to look that way for a long time. For instance, the balconies' floors and hardwood floors, trouble spots for most hotels, were barefoot clean. The only blemish I found: some remnants of seagull dive-bombings on the balcony of my room -- but that's been a problem on every balcony I've seen.

 Food

The upsides and downsides of dining at the Kahala are pretty clear. The good news is that you'll eat well at any one of the hotel's four excellent sit-down restaurants. The bad news is that they're all pricey, and unlike at the luxury hotels in Waikiki (the Moana Surfrider, the Halekulani, and the Royal Hawaiian), dozens of other cheaper options do not await you at your doorstep -- Waikiki is 10 to 15 minutes by car.

To give you a taste (heh heh) of what you can expect to pay, I dropped $70 on the standard sushi platter plus two beers at Tokyo-Tokyo -- and that's the cheaper of the two dinner restaurants. At the more expensive one, Hoku's, named after one of the Kahala's dolphins, I ordered the salt-crusted Colorado rack of lamb, carved tableside, with ratatouille and an absurdly tasty slice of bacon cornbread. To start the meal, a shrimp ceviche amuse-bouche; to end it, banana-creme-filled chocolate lollipop petits fours. Total damage, including tax, tip, and a glass of wine: $80.

• Hoku's -- regarded as one of the finest restaurants on the island -- serves innovative Asian fusion. Reservations recommended.
• The Plumeria Beach House serves up a mean breakfast (buffet or a la carte), and check out the view if you dine al fresco.
• For lunch, it's the aptly named Seaside Grill, where the food is as good as the setting.
• The restaurants all serve 100-percent Kona peaberry coffee, rare for an eat-in establishment in Hawaii. It's worth mentioning, though, that even the 10-percent Kona blend they provided in my room was delicious.
• Room service is available 24 hours, from the hotel's main kitchen. Check out the spread I ordered my first night there. It tasted as good as it looks.

 Bottom Line

A celebrity retreat since 1964, the newly renovated Kahala is quite possibly the best hotel in Oahu. Yet its vibe is more "family fun" than "pretentious glitz" -- think swimming with dolphins, not posing in lounges. Sure, it's your only luxury option in a quiet setting without leaving Oahu -- but it's also a great one.