The New Waikiki Beach Walk is Revitalizing Hawaii's Most Famous Visitor Area 

The new Waikiki Beach Walk has transformed a formerly congested and aging area of central Waikiki into an attractive, pedestrian-friendly gathering spot. Along Lewers Street, a plaza of grass, tropical plantings and stone pathways covered with undulating glass canopies fronts the two-level, 92,000-square-foot Waikiki Beach Walk complex. It houses new dining, shopping and entertainment venues, which are integrated among four new and/or completely renovated hotel properties.

The Waikiki Beach Walk is the largest single development project in Waikiki’s history. Ground broke on April 1, 2005, and the Beach Walk opened in December 2006. The entire 7.9-acre project runs from the Ohana Islander Waikiki Hotel on the corner of Lewers Street and Kalakaua Avenue to the Outrigger Reef property on the ocean, and from the east side of Saratoga Road to Lewers Street. The $535 million renaissance was master-planned and developed by Outrigger Enterprises Group, Hawaii’s largest hospitality company.

The Waikiki Beach Walk is attracting tourists and locals who linger to dine and shop. Among the new venues is Roy’s Waikiki, the newest island outpost of Roy Yamaguchi’s signature Hawaiian fusion cuisine. Located next door is the casual Yard House, offering the world’s largest selection of draft beers in a lively, noisy atmosphere. Upstairs, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, serves its renowned sizzling steaks, and Holokai Grill features tropical drinks and contemporary island cuisine.  Coconut Willy’s Bar & Grill is the late night hangout. Kai-Wa is a small Japanese restaurant serving sushi, and Taormina Sicilian Cuisine offers Italian specialties.  Options for quick meals and snacks are many and varied, ranging from a pastrami sandwich to a Japanese cream puff.

The Beach Walk also offers 33 shops, featuring a good mix offering clothing, accessories, gifts and home décor, most with beach and island flavors and accents.  Visitors see longstanding Hawaiian favorites such as Crazy Shirts, Maui Divers Jewelry, Honolua Surf and the ubiquitous, all-purpose ABC store, as well as some newcomers. Among them, Malibu Shirts presents a bit of surfing history, with boards suspended from the ceiling tracing the design of surfboards from 1914 and with surfing documentaries running on a flat-screen TV. Oasis is a mix of clothing, jewelry and unusual home accessories. 

The Beach Walk’s most innovative shop is Mana Hawaii-Spirit of Hawaii Nei, a joint venture of five locally owned businesses. The shop features Hawaiian-made items, artwork, clothing, hula implements, ukuleles, books and music. More significant is Mana Hawaii-Spirit of Hawaii Nei’s goal of connecting visitors with the Hawaiian community and culture through learning and doing. The shop’s schedule of activities includes opportunities to spend time with local artists; learning to dance the hula, play a ukulele or weave a hala leaf bracelet; experiencing an authentic lomi lomi massage; and becoming aware of the issues facing the Hawaiian community.

The emphasis on Hawaiian music and culture continues at the nightly, open-air sunset concerts on the Beach Walk’s plaza. Partnering with well-known and up-and-coming Hawaiian entertainers, Beach Walk management aims to make the plaza the hot spot for enjoying contemporary and traditional Hawaiian music.

Before the construction of the Waikiki Beach Walk, the immediate area had 11 hotels offering a total 3,100 rooms. When Phase 2 is completed in 2009, there will be five hotels with a total of 1,996 rooms. Among the newer properties is the 421-room Embassy Suites Hotel-Waikiki Beach Walk, which occupies two towers joined by a fourth-flour Grand Lanai. This is Hawaii’s first all-new, all-suite property. And a two-year, $54 million renovation transformed the former Ohana Reef Towers hotel into the 195-unit Wyndham Vacation Ownership-Waikiki Beach Walk, Wyndham’s first resort in Waikiki. 

Barry Wallace, executive vice president of hospitality services for Outrigger Enterprises Group, points out that the changing face of Waikiki is a strong selling point.  “Waikiki is the heart of Hawaii’s visitor industry, and Outrigger Enterprises Group’s Waikiki Beach Walk is an affirmation of Waikiki’s renewed strength as a global destination,” he says. “As travel agents well know, the traveling public today is much different from that of yesterday. They are more sophisticated in their choices, have different accommodation demands and are in search of new and varied activities and experiences.”

He adds, “Outrigger’s Waikiki Beach Walk and the breathtaking array of improvements that have been undertaken by the public, and now private, sector ensures that Waikiki will continue to be top-of-mind for a new generation of visitors contemplating trips to Hawaii and other destinations.”
 
Phase 2 of the Waikiki Beach Walk includes more alterations in the hotel market. The 265-room Ohana Islander Waikiki will be converted into a luxury boutique hotel for hipper and younger guests, with renovations starting next year. The 464-unit Trump International Hotel and Tower will be Waikiki’s most luxurious “condotel” when it opens in August, 2009. The Trump Tower will sit on the corner of Saratoga and Kalia Roads. A $100 million renovation of the Outrigger Reef on the Beach is repositioning the 858-room hotel into a 700-room, full-service resort. When the renovated Ocean Tower reopens this month, the Pacific Tower will close for its transformation. It is set to debut in late 2008, when the entire project will be completed. New resort amenities will include teak lounge chairs on the pool deck, a new entry and lobby, and a signature restaurant. 

In addition, the Beach Walk’s energy has generated a wave of renovation that’s rolling through the neighborhood. More than $84 million is being spent on the transformation of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping center, stretching three blocks from Lewers Street along Kalakaua Avenue. Three heavy concrete spans have been replaced by a pedestrian bridge that opens the view to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and substantially softens the center’s former fortress-like appearance.  The resulting new open area, the Royal Grove, will be a lush garden of about 70 coconut trees, tropical plants, a pond, a fountain and a stream. When it is completed by midyear, the Royal Grove will host complimentary nightly entertainment and other cultural events. 

Boasting the largest number of luxury flagship retailers in Hawaii, the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center is considered the Rodeo Drive of Waikiki. Fendi recently opened a new shop here, joining designers such as Cartier and Salvatore Ferragamo. And the flagship Hilo Hattie store is moving from its Nimitz Highway location to the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. Opening this summer, the two-level store will have live Hawaiian music in its tropical setting. 

New dining options at the center will include P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Senor Frog’s, W Steakhouse and nine casual eateries on a lanai. The forth-floor Royal Hawaiian Showroom will feature a Vegas-style, Hawaiian-themed show.  After the show, half of the seats will retract to make way for a nightclub with acrobatic performances and high-tech videos. The lobby lounge will be the spot for upscale, trendy nightlife.
 
The 297-room Waikiki Parc, located a block from the Waikiki Beach Walk, is undergoing a redesign program that will reposition the property as “Honolulu chic” – designed for guests who like hip hotels with a bit of urban attitude.  The use of ebony hardwoods, illuminated glass walls and bold artwork give the tropics a contemporary feel.  In partnership with Chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, renowned for his innovative Japanese cuisine, the Parc at press time was scheduled to open Nobu Waikiki in its lobby this month. 
 
Changes are also underway at Starwood’s Waikiki properties. All of the Sheraton Waikiki’s rooms have been renovated with new, dark wood furniture, all white bedding, flat-screen TVs and closet shelving that replaced credenzas. Plans to change the lobby are underway.
 
On June 1, the Sheraton Moana Surfrider will become the Moana Surfrider, a Westin Resort. A renovation that will accompany the rebranding will include the Westin Heavenly Bed and a flat-screen television in each guestroom, a revitalized lobby, a Westin Kids Discovery Club and new outdoor furniture. In addition, the Banyan Restaurant will introduce a new menu. A 15,000-square-foot spa, Waikiki’s first and only beachfront spa, and a 1,400-square-foot Westin Workout by Reebok will open in early 2008. The hotel also will open a signature restaurant. Changes are planned for the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, but details are still under discussion.