The new, 112-room Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club, a
four-star Waikiki boutique property housed in a 1960s-era building, welcomed
its first guests earlier this spring and officially opened its Mahina & Sun’s
restaurant on May 2.
“The Surfjack is a design-led, art-driven
hotel that many locals had a hand in creating,” Casea Collins-Wright, the
Surfjack’s director of experience, said in a statement. “Our vision is to encapsulate
the laid-back spirit of midcentury Aloha.”
Located several blocks from the beach in Waikiki, the retro interior
design of the 10-story property’s guestrooms was inspired by the surf bungalows
on Oahu’s north shore, and they feature private lanais along with a range of
handmade furnishings and local artwork. Meanwhile, much of the property’s
concrete interior was refreshed with reclaimed wood and accented with even more
locally created art, all aimed at combining a beach-culture and ’60s spirit
with modern aloha, according to hotel officials.
The lobby at Waikiki's Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club.
The property is also home to a pool area hotel designers
have dubbed the Swim Club, which offers cocktails, a lunch menu, private
cabanas, a schedule of music events and even movie nights.
Highly regarded Oahu-born chef Ed Kenney, who’s Town restaurant
in Kaimuki remains a major favorite among locals, launched Mahina &
Sun’s earlier this month, promising diners a menu that is “local first, organic
whenever possible, with aloha always.”
“It’s like blue jeans and a T-shirt,” Kenney said in a
statement, “simple, yet elevated home cooking with a focus on local, organic produce
and sustainable seafood.”
A member of Aqua-Aston Hospitality’s new Instinct Collection
of independently branded hotels, standard room rates at the Surfjack Hotel
& Swim club start around $200 a night, but the property also features one-,
two- and three-bedroom suites.