My last overnight stay in Waikiki included a brand-new experience: the chance to look out over Hawaii's most popular visitor destination from a high-rise rooftop.
Stepping out of the Hokulani Waikiki resort's elevator around midnight, I walked onto the 14-story property's outdoor pool deck, home to Oahu's only open-air rooftop bar. Closed for the night, I marveled at the surprising quiet of the city streets below.
The Hokulani celebrated its grand opening on the north end of Waikiki Beach Walk in late January, after welcoming its first guests in December. But officials at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club property are still fiddling with the hours for both the rooftop pool and its outdoor Na Lani Sky Lounge, in order to best serve demand, according to General Manager Pam Yagi.
"Ideally, we'd love to keep it open until about 10 at night," she said, noting that it now closes around 6 p.m. as they are figuring out what to do long-term. "We've hosted a few functions up there at night, and it's just spectacular."
The Hokulani's chic rooftop pool deck and bar area starred in a recent episode of CBS's "Hawaii Five-0," and the property's elevators were also the backdrop for a sweet exchange between Danno (Scott Caan) and his daughter on the program.
I was granted permission for a late-night visit as long I didn't get in the heated plunge pool, the hot tub or any of the private, TV-equipped cabanas. That suited me, as I was mainly interested in seeing the city's skyline, a showcase of twinkling right angles redirecting the warm Oahu breeze.
"The view can't get any better," Yagi said. "And it gives you such a different appreciation for Waikiki when you're seeing it from above."
While the Hokulani's rooftop may have enjoyed a heaping share of the limelight with its recent TV exposure, the property's 143 one-bedroom suites are scene-stealers themselves. The apartment-like layouts feature well-equipped boutique kitchens, comfortable living rooms, private outdoor lanais and cavernous, five-fixture bathrooms with LCD TVs in the vanity mirror, a detail men seem to appreciate.
"I get a lot of guys who tell me, 'That TV in the bathroom is so cool,'" Yagi said. "And you get all the same stations in there that you have in the living room."
Formerly the Ohana Islander Waikiki, Hokulani is the final component of the $535 million Waikiki Beach Walk redevelopment, which began back in 2005 and resulted in a collection of new shops, restaurants and hotels on the street.
The Hokulani, the newest Hilton Grand Vacation Club property, underwent two years of extensive renovations before its soft opening in late 2013.
"We're not a typical Hawaii resort," Yagi said. "We probably appeal to a person who's not necessarily interested in hanging out at the beach all day long. We might be a better fit for people interested in an urban lifestyle: shopping, dining."
Surrounded by high-end retailers, a range of more down-to-earth boutiques and some terrific restaurants, Hokulani is also a five-minute walk from one of Waikiki's best beaches, where travelers can rent a standup paddleboard, book a surf lesson or just hire a beach chair and an ample umbrella for a few hours.
And while I didn't want to miss an opportunity to dine at Nobu Waikiki, located two blocks from Hokulani, Yagi insisted there are all sorts of great eateries right by the property that visitors often overlook.
"Giovanni Pastrami is really good," she said of the Italian restaurant across the street. "But I love Kaiwa. It's a personal favorite of mine. It's Japanese, and they sell very traditional and authentic dishes, [and] a little insider tip is they run lunch specials that are very affordable."
Commissionable to agents, room rates at the Hokulani Waikiki begin at $399. Visit us.hokulaniwaikiki.com.