Monday Oct 23
It was off to Honolulu from Kauai this morning - our flight was at 11:45 - arriving about 20 minutes later. For some reason our luggage was delayed so we had to wait at the carousel for over 30 minutes missing our pre-scheduled car - however our luggage finally arrived and a call to Charlie’s Taxi got our drive to return 5 minutes later. We arrived at the Trump hotel around 1:30pm and were able to check-in right away. Our one-bedroom suite was amazing - large with a full kitchen (even a wine fridge) and the partial ocean views were really excellent - there was even a small balcony. Unfortunately the weather in Honolulu was torrential rain which never let up - all and and night.
After settling in we had lunch at one of Trump’s restaurants - very nice sitting outside but undercover. We then went out, umbrella in hand, to buy some groceries for breakfast - we had decided not to bother with trying to cook our own dinners for the 3 nights we were here.
By the time all this was finished it was time for showers, five’s and dinner at BLT - Trump’s fine dining restaurant. The concierge had booked us a table - thank goodness as the place was a total zoo - never seen a restaurant so busy. After waiting a few minutes for our table everything went very smoothly (they have service down to a find art here) - even thought it’s essentially a steak house they have a dozen fish offerings (as well as a raw bar) - we both had fish - Butterfish (aka black cod) for Dieter and Mahi Mahi for me - both excellent - one of our best dining experiences so far.
Tuesday Oct 24
The rain had cleared to a partly cloudy morning which soon cleared to a sunny and perfect day. We had planned to hike Diamond Head but the track was closed this week for maintenance so we opted for the 10+ Km walk around it - we probably walked even longer due to a few side trips to check out beaches and luxury houses. We made it back in time for lunch and picked Duke’s - a beach-front “barefoot” bar/restaurant for a bit of a stodgy lunch - shared nachos washed down with a beer and Mai Tai - we later read that Duke’s is one of Waikiki’s hot spots.
We returned to the hotel for a bit of a rest and cool down then did a boutique crawl - it’s a shoppers’ paradise here - obviously attractive to the mainly Japanese (and other Asian) tourists who are clearly in the majority here.
For dinner we went to the Azure at the Royal Hawaiian - another beach front restaurant - again we both as fish (snapper - fresh from the market that morning) and while good not as great as yesterday’s.
Wednesday Oct 25
Last full day in Honolulu - we went on a Pearl Harbour tour in the morning. Back in town we had lunch at a beach front bar - the Mai Tai in the Royal Hawaiian. It was the then a lazy afternoon around the beach before our ‘farewell’ dinner at Orchids - fish again for both of us.
Thursday Oct 26
Off home this morning - we left the hotel with Charlie’s Taxi at 9:00am and were all checked-in and waiting in the Hawaiian Air lounge by about 9:35am - so it was a long wait in a very daggy lounge. Our fight left on time at 11:45am and arrived the following day at 7:30pm - we were in our apartment just after 8:30pm in spite of waiting 20+ minutes for our ‘priority’ bags.