High-end resort, hip restaurant open in Hawaii

By Lena Katz

New luxury condo digs are opening April 11 on one of the most pristine, beautiful parts of Kauai (which is one of Hawaii’s more pristine and beautiful islands to begin with if you ask me.) Westin Princeville Ocean Resort is right across the street from Princeville Ranch.

Low rise, spread out and serene, the lodgings afford plenty of privacy — and with kitchens, ‘cues, pre-stocked refrigerators (additional cost) and a general store, Westin makes it easy for you to hole up in your condo (studio, 1BR or 2BR) and be completely antisocial for the duration of your stay.

RumFire opened late December at the Sheraton Waikiki, and is becoming the talk of the beach walk. Check out happy hour Monday-Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. for drink specials and pupus (Hawaiian for appetizer). If you want a big night, Skyline Club happens every first and third Saturday of the month at Hanohano Room in the same hotel. Start with cocktails and tapas, then take the elevator 30 stories up for dancing to DJ-spun top 40 and drinking till 2 a.m.

Or if you’re the type that always likes to check out the new places before anyone else, walk five minutes away to Doraku, a hipster dining spot that opened at the end of February. Kevin Aoki, son of Benihana founder, is at the helm, and this is his second restaurant — the first being in South Beach. Contemporary Japanese decor, a friendly open-air Hawaiian vibe, but with Miami spice on the menu (jalapeno salmon roll, Cuban beef roles, etc). Sake sommeliers and Latin beats up the cool quotient.

Related Orbitz resources:

• Hawaii vacations
• Honolulu hotels
• South Beach hotels

Lena Katz lives on the Left Coast and writes about tropical islands, beach clubs and food, but her heart belongs to NYC.

Tagged: Hawaii