Moana Surfrider, Waikiki Beach

sories made from monkeywood. Sushi and
iced drinks are easy to come by in the many
local restaurants, and there are also highend
retailers like Gucci and Hermes for
picking up little luxuries.
On the hotel’s grounds you’ll find many reasons
to stay and play. An outdoor freshwater
swimming pool is available for those who’d
rather not play in the ocean. Several lounge
chairs encircle the pool, providing a place to
relax after sightseeing. A decadent and elegant
afternoon tea—think white gloves and
champagne—is served at the Veranda, a wraparound
porch located on the resort’s ground
level with views of the ocean. The tea service
includes miniature gourmet sandwiches on
a tiered platter, various sweets such as Viennese
tortes, scones and lemon curd, and
cream puffs, a glass of bubbly and a choice
of tea, including signature blends like Moana
Sunset and Veranda Breeze developed just for
the resort.
A similar afternoon tea was served in the
years after Moana Surfrider first opened, during
the early part of the 20th century, so it’s a
nice homage to the period marking the beginning
of travel to Waikiki Beach. There is even
a chocolate tea service, combining a delicious
hot beverage with many chocolates; what better combination could
there be
Beachhouse at the Moana is a restaurant specializing in island
cuisine, with items like American Wagyu beef, seared blackened
ahi wasabi aoli, and Kona lobster bisque with sherry. There are
also meats and field greens sourced from local farms. A breakfast
buffet menu is stocked with favorites like Tahitian vanilla
French toast and steel-cut oatmeal with banana brulee, as well
as sides of papaya and pineapple slices. Coffee is of the Kona
variety and can be brewed in a French press. For more casual
fare guests can drop by The Beach Bar for grilled pupus, which
is “Hawaiian-speak” for appetizers.
Every Wednesday from 8:00 until noon the lobby veranda hosts
Hawaiian quilt-making lessons that only require a nominal fee
for supplies, with complementary instruction. And for a primer
in making a lei, Hawaii’s signature welcome gift, show up for a
one-hour lesson each Saturday afternoon at 1:30.
The beachfront Moani Lani Spa features 14 treatment rooms
and a 1,400 square-foot fitness facility, making a total of 16,000
square feet of pure bliss. Many of the treatments have Hawaiian
touches, like Ka Ua Lomi massage, where the guest relaxes
under a Vichy shower while receiving a massage with island
essences. And in each treatment room there is a wooden bowl
filled with Alae Hawaiian sea salt into which guests are encouraged
to dump their worries before a relaxing treatment. At the
end of each day the salt is released into the ocean—a metaphor
for allowing worries to roll off of your shoulders and not weigh
you down.
In the spa there is a wooden bowl
filled with Alae Hawaiian sea salt
into which guests are encouraged
to dump their worries, and at
the end of each day the salt is
released into the ocean.
venturetrav.com
January/February 2009 | 027