Having been a 6 year full-timer at the
Outrigger Reef on the Beach hotel in Waikiki, I was invited to be one of the first to stay in the
Outrigger Reef's new Ocean Tower rooms. The new rooms are really done nicely. If you have a chance, spend some time at the
Outrigger Reef on the Beach.The reason for being invited to spend the night of course is to test out the room before it's released to the general public. The room was great. Just a little bit of left over dust from the construction, but overall it was very pleasant.
If you have stayed here in the past, you would probably agree that the rooms needed to be updated quite a bit. Now they are! All the great amenities and location now with the luxurious new rooms. Of course, the lobby areas and the other towers are currently undergoing renovations, but the Ocean Tower is great and soon the entire property will be the place to stay!
All rooms come with free Kona Coffee Blend and assorted teas. There are drinking glasses and paper type coffee cups with lids so you can have your morning coffee to go!
These custom bath amenities are a treat! The lime blended soaps and lotions smell wonderful. Also provided are shower caps and an emergency sewing kit. A handy item when you find a loose button while rushing out to your dinner show!
No longer will there be a problem with insufficient bathroom space. The new vanity area is well lit and very accomodating for the traveler whe needs a lot of time or space at the vanity. Each room also has a powerful retractable cord hairdryer and a steam iron with ironing board. Notice the ocean view in the mirror!
All the newly renovated rooms will have a full bath tub and massaging removable shower head. Ocean Front "Suites" may have a jacuzzi tub option. The bathrooms are nicely finished with a Travertine type of tile. The shower curtain rod is the arced type to provide a roomier feel while in the bath. Notice the magnifying mirror that compliments the vanity area.
A short video clip of the Ocean Front room.
All the Ocean Front category rooms will have lanais or balconies. This room had 2 because it is a corner room. The second lanai is not photographed because it mainly faces toward the neighboring condominium, the Waikiki Shore. The lanai in this room is ample for the round table and 2 chairs. If you close the sliding doors behind you, it would feel cramped, but with the lanai doors open sitting or standing out on the lanai should be enjoyable. This is the 10th floor West corner.
This photo is taken from the West end of the lanai towards the direction of Diamond Head. This room is not situated in a position to allow a view of Diamond Head, but there are other categories that would have Diamond Head if that's what you want. There are surfers, canoes and catamarans out on the waters fronting the this Outrigger beachfront hotel.
Directly in front of the Outrigger Reef on the Beach is considered the best sandy beach area fronting a Waikiki hotel. Out towards the right there is a jetty that goes out into the waters of Waikiki. It's a nice place to go for a walk day or night. Night views from this jetty looking inland are beautiful.
The Outrigger Reef on the Beach is considered the anchor to
Outrigger's Waikiki Beach Walk Project. This makes it a hotspot for Waikiki. The latest and greatest restaurants and chefs can be found in this area. For our night testing the stay, we visited
Giovanni Pastrami. This is a picture of part of what we ordered. (Meatloaf Loco Moco $14.95, Onion Rings $5.95 & Reuben Bites $12.95) I forgot to take a picture before we started eating! We were so hungry!! The food was tasty and I must say, I have found somewhere I can have a delicious loco moco around town. In case you don't know, a loco moco is a local dish that usually has steamed white rice topped with hamburger patty, brown gravy and eggs. There are many variations at different places. This one was with a delicious meatloaf and some grilled onions. Very good! Our bill was just under $40 without drinks. A "reasonable" dinner around Waikiki. I will definitely be visiting
Giovanni Pastrami again!
In conclusion, I recommend the
Outrigger Reef on the Beach Hotel and the
Waikiki Beach Walk area.
Trump International Hotel & Tower will soon be joining all these already wonderful places. I'm so lucky to be living in my condo on Keoniana Street, just a 5 minute walk away.
Kelli purchased a wall tank fish bowl from Koolau Pets in Windward Mall this week. I mounted it on the side of the bathroom mirror. 
I used the artificial red colored rocks that it comes with, but I added live plants and a handfull of substrate from my other aquarium to kick start the bacteria growth. We haven't decided what fish will go in there yet, but I put a couple of guppies from my other aquaponics tank in this bowl for now.
This sandwich shop seems to have taken over a spot that Kelli used to enjoy getting ruben sandwiches. We tried Island Subs and Sandwiches in mid May. I liked the flavoring of the shoyu chicken special plate. It was a little salty, but tasted good. The deli sandwich that Kelli had was served on an intersting 2 toned bread (wheat and rye?). The prices are reasonable for simple, but satisfying meals. I'm sure we'll have lunch there again!
Kelli, her "Mid-Pac" crew and I sampled the new wine tasting bar at the Moana Pacific condominim on Kapiolani Boulevard. I really like the place!
We arrived at around 10pm on a Saturday night. The crowd was pleasant, maybe about 20 people at about maybe a 1/2 of comfortable capacity. It could fit a lot more people if everyone was standing. The lighting as you can see is accented nicely and everywhere else has a dim ambient light. 
Opposite of the bar and the bottle sampling dispensers is an attractive wine cellar showcase. We sat at a long bar height table with about 8 high stools along this window. Our tab after about an hour of wine sampling was about $35. Not bad. How does it come up to $35? The sampling bar serves you 1 ounce portions. The wine is priced from about 80 cents an ounce up to the thirty dollar range. Of course, if you know what wine you want, you could maybe order it by the bottle or glass. We (Kelli and I) had about 6 ounces or so ranging about $3-$5 an ounce. I enjoyed the atmosphere much more than being at a crowded night club drinking mixed drinks. I would visit Amuse Wine Bar again (soon?).
5/20/07 Kikaida and his "family" had a special event at Shirokiya. There was an autograph signing by the original actors who played the roles and the characters could be seen strolling the store posing for pictures with fans. 
If you have stayed here in the past, you would probably agree that the rooms needed to be updated quite a bit. Now they are! All the great amenities and location now with the luxurious new rooms. Of course, the lobby areas and the other towers are currently undergoing renovations, but the Ocean Tower is great and soon the entire property will be the place to stay!
All rooms come with free Kona Coffee Blend and assorted teas. There are drinking glasses and paper type coffee cups with lids so you can have your morning coffee to go!
These custom bath amenities are a treat! The lime blended soaps and lotions smell wonderful. Also provided are shower caps and an emergency sewing kit. A handy item when you find a loose button while rushing out to your dinner show!
No longer will there be a problem with insufficient bathroom space. The new vanity area is well lit and very accomodating for the traveler whe needs a lot of time or space at the vanity. Each room also has a powerful retractable cord hairdryer and a steam iron with ironing board. Notice the ocean view in the mirror!
All the newly renovated rooms will have a full bath tub and massaging removable shower head. Ocean Front "Suites" may have a jacuzzi tub option. The bathrooms are nicely finished with a Travertine type of tile. The shower curtain rod is the arced type to provide a roomier feel while in the bath. Notice the magnifying mirror that compliments the vanity area.
All the Ocean Front category rooms will have lanais or balconies. This room had 2 because it is a corner room. The second lanai is not photographed because it mainly faces toward the neighboring condominium, the Waikiki Shore. The lanai in this room is ample for the round table and 2 chairs. If you close the sliding doors behind you, it would feel cramped, but with the lanai doors open sitting or standing out on the lanai should be enjoyable. This is the 10th floor West corner. 
This photo is taken from the West end of the lanai towards the direction of Diamond Head. This room is not situated in a position to allow a view of Diamond Head, but there are other categories that would have Diamond Head if that's what you want. There are surfers, canoes and catamarans out on the waters fronting the this Outrigger beachfront hotel. 
Directly in front of the Outrigger Reef on the Beach is considered the best sandy beach area fronting a Waikiki hotel. Out towards the right there is a jetty that goes out into the waters of Waikiki. It's a nice place to go for a walk day or night. Night views from this jetty looking inland are beautiful. 
The Outrigger Reef on the Beach is considered the anchor to Outrigger's Waikiki Beach Walk Project. This makes it a hotspot for Waikiki. The latest and greatest restaurants and chefs can be found in this area. For our night testing the stay, we visited Giovanni Pastrami. This is a picture of part of what we ordered. (Meatloaf Loco Moco $14.95, Onion Rings $5.95 & Reuben Bites $12.95) I forgot to take a picture before we started eating! We were so hungry!! The food was tasty and I must say, I have found somewhere I can have a delicious loco moco around town. In case you don't know, a loco moco is a local dish that usually has steamed white rice topped with hamburger patty, brown gravy and eggs. There are many variations at different places. This one was with a delicious meatloaf and some grilled onions. Very good! Our bill was just under $40 without drinks. A "reasonable" dinner around Waikiki. I will definitely be visiting Giovanni Pastrami again!