Where’s Kainaliu? 10 miles south of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. Will an Angel touch you if you go there? Not exactly but you’ll feel better after. Kainaliu is home to the Aloha Massage Academy and Aloha Angel Café. The Aloha Massage Academy offers a one hour massage for $30! I couldn’t believe the price [...]

1. Seasonal timing. Look for the best Hawaii airfare deals to be announced on the Wednesday two weeks prior, then one week prior, to ending of a “high season.” The first round of discounts are with the more distant locations (longer trips are less spontaneous so the airlines have less to lose in lowering those [...]

1. Ride The Bus for $2 each from Airport to Waikiki. When it was standing room only I told Jeff to meditate on how much money we saved. We eliminated the cost of hotel parking ($15-$20 per day), rental car and gas. Honolulu is congested and parking not easy to find. You can bring 1 [...]

The Kona Tiki Hotel has to be the best deal in all of Hawaii. Where else can you pay $69 a night for two and get a clean, comfortable, oceanfront room? We just returned from a 5 day stay and give Kona Tiki in Kailua-Kona our two thumbs up for budget accommodation. What does $69 [...]

The Hawaii Polo Inn of Waikiki has a new look and name after its multi-million dollar renovation. It’s now the Hotel Equus and part of Aqua Hotels and Resorts. With rates starting at $94 a night, we decided to do an on-site review this month. We also have a pet mule (for real) and felt [...]

How bad is Lihue’s Oki Diner? After reading the thumbs down reviews from True Aloha and many Trip Advisor readers, we decided to check it out again, for ourselves. We’ve been there twice in the past month, and they still have perhaps the best pancakes on the island. Now Chef Dominic Benzon has arrived at [...]

We look forward to welcoming American Safari Cruises, which is bringing luxury yacht cruising to Hawaii starting later this year. The 145-foot, 36-guest, American-flagged Safari Explorer will sail an 8-day/7-night itinerary with a maximum of 36 guests. The small ship will permit destinations not accessible by larger, traditional cruise ships. They will employ Hawaii-based captains [...]

We’re scratching our heads over this one. The New York Times lists Kokee Lodge as a suggested property in their Kauai Travel Guide. The referenced Frommer’s review in the New York Times does not provide an accurate representation of what you’re going to find here. Your Beat of Hawaii team has stayed at Kokee Lodge [...]

What to expect? The New Year is looking unusually bad for finding deals from the U.S. mainland to Hawaii. Why? Basically, the airlines now have excellent control over inventory (seats) and, with no new competitors, they aren’t likely to be offering the kind of deals we’ve seen as recently as last fall. While there will [...]