Hawaii will celebrate 50 years as the 50th state this year on August 21. There will be many festivities, which we will be covering as the date approaches. In the meantime, both Prince Resorts and Aqua Resorts have 50th Anniversary specials. Did you know… The land mass of Hawaii consists of over 6,000 square miles Mauna Kea summit is […]
Hyatt Hotels Twitter can really help. In what may be an important indication of the future of Twitter in travel, the hotel chain has introduced their online virtual concierge. You can now contact your Hyatt hotel via Twitter with questions, or even just to tell them you’ll be arriving late. If you’re not yet on Twitter, maybe this is […]
Bold, sophisticated, and featuring a new look in Hawaii hospitality, the Koa Kea Hotel and Resort has made its debut at Poipu Beach. Does this self described calming sanctuary, the former Poipu Beach Hotel, live up to expectation? I stayed there recently to find out. With the lowest opening special at $299 per night, my expectations were high. The […]
In some much needed good news for Hawaii’s tourism-based economy yesterday, we began to see the fruition of our State’s work to encourage travel between Hawaii and Korea. Hawaiian Airlines is seeking approval to serve Seoul directly from Honolulu. Starting June 15, Hawaiian wants to significantly expand their code-share agreement with Korean Airlines. It was almost a year ago […]
As I’ve stated before, Go! may not be long for aviation. Many industry analysts have questioned their ongoing financial viability. For a plethora of reasons, both those stated below and not, I suggest flying Hawaiian, Mokulele, or Island Air. 1. Go! parent sells only other off-shore venture. Go!’s parent, Mesa Airlines, is in the process of selling its Chinese […]
More good news for California-based Hawaii travelers. Alaska Airlines will be adding new services from Oakland starting this fall: Oakland to/from Kahului 4 times weekly starting November 9 Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday Depart Oakland 745am, Arrive Kahului 1105am Depart Kahului 1205pm, Arrive Oakland 710pm Oakland to/from Kona 3 times weekly starting November 10 Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday Depart […]
Alaska Airlines has finally joined the other carriers in lowering summer airfares, leaving Hawaiian as the only standout that hasn’t participated yet. This deal is terrific, but only applies to Kona and Lihue from Seattle. We’ll check for deals to Honolulu and Kahului Maui later to see if they are added. Today’s Deal: $359 round-trip (all-inclusive). Airline: Alaska Dates: […]
Here’s a Lei Day blue ribbon special. First, availability of many of the fares we found last week, including the other airlines in the deal from San Francisco to Hawaii, is gone (at least for now). This deal is still fantastic, although it has a slight quirk. With a few date exceptions, on the outbound you’ll fly first to […]
I looks like Hilo Hattie, the originally Kauai-based store chain started in 1963, is fast coming to its demise. The ominous “we’re sorry” on their website is a sad indication of the conditions at hand. As you recall, we wrote about their problems last year both on May 10 and again on October 2. The federal court trustee monitoring […]
Our thanks to Arthur Frommer, the curmudgeonly original travel evangelist, who has written positive comments about Beat of Hawaii many times over the past year. Arthur likes our similarly sassy, irreverent and candid perspectives which we share from our home state of Hawaii. This week, Arthur wrote an article on his blog that contrasts us with Go Visit Hawaii. […]
No airline booking fees. Travelocity announced today that it is joining Expedia in eliminating airline booking fees, at least until May 31, and likely forever. The reason is that these online travel agencies are in fierce competition with both the airlines and with sites like Kayak, that direct you to the airline sites themselves for booking. Price guarantees. Travelocity […]
Last night’s announcement that Superferry will be shutting down immediately came as no surprise to me. As I wrote on November 20: “Superferry is likely to cease operations. They have too high cost, too few riders, a rough winter ocean ahead, and an upcoming decision about a complete environmental impact study, among other problems.” The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled […]
