Walking the beach in Waikiki

Everyone loves walking on the beach in Waikiki. The sand. The sun. The surf.

Let’s assume that you’re new to Hawaii or visiting the islands. What would you expect to find at a newly popular tourist destination called Waikiki Beach Walk? Sand? Sun? Surf? Nope. Won’t happen.

Waikiki Beach Walk is a half-billion dollar renovation of a seedy side of Waikiki. New shops, new hotels, new looking hotels, new restaurants– but no sand, sun, or surf. The Beach Walk isn’t even close to the beach. It’s nothing more than a small, seldom used street tucked away and behind the famed Halekulani Hotel and Resort.

Now it’s a prime destination for locals and tourists to dine, shop, dine, meet, walk, and wish the luxuriously appointed beach walk really was close to the beach.

Let’s say you want to Stay at Waikiki Beach Walk. You’re only a few blocks from the beach, depending on which hotel you choose. There are five hotels and resorts that make up Waikiki Beach Walk. Three of them are actually open: Outrigger, Ohana (cheap Outrigger), Embassy Suites. Trump and Wyndham are off limits for now.

Let’s say you want to Dine at Waikiki Beach Walk. Of course, there’s a Starbucks and a Jamba Juice. Hawaii is part of America. It’s a law. No new development without a Starbucks.

Beyond Starbucks is real food from Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Roy’s Waikiki, and a dozen others, most of which are less expensive, less formal, more akin to beachgoers. From personal experience, the Roy’s and Ruth’s Chris are better than their respective counterparts in Hawaii Kai and Restaurant Row.

Let’s say you want to Shop at Waikiki Beach Walk. Of course, there’s an ABC Store. Where else would you go to pay $1.00 for a can of soda, that costs $2.00 in the hotel? Yes, Virginia, there is a Crazy Shirts, so you can rest assured that your daily quota of t-shirts will be honored. There’s jewelry stores, Maui Divers, Quicksilver, and others, all dying to take a little of your hard-earned money and convert it into rent money to pay for the pricey Beach Walk location.

Let’s say you want to Play at Waikiki Beach Walk. What kind of play would you expect at a beach walk location? Forget anything to do with sand, sun, and surf. That’s not around. Play in this context means, don’t play, sit down, listen to music, watch the dancers, learn about Hawaiian culture.

Waikiki Beach Walk is actually a pleasant diversion from the crowds lining Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue, yet is exactly what tourists and visitors to Hawaii would expect. Hotels, dining, shopping, music. All of that is good except there’s no beach, no sand, no sun, no surf anywhere around.