On one of the nights, we had dinner at the local izakaya favorite, Sushi Izakaya Gaku , a recommenda

For Valentine s Day this year, we actually decided to celebrate it for what it was worth in Hawaii american airlines arena dining .  But this trip wouldn t involve any romantic kayak rides in the ocean or me serenading Kenny G songs to Jeni with a large conch shell.  This Valentine s day occasion wasn t for ourselves, but for her grandparents to be exact.  Her Grandma and Grandpa were adorably crowned as the king and queen of their nursing home and they were throwing american airlines arena dining a big party for the couple of 70 years and are still going strong.  Nearly three-quarters of a century simply amazing and profound.
I ll admit that I wasn t thrilled when Jeni told me the cost of our hotel on Waikiki beach.  But it was either her aunt s or another worn-out hotel with balcony views of other hotels. american airlines arena dining Some of the hotels on Waikiki beach seriously look like they ve been donated by the Goodwill and can cost almost $200 a night!  You might as well cough it up for a place that s a little nicer.  Then I found out that we would would be staying at an Ian Schrager-designed hotel. american airlines arena dining My eyes lit up I love his hotels.  I was fortunate enough to stay at a few of his places on business trips The Hudson in NYC and The Clift in San Francisco.  And I ve eaten at the Bazaar in the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills he and Philippe Starck worked on the design of this hotel.  So after a 5 hour flight to Honolulu, we picked up our rental american airlines arena dining car and headed out to Ian Schrager s latest series called The EDITION hotels, with future plans for Mexico City, Barcelona, Bangkok, South Beach and Istanbul.  Great, another five cities we can look forward to.
I didn t think I would say this, but I seldom find a hotel that actually makes a trip that much more enjoyable.  As soon as we stepped onto the property, we knew we didn t want to leave.  Howard Johnson and Best Western great knowing you.
I like how Ian Schrager uses the Hawaii kitsch in tasteful and minimal doses.  And thank god, there are no Hawaiian-shirt wearing staff members.  You get the Ian Schrager aesthetics without being away from Hawaii.  And for sure, there will always be the ubiquitous ABC Stores on every corner.
During the morning hours, this is what the lobby looks like.  But after about 12 pm, you get a little american airlines arena dining Batcave action as that bookshelf on the left swivels open to reveal a beautiful watering hole equipped with some good whiskeys, gins and bar bites.  On the weekend nights, the bar is insanely packed with beautiful women and shiny douchebags according to the staff.
Our thirsty friend, Daniel american airlines arena dining Djang of Thirsty in LA , informed us that the cocktail menu at The EDITION was crafted american airlines arena dining by an all star cast of bartenders . Although Honolulu hasn t exactly caught the, no pun intended, cocktail wave in America, the drinks assisted well in the R R process.
The pool area is simply gorgeous.  Something you would easily see in a Dwell magazine.  With a good 120-140 possible places to sit/lie down, it s impossible to resist.  No need to go to the beach. The pool here is limited to guests, so you won t be seeing tourists with arm floaties and neon swimwear.  Unless you like that.
There are two pool areas, with a bar at each one.  I loved the main bar the most because it was very inviting. It was easy to have conversations with other guests while snacking on wasabi peas.  One negroni please.
On one of the nights, we had dinner at the local izakaya favorite, Sushi Izakaya Gaku , a recommendation from one of Hawaii s best food bloggers Ono Kine Grindz .  We ate here about 1.5 years ago and it was awesome.  Disappointingly, it sort of fell short on the sushi end this time we were bummed about it but all the other dishes were great.  But that wasn t anything Iron Chef Japan/America, american airlines arena dining Masaharu Morimoto couldn t make up for.  You can enjoy Morimoto s food right at The EDITION.  We didn t try any of his fusion dishes american airlines arena dining but instead stuck with things that seemed most Japanese .  Sushi for me, sushi rolls for Jeni.  But at $6-9 per ONE PIECE of sushi, you ve got to carefully choose.  And the sushi was simply awesome.  I haven t had good sushi in a while and this was definitely a treat.  I tried some new fish for the first time: golden big eye snapper, american airlines arena dining live octopus sushi and some kind of mackerel.  I ended up coming back to the sushi bar for lunch the next day.
I was fortunate enough to catch Morimoto during a moment of Zen.  I have never seen so many frightened chefs/cooks in the kitchen.  His presence was enough to make them hustle and bustle.  Even I was nervous. american airlines arena dining $$$ Respect Morimoto $$$
Sorry to hear that you had less than stellar food at Gaku, but I am happy to hear that you and Jeni enjoyed your stay at the Edition AND that you got to see Morimoto. Can you believe that I have been there about 8 or 9 times now AND STILL HAVE NOT SEEN HIM! Hope to see you guys in LA or here whichever comes first.
I should american airlines arena dining clarify that I recommended the cocktails at Lewer Lounge in the Halekulani, a menu created by King Cocktail himself, Dale DeGroff. It looks like EDITION had an all-star mixology team behind its cocktail menus:
american airlines arena dining I have to say living just down the st. from the edition, i frequent crazybox most weekends. Great design and decor and even the mixologists know their shit, but i have to say it s a hotel full of douche bag employees will be a passing fad in a few months american airlines arena dining no matter how nice the rooms are.
Reid, Gaku was still great, especially this Uni shooter we kept on drinking $12.50 each! But the sushi was really so so. What do you like to eat at Morimoto s? Sushi is good yes? BTW, the Animal guys opened up a seafood concept called Son of A Gun. Maybe we go there when you come back to LA. On us, of course.
[...] Day trip to the Edition located in Waikiki. the entire hotel was beautifully recorded at Eat, Drink + Be Merry. i highly recommend checking out the images everything is gorgeous: from the room to the hallways [...]