The Quieter Side of Oahu

Hawaii invades my senses the minute I feel the tropical breeze, even if it is tainted by Honolulu International Airport’s traffic. On our last several visits that’s been a short Wiki Wiki bus ride to the inter-island terminal before whisking off to Maui or Kauai, where big-city trappings don’t interrupt my laid-back vision of aloha.

This time, with new role in the travel business, we scheduled a few days on Oahu to catch up on Hawaii’s central island. Our flight was delayed (more on that later) so we got our rental car at the height of rush-hour traffic and proceeded to crawl bumper-to-bumper with the hoards escaping Honolulu. So the stress of a travel day had to last awhile longer. It melted in the Ko Olina Beach Club’s breezy open-air lobby. (I will review all my findings at 7 pm Tuesday, July 31 at Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 24321 Ave de la Carlota, Suite H-3, Laguna Hills.)

We were hungry, so we quickly made our way to Chuck’s Steak and Seafood patio at the resort. Chuck’s has been in Hawaii since 1959, offering good food in an unpretentious island atmosphere. The chilled plates and fresh salad bar was just what the doctor ordered. The Portugese bean soup was hearty and spicy. We ordered the petite sirloin with baked potatoes (not our typical restaurant fare, but, hey, this is vacation). They accidentally served us petite filets, so we got filets for the sirloin price. We liked the salad bar and setting so much, we returned the following night for $4 happy hour Mai Tais and just did the salad bar for dinner. The soup that night, a white fisherman’s chowder chunks of white fish, was as filling as an entree.

The Ko Olina Beach Club is a Marriott time share development currently consisting of three towers, three pools and one of Ko Olina’s man-made lagoons, which make peaceful swimming holes in the islands’ warm water, but are not places to enjoy the waves or underwater sea life. One of the Beach Club’s pools features a slide, another a basketball hoop, and the third is the quiet adults pool.

Although the Beach Club is a large and with many families, it does not feel crowded. The resort also has Longboards restaurant and bar, which is similar to its sibling at Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club on Ka’anapali Beach. I had a good Kailua pork sandwich for lunch. We found Chuck’s, which is only open for dinner, has the best food and value of the two. We would definitely stay at the Beach Club again and recommend it to people who want more than a hotel room. The one-, two- and three-bedroom condos come with a living room and kitchen. Our one-bedroom allowed the two of us to spread out. Other times, we have packed them into this type of vacation condo. Either way, you are not hostage to resort restaurants. Costco, Target, and organic market and an ABC store all are nearby for provisions.

The Ko Olina development, about 30 minutes from Honolulu International in the opposite directions from Waikiki, also is the site of Disney’s new Aulani resort, a couple of lagoons from Marriott’s Beach Club. This is the Hawaiian version of Disney’s Grand Californian’s homage to national park lodges. Koa wood substitutes for Craftsman-style quarter-sawn oak, Disneyana costars with tiki and Mickey wears an aloha shirt. But this resort is not just skin deep. Disney worked hard for authenticity. And picked a good spot. The previously mentioned calm lagoons are child-friendly, as are the massive pools that include a lazy river winding its way through lush tropical foliage. The resort even has it’s own iconic mountain (though much smaller than those at the theme parks), but encompassing a water slide.

Here’s my comparison of these two family-friendly resorts: The Ko Olina area would be a great place for my grandson, 19 months in July 2012, over the next several years. The tranquil lagoons, elaborate pools and water slides will be made to order, whether he grows to love Disney or not. A little later, I’ll get him going on snorkeling and surfing.

There are better venues for the more adventurous and older kids, but Ko Olina is excellent on the safety and budgetary fronts. Not that anything Disney and timeshare rentals are cheap, but food flexibility can save a bundle. At Aulani, for example, they are offering food-inclusive packages (kind of cruise-like) that you can employ to corral your final tab. At Ko Olina, you have kitchens, barbecues and nearby Costco to reduce the number of restaurant meals for the clan. However, there are always great restaurant options such as Chuck’s, Roy’s at the adjacent golf course and Disney’s themed eateries. Another appeal of Ko Olina is it’s proximity — and lack of it — to Waikiki. They really have put the glitz on Honolulu’s tourist downtown. If you’re into high-end shopping — as many Asians there clearly were — then it’s now Rodeo Drive with a beach and rainbows. But for me, urban rumble is great for Manhattan but not what I’m after in Hawaii. Still, with Ko Olina, you can go to sleep in quiet after spending and evening in the Big City.

I’ll describe our Waikiki interlude in a future post. For more, see octravelblog.com.