IT’S PARTY TIME
HONOLULU EQUALS HOLIDAY HEDONISM, BUT BE SURE TO KEEP IT KITSCH WITH YOUR COCKTAIL ORDER
OAHU
This is where our trip began, and so we decide to end it here, in Honolulu, for some unbridled hedonism. The island’s capital has the best nightlife of all the islands, plus museums, galleries, shopping, and one of the world’s most famous beaches, Waikiki. We wouldn’t have run out of things to do (or cocktails to sample) if we’d spent the whole trip here, although it would have been a shame to miss the quieter islands.
If, like me, you have unashamedly bad taste, you’ll love exploring Honolulu’s many tiki bars. I stock up on gurning mugs to take home as I drink my way through lurid cocktails with piled-up fruit, umbrellas and plastic mermaids. It is kitsch paradise. The tourist-tacky Tiki’s Grill & Bar might not look like it, but it’s an amazing place to eat. We are pleasantly surprised by the salty kick of the ahi poke bowl ($15), and the creamy seafood risotto ($29) is great for sharing.
For a fancier culinary experience, we spend an evening at The Grove restaurant at boutique hotel The Modern Honolulu. It doesn’t get more romantic than this pool-side setting, softly lit with fairy lights and tiki torches – and if you go on a Friday night, as we do, you get bonus views of the nearby Hilton Hotel’s weekly firework display.
After all that hedonism (and rum), we need a day to recover, and there’s nowhere better to chill than the gorgeous boutique Halekulani hotel, where there is so much entertainment (from traditional music to hula dancing) that we barely move from our sea-fronting sun loungers.
So yes, Hawaii did live up to its reputation as the world’s contentment capital. Happiness for us was the mix of wild nights, beach-sprawled days and epic landscapes. Oh, and zero wedding talk. Now where did I put that seating plan?
TIKI’S GRILL & BAR, tikisgrill.com. Cocktails from $8.50
THE MODERN HONOLULU, themodernhonolulu.com. Doubles from £230, room only
HALEKULANI, halekulani.com. Doubles from £386, room only