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| Hawaii,
USA |
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| Extraordinary - Merit |
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5 Stars
& 4 Stripes
Overall - 'Hotel & Service' |
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The
Ultimate Award:
Seven Stars and
Stripes® |
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| We were on the way to experience Hawaii’s world
famous Waikiki for a week of romance and adventure and had chosen The Kahala
Hotel & Resort as our beachfront resort base and hideaway. Quite often
luxury resorts that have been frequented by celebrities and / or Heads of State
do not necessarily live up to the demands of their affluent global guests and
we were a little apprehensive with all the mixed reviews on the leading travel
sites. We flew Los Angeles – Hawaii, where our limo driver received us at
the airport with a gracious but flower-less welcome and offered no help to get
our luggage from the belt. We were surprised at least, but decided not to let
the first impression affect our vacation. We arrived after a pleasant ride at
The Kahala Hotel and Resort and immediately became immersed in a location to
die for. |
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| Kahala Hotel
& Resort - Room |
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| Though the actual building reminded us of a typical
cookie-cutter hotel, everywhere we turned the exotic surroundings of softly
waving palm trees, white sand and turquoise waters - conveyed Pacific ocean
dreams. At the nicely arranged front desk we were offered cold towels to
freshen up and then as we helped ourselves to a couple of leis from a basket,
we were directed towards the elevator that lifted us up to our nicely furnished
accommodations. We were hungry and took the elevator back downstairs to the
inviting main lobby, filled with happy people and calming live piano
music. |
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| Here we were presented with
two menus for food and beverage and as we tried to place our order at 11 pm we
were told that the kitchen was closed. When I inquired if there would be any
alternative to get something to eat since we were hungry, the waiter gave us a
clear “No”, and suggested no alternative. Because we were starving by
now, I asked if it would be possible to order room service since we were
in-house guests and seated already. "Just a club sandwich? Anything?" - We
received another curt “NO” and “Room service is only available
in the rooms, and there is no exception to the rules!” So we ordered
drinks and nibbled on some soybeans on pretty Rosenthal china,
instead. |
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| Kahala
Hotel & Resort - Wedding |
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| We really anticipated that enough time had passed by
now for the maid to turn down our accommodations for the night, but to our
surprise that didn’t happen. Considering that The Kahala Hotel and Resort
was formerly a Mandarin Oriental and is currently a Leading Hotel of the World,
this service glitch was quite surprising. The Kahala Hotel and Resort was not
about high style and supreme service, it was for us a place where we could
escape, relax and unwind from our daily adventures although the staff will most
likely not address you by your name nor will your wish be their command.
Besides, if you are looking for something out of the ordinary, this resort
gives you the opportunity to interact with dolphins in its 26,000-square-foot
natural lagoon with several delightful Bottlenose dolphins. The ‘Dolphin
Quest’ offers a wide range of programs for couples or the whole family and
is open to hotel guests as well as day visitors. The resort has a wonderful,
secluded and relatively uncrowded beach. If your goal is to get married or to
completely get away from it all while you are discovering Hawaii, the islands
and / or Pearl Harbor in an environment of casual comfort, this is the place to
be. |
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by
Simone & Thorsten Buehrmann
Editor-in-Chief: John
Lomitola |
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| © 2008 / 2009 ~ Seven Stars and Stripes, Inc. |
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