The making of a neighborhood with international luxury appeal 2,500 miles off the U.S. mainland.
Waikiki Beach today is thought of as the jewel of Honolulu.
That’s the Waikiki Beach I know.
Waikiki Beach stretches along the sea in the city of Honolulu, while Diamond Head rises in the distance, 1980.D.B. Bartruff/Getty Images
If you rewind a few decades, Waikiki looked nothing like the bustling luxury hub it is today.
Have you ever wondered how your favorite luxury hot spots came to be?
He’s been coming to the beach with friends and family since he was a kid.
Sunbathers on Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, June 1971.Archive Photos/Getty Images
So, what changed?
The answer, more often than not, is hospitality infrastructure.
And that’s exactly what happened in Waikiki.
Courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach
Now it’s home tosome of Honolulu’s best hotels.
The 2000s brought international visitors to Waikiki on a scale the neighborhood had never seen.
It is a neighborhood where you feel chic just walking around.
A surfer riding the waves on Waikiki Beach near Honolulu, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 1, 1971.Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images
“Back then, you really had to be careful walking down Kuhio Avenue because it was quite seedy.
“[It’s] the spirit of aloha,” says Vo.
“Hawaiian hospitality is like no other.
Courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach
You’ll experience that anywhere you go in Waikiki.”
