Sunday Brunch and the Spa
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Another restaurants that we heard about early on was Hoku’s, which was one of the nicer/pricier places we were considering. When looking at menus online we saw they offered a Sunday brunch that sounded amazing. Since we were only going to be there one Sunday, if we wanted to experience this buffet, that was the day. Luckily, it actually worked out well with our ‘avoid weekend pool craziness at Aulani’ plan.
Attire is something that I’ve failed to mention in previous posts. Everything we read was that most places in Hawaii adopt a pretty flexible dress code. It seems as long as you aren’t in swimwear they are pretty forgiving. However, we sometimes enjoy a step up for nicer meals. Don’t get any crazy ideas about white ties and tales, I just mean slacks and a button-down shirt. Obviously, some restaurants require jackets (looking at you, Remy!), but I’m referring more to places that jeans and polos would be fine. I’ve clearly taken the long way around getting to my point… We wore slacks and button-down shirts to Hoku’s and Michel’s (coming in a future post). I think we went with button-down shirts and khaki shorts to Roy’s. For our dinners at Ama Ama and Makahika we opted for shorts and polos. We witnessed a wide range of wardrobe selections and we never felt over dressed or under dressed. In summary, most anything is okay, even at the nicer restaurants we enjoyed, as long as it’s not swimwear, torn, or a T-shirt.
Back to Hoku’s, we originally made a brunch reservation for 11:00 a.m. However, the afternoon plan was Laniwai spa for Pam, Brad and myself. We agreed that with massages (i.e. someone pushing your body into a table) scheduled, we’d be happier with a little more time between the buffet and the spa. So, we moved to the 9:30 a.m. seating (Hoku’s had two morning seating times in OpenTable). Since it was Sunday, traffic was light for our drive south to The Kahala Hotel & Resort, where Hoku’s is located. After leaving the car with the valet we started the short walk to the restaurant. We walked by the hotel lobby area, which is beautiful… But what hotel/resort isn’t beautiful in Hawaii?
We were seated immediately and greeted by our server. While we did not get a table directly next to the windows, we were still able to look out at the ocean, something we never get at home. The amount of natural light flooding into the restaurant was truly enjoyable. As I said, it was one of the more expensive meals at $75 per person. We were pleasantly surprised to find that this price did include a fresh juice blend (pineapple cucumber, ginger carrot melon or strawberry watermelon) and one glass of sparkling wine or mimosa per person. Two pre-selected appetizers were also included. We hit the food stations after we ordered our beverages and wow, it was a great spread!
It seemed there were always a lot of people at the food stations, so we did not get any pictures there. Instead, here are some photos of our plates, and a sample menu:
While still eating what we got on our first trip the appetizer from the kitchen arrived. The appetizers were Crispy Soft Shell Crab and Ahi Poke Musubi. I believe this is also when Brad and Dave each ordered a Kahala Mary. They both agreed this was the best Bloody Mary they ever had.
After we left we decided to wander around the hotel grounds and shoreline. The Kahala has their own koi ponds, as well as a couple sea turtles and a stingray. We walked towards the water (it felt good to walk a bit after eating) and took some pictures. Before long we were heading back to Aulani. Side note: remember to have your parking validated before leaving the restaurant.
It was a great meal and we’re so glad we went. While it was expensive, I’d say it was a very good value based on what they offer, however ‘worth it’ is very subjective and is different for everyone. Regardless, Hoku’s is a higher-end restaurant that I’d recommend to anyone looking for a fabulous meal. If, or maybe when, we make it back to Oahu, we will try dinner at Hoku’s.
Once we got back to the resort we had an hour or so before Pam’s spa appointments began. Pam had a massage at 1:00 p.m., followed by a facial at 2:00 p.m. Brad and I had massages at 2:00 p.m. followed by facials at 3:00 p.m. Initially we had planned for everyone to start at the same time, but that wasn’t an option – either on account of treatment rooms or staffing, I don’t remember which. But this actually worked out well because Pam was not interested in experiencing the outdoor hydrotherapy garden. So, the three of us got to the spa around 12:30 p.m. That would give Pam time before her treatments started and Brad and I could enjoy the showers, pools, etc.
The spa experience starts with everyone selecting a smooth stone that has a word etched in it. The concept is for you to focus on this word during your time at the spa. All three of us selected stones with the word ‘Balance’. I asked if that basket had anything else! The spa attendant seemed surprised, almost flustered, that we all got the same word. Any way, we threw the stone in the water and then were shown the facilities. Since Pam would be finished an hour before us, we asked if she was going to stay in the lounge area of the spa or go back to the room and she said she was fine getting back to the room on her own.
I believe Brad and I experienced everything in the Hydrotherapy Garden, which included six different showers, two soaking pools, a whirlpool and a cold-plunge. The showers were fine but nothing I’d have to repeat. The whirlpool was very nice, and almost a necessity for anyone who opted to try the cold plunge – at 45 degrees it was freaking cold! We enjoyed the soaking tubs more than we expected. My initial thought was, 'why do this here when I’ve got a bathtub at home or in my guest room?'. However, the environment and temperatures created an amazing, relaxing experience. I think the only things we did not try were the steam and dry saunas in the locker rooms; we are not heat people so there was no interest in experiencing these!
Finally, we grabbed lounge chairs outside and just relaxed. It must have worked because I think we both fell asleep. At some point the attendants came to tell us that we had five to ten minutes until our treatments and our technicians would meet us in the coed lounge inside.
In terms of our spa experience, Brad and I thoroughly enjoyed the Hydrotherapy garden. I’m glad we experienced it before our spa treatments and for us, I’d say the 60-75 minutes we spent there was enough. Could I have stayed there longer? Probably, but we didn’t feel it was too short. Regarding the treatments, Brad and I both agreed we enjoyed the facial the most. I ranked the massage next and Brad ranked the pedicure next - even though it was technically a salon service, not a spa treatment. His massage was not bad, but just not amazing. We both prefer a stronger, deeper tissue massage, but we wanted to experience the traditional Lomilomi massage. Pam enjoyed all of the services she had, but ranked the facial first.
While we were walking back to the room I told Brad that we were at the halfway point in our trip. He told me I was being rude for pointing that out and I shouldn’t do that again!
When we got back to the room Pam was on her iPad and Dave was napping. She said Dave had an enjoyable afternoon, possibly because he had some alone time! Apparently, he found Off the Hook and had a few beers while talking to other guests and watched some football. Then he read a book (and later admitted to falling asleep) on the terrace outside the lobby.
When we asked Pam if there were any issues getting back from the spa, she fessed up that she did take the elevators up to the fourteenth floor in the wrong tower. She soon realized it didn’t look right and went back down to the lobby and made it over to our tower and got back to our room. We may have given her a bit of flack for this. She claimed it was our fault for always leading the way…
Our original plan was to go up north to Haleiwa Joe’s for drinks and then Beach House for dinner. However, we decided that we had some leftovers (and tons of snacks) in the room and we would all be just as happy staying at Aulani. Brad and I were a bit disappointed to deviate from our plan, especially since these two places were high on Brad’s list, but we agreed from the beginning that we would not let our initial schedule dictate our vacation once on the island. In hindsight, we were all glad to stay ‘home’. Other than our excursion to Hoku’s, it felt like another resort-only day.