Is the New Wayfinder Waikīkī Hotel Your Next Staycation Spot?
We're loving its retro tropical aesthetic, charming cafe-bar and dreamy saltwater pool just minutes from the beach.
I’m a big fan of boutique hotels. Style-forward, full of personality and thoughtfully curated, they’re always my first choice when traveling or staycationing. So, I was stoked to catch snippets of a new spot—Wayfinder Waikīkī—popping up on social media over the last few months.
Photos: Brie Thalmann
The teasers looked promising—a 1969 brutalist building on the Lē‘ahi end of Waikīkī overhauled with a fresh look courtesy of local design firm The Vanguard Theory (the creatives behind The Surfjack) and O‘ahu branding studio Welcome Stranger Co., whose handiwork we’ve loved at the Kaimana Beach and White Sands hotels.
Formerly the Waikīkī Sand Villa, the property was acquired by New York hotel and restaurant developer Dovetail and Co. in 2021 and is the second hotel to be revived under the company’s Wayfinder brand—there’s also a Wayfinder Newport in Rhode Island.
This week I stopped in to get a closer look:
Photo: Brie Thalmann
The Location
The hotel is on the corner of Ala Wai Boulevard and Kānekapōlei Street, which is just far enough away from busy Kūhiō and Kalākaua avenues to provide some peace and quiet, but close enough to the action so that you can jump in at any time. It took just five minutes to walk to the International Market Place and a few more to hit the beach.
Photos: Brie Thalmann
The Eateries
You’ll find bevy of sips at B-Side, the hotel’s hybrid coffee shop and bar, including coffee (from Maui roaster Social Hour), tea, blended drinks, and a selection of cocktails, mocktails, beer and wine. The Beat Juggling Lemonade, which features guava and strawberry, and the Hey, Mr. D.J., an invigorating mix of coconut water, calamansi, honey and mint, were wonderfully refreshing. I also gave the blended Vinyl Moon a go—its combo of blue spirulina, vanilla, yuzu and oat milk was surprisingly light with nice hints of brightness.
Food options include pastries—the lilikoi cornbread muffin and pumpkin bar were so ono—and healthy bites, such as salmon chimichurri and beet poke bowls, sammies, wraps and salads, by Foodland. Across the lobby, the first Waikīkī outpost of Red Fish, the grocery store’s popular restaurant-poke bar is in the works and slated to open in May.
Photo: Brie Thalmann
The Merch Shop
While waiting for your order, you’ll want to make a beeline for the very back of B-Side where Wayfinder Waikīkī has tucked its merchandise shop. The shelves are lined with fun souvenirs decked out with retro lettering and graphics courtesy of sister companies Creative Design Hawai‘i and Good Merch Supply Co. Our picks: the cool black-and-white robes, old-school camp mugs and cooler bags, and throwback hibiscus posters.
Photos: Brie Thalmann
The Pool
On the makai side of the building, surrounded by a perimeter of lush tropical greenery that shields it from street view, you’ll find the 70-foot saltwater pool. A stretch of lounge chairs striped in poppy hues, umbrella-topped tables perfect for lounging with a frosty cocktail and a hot tub line its sides.
The Rooms
I didn’t stay overnight but I’m looking forward to when I can. The hotel boasts 228 rooms, including a handful of poolside studios, that The Vanguard Theory decked out with eclectic tropical touches—think natural fiber furniture, vibrant hues and lively island patterns—inspired by Hawai‘i’s unique mix of cultures. Keep an eye out for Jason Dow’s rainbow-shaped porcelain wall hooks, headboards featuring painter Heather Almeda’s gorgeous proteas, Mau-House’s solid bronze shaka bottle openers and custom vinyl records curated by Honolulu record shop Aloha Got Soul.
Wayfinder Waikīkī, 2375 Ala Wai Blvd., (808) 922-4744, wayfinderhotels.com, @wayfinderwaikiki
