Hotels in Kahala

Staying in Kahala

Kahala is the residential neighborhood east of Diamond Head — Oahu's quietest old-money zip code, with the Kahala Hotel & Resort as essentially its only hotel. The property sits on its own private oceanfront cove on the south shore, with the Diamond Head crater immediately west and Hanauma Bay's snorkeling park further east. It's been the destination of presidents and celebrities since the 1960s for the simple reason that it's the only hotel on Oahu that gives you actual seclusion at a true 5-star service level.

The Kahala's signature features — the Dolphin Lagoon (with resident bottlenose dolphins), the multi-tiered ocean pool, the Hoku's beachfront dining room — function on a scale you don't get in central Waikiki. Rooms trend large, with garden or ocean views, and the beach-club staffing ratio is closer to a small-island resort than to a city hotel. The trade-off is that you're a 10-minute drive from Waikiki's restaurants and 25 from downtown — most Kahala stays are about not leaving the property.

Member rates on The Kahala typically run the widest member-rate spread of any Oahu hotel — luxury inventory at this tier is where third-party booking sites mark up most.

— Our Travel Editor