Honolulu Weekly

Waiolu / While BLT Steak is getting all the buzz at the Trump Intenational Hotel (223 Saratoga Road, at Kalia Road, 877-638-7401), upstairs is Honolulu’s best new spot to lounge, sip and graze. Waiolu, an open-air balcony bar, has a row of bistro tables, but you’ll want to snag one of the four coves of giant couches. You sit under the night sky, soaking up lunar rays and looking out into the dark (Fort DeRussy parking lot) and in the distance is the bank of lit up buildings along Ala Moana Boulevard. You feel like you should never, ever be indoors and wish you owned a backyard with a hammock, instead of a rented cinderblock studio. Sometimes the ambiance makes everything else that much better. You’ll never want to leave the white canvas bed, since by then, you will have had a third $14 cocktail named after an island flower (the kukui blossom–yuzu, lime juice and soda–pretty much tasted like a Tom Collins, but with rum). And yes, that small selection of sushi rolls ($18–$26) will do just fine as a snack. Who doesn’t love a decent spicy tuna roll? Added incentive: The first four hours of parking at the hotel are free.