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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, November 4, 2007

Holoholo

Advertiser Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

A $130 million transformation at The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua is upgrading the more than 350 guest rooms and making available 107 suites.

The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua

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Seattle's Mayflower Park Hotel shopping package offers a room, weekday parking and a batch of discount coupons, for $149 through Dec. 30. 800-426-5100; www.mayflowerpark.com.

The Sheraton Seattle Hotel's "Holiday Shopping Package" starts at $189 (if booked online) for one night's accommodations and a $100 Macy's gift card, through Dec. 30. www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton.

The Fairmont Olympic Hotel "Shopper's Package" includes suite accommodations, valet parking and a $150 Nordstrom gift card. $499 and up, year-round. 800-821-8106; www.fairmont.com/seattle.

RITZY RENOVATION: The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua is undergoing a $130 million transformation to upgrade its more than 350 guest rooms and make available 107 one- and two-bedroom residential suites. The AAA Five Diamond resort, which closed on July 2, is slated for completion by January to open in time for the PGA's season-opening Mercedes-Benz golf championship. Newly designed restaurants, a sushi bar, a spa expansion, pool, lobby and meeting places, and additional attractions for children and teens, are in the works, with interior design focusing on Hawaiian imagery and materials. www.ritzcarlton.com; (808) 669-6200.

READERS CHOOSE: Condé Nast Traveler magazine's annual Readers' Choice Awards named Four Seasons properties to the top four slots in a new category for resorts in Hawai'i (previously included in Pacific Rim destinations). Readers also picked Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue and Midwest as best domestic-route airlines. San Francisco once again took the No. 1 spot among best U.S. cities. The city by the bay has topped the category for 17 of the past 18 years. (Santa Fe grabbed the slot in 1992.) New York and Charleston, S.C., took the second and third spots in the list of top U.S. cities.

The magazine compiled the results from a survey of 28,000 subscribers. Complete survey results appear in the November issue of Conde Nast Traveler. www.concierge.com/bestof/readerschoice.

TURTLE BAY CLUB SPECIALS: Kama'aina members of Turtle Bay Resort's Escape Club receive one free room night and $1,200 in discounts on joining. The Escape Club posts online advance notice of special events, offers and discounts on rooms, food and beverage, golf and resort activities, accessed through a password. The annual fee is $199. www.turtlebayescapeclub.com.

HAWAI'I TO MANILA: Hawaiian Airlines will begin nonstop flights between Honolulu and Manila, Philippines, in March 2008. www.hawaiianair.com. Hawaiian plans to start service with four or more flights per week, which will more than double capacity on the nonstop route and enable significant growth in traffic. The airline estimated around 170,000 people traveled between Manila and Hawai'i during the past year.

MAUNA KEA BEACH HOTEL: Prince Hotels & Resorts has delayed the reopening of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel until late 2008. The hotel closed in July to restore areas damaged by the October 2006 earthquake. A spokesperson said that there are no plans to sell or tear down and rebuild the hotel. The remodeling of the resort's golf course remains on target for a September 2008 reopening.

LAHAINA CONDO REVAMP: Outrigger Aina Nalu has completed a $30 million redevelopment in the heart of Lahaina. The 9-acre condominium is a stroll from Lahaina's harbor and waterfront. Rates begin at $129 per night for a garden studio. 800-688-7444, www.outrigger.com.

KAHALA CHIC: The new look in the Kahala Hotel Resort's completed guest rooms makeover includes new furnishings, windows, curtains, carpets, wood floors, amenities and Hawaiian-themed art.

Retro art by John Melville Kelly, Paul Jacoulet and others, wireless Internet service, a Sony 40-inch flat-screen LCD television, Sony iPod alarm clock radio and cordless phones are in each room. Suites also include a Sony home theatre system and deluxe espresso machine. The next phase of renovation begins in 2008 with the Dolphin Lagoon wing. Makeovers for public areas include a spa and CHI fitness center, upgrades to the lobby and to the Plumeria Beach House restaurant by 2009. www.kahalaresort.com. 367-2525.