You ask. We answer.

HAWAII Magazine reader Charles Eldon wrote: 

“Can you tell me when (or if) the former Poipu Beach Hotel will open?  It was, before Iniki, my favorite place to stay.”

In 1992, three Poipu hotels—the Sheraton, the Poipu Beach Hotel and the Stouffer Waiohai—suffered the most from Hurricane Iniki.  

It took nearly five years for the Sheraton Kauai Resort to reopen. In 2004, the site of the old Stouffer Waiohai site was transformed into Marriott's new Waiohai Beach Club.

Now the Poipu Beach Hotel, which was one of the oldest hotels on the Garden isle, finally looks like it's coming back--more than 16 years after Iniki.  

But it’s not exactly the old Poipu Beach Hotel.

It will be the Ko’a Kea, a totally reconstructed 121-room contemporary hotel, built on the original footprint of the Poipu Beach Hotel and therefore offering unmatched proximity to the ocean.  

The luxury property will offer rooms with internet and espresso makers, a lounge, a spa and restaurant named Red Salt.

It opens August 29, and is already taking reservations. (877) 806-2288.

 

After watching Anthony Bourdain eat at Puka Dog Waikiki during his food travelogue No Reservations on the Travel Network, I had to have a Puka Dog.

But “What is a Puka Dog?” you might ask.

A Puka Dog is like a hot dog, except with an unusual bun. A mini loaf of bread is toasted on a cylinder (pictured below), creating a puka (“hole” in Hawaiian), just the right size for the Polish sausage and condiments.

The menu is printed on a surfboard.


You chose a Polish sausage or veggie hot dog (veggie?). Then you select one of the four garlic lemon secret sauces. Finally, you choose from seven tropical relishes, and, if you want, you can add the traditional condiments such as ketchup and mustard.

My Puka Dog was delicious, with original garlic lemon secret sauce topped with papaya relish and lilikoi mustard—fruit-flavors I’d never tasted before on a hot dog. Surprisingly, it wasnʻt as fruity as I was afraid it was going to be. The grilled polish sausage was juicy and almost as long as the bun. It made me wish I could make lunches like this at home.


The best thing to drink after eating a Puka Dog is their fresh lemonade. Unlike lemonade from a carton, this one is squeezed and made right in front of you.

Besides the restaurant in the Waikiki Town Center on Oahu, there is a Puka Dog restaurant in the Poipu Shopping Village on Kauai.

Caution: Hold the Puka Dog straight up. Do not turn it sideways like you would a normal hot dog. The mustard slides off easily if you tilt it the wrong way.

I learned this the hard way after taking a photo of my lunch.
  

Alaska Airlines is stepping into the void left by the departure of ATA and Aloha Airlines.

It will add a daily flight between Seattle and Kahului, Maui, to its Hawaii flight schedule beginning July 17. 

From Oct. 31 through April 25, 2009, there will also be a flight from Anchorage to Maui, twice a week.

• The Seattle to Kahului flight will depart daily at 8:20 a.m. (PDT), arriving at 11:35 a.m. (HST).

• Kahului to Seattle, will depart daily at 1:05 p.m. (HST), arriving at 9:45 p.m. (PDT).

• Anchorage to Kahului, will depart Fridays/Saturdays at 2:20 p.m. (Alaska time), arriving at 6:35 p.m. (Hawaii time).

• Kahului to Anchorage, will depart Fridays/Saturdays at 8:45 p.m. (Hawaii time), arriving next day at 5 a.m. (Alaska time).

Anchorage time is two hours ahead of Hawaii time.

Alaska Airlines will offer a $249 introductory one-way fare on both routes for tickets. You have to purchase by April 24, 2008, and travel by Dec. 17, 2008.

Interested? Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. (PDT), Thursday, on Alaska Airlines Web site, or by calling (800) 252-7522. Click here for more details.

The Seattle-based regional carrier began routes to Oahu and Kauai last year. Alaska Airlines’ new Maui routes were added in reaction to the loss of seats following the closures of Aloha Airlines at ATA Airlines last week, company officials said in a statement. 

Alaska Airlines is also studying possibilities for other Hawaii routes.
  

ATA Airlines announced late Wednesday, Hawaii time, that it was shutting down nationwide passenger service.

The airline had Hawaii routes from Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island to Los Angeles, Oakland, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

If you are holding tickets for ATA flights, you can contact other airlines here. If you would like a refund or wish to purchase a ticket on another carrier to complete your travel, contact your credit card company or travel agent for a refund. If you purchased an ATA ticket by cash or check, you will have to file a claim for a refund with bankruptcy court here.

ATA code partner Southwest Airlines said it will honor or refund any tickets issued to its customers who were booked on an ATA flight to compete their Hawaii travel. Click here for more information.

Northwest Airlines has announced that it will honor ATA tickets until May 3 for flights to and from Hawaii. Unfortunately, it will charge a $100 (for stand-by flights) to $200 fee (for confirmed reservations) per flight leg for the service.

The Hawaii Visitors & Conventions Bureau has set up a Web page with updates for ATA's Hawaii customers here.

Founded in 1973, Indianapolis-based ATA blamed the shutdown on the loss of a contract for military charter flights, and high fuel prices. It filed for U.S. Bankruptcy Court protection for the second time since 2004 last night.

Callers to ATA’s reservations line 800-435-9282 last night were greeted with an announcement that the airline would cease all flights as of 4 a.m. Eastern time today.

ATA’s sudden shutdown arrived just days after the announcement that longtime Honolulu-based carrier Aloha Airlines was closing after 61 years of service. Aloha ended all operations, except for its air cargo unit, on Monday.
 
 

People always say, “If you go to Kauai, you have to try Hamura’s Saimin.”  When I went to the Garden Isle, I had to see what everyone was talking about.

Hamura’s Saimin is hidden in the heart of Lihue. Even with the address in hand, you have to drive slowly, keeping your eyes open for a small, old blue building on Kress Street.
 
Hamura’s Saimin has been in business since 1951, and the building looks like it hasn’t been painted since then. The restaurant’s sign might be missing an “n,” but inside the local eatery, you’ll find one of Hawaii’s best bowls of saimin.

I ordered the “Special Regular”: noodles, fish cake, won ton, Chinese cabbage, a hard boil egg and pieces of pork in Hamura’s special secret broth.

Besides the ono (tasty) saimin, Hamura’s also sell BBQ beef and chicken skewers and, my favorite, Hamura’s famous lilikoi chiffon pie.

When the waitress brought my slice of pie, I forgot to take a picture of it. It went straight into my mouth. My apologies. I guess you’ll have to check it out yourself.

[Hamura’s Saimin, 2956 Kress St., (808) 245-3271]


 

Wish you were here?

Can’t blame you.

Here’s almost the next best thing. We’ve collected links to a handful of Webcams around the state offering live views of our beaches and—well, pretty much just our beaches.

Want to see the sun set over Hanalei Bay on Kauai? Click the Sheraton Princeville’s beach-roving camera below.

Got friends staying in Waikiki? Tell 'em to stand in front of the Duke Kahanamoku statue fronting Kuhio Beach and then give you a call, while you click the “Waikiki Beach” cam.

It’s almost sunset here as I’m posting this. Click now and you won’t miss it.


Kuhio Beach, Oahu: A view of the folks wading in the surf off Waikiki.

Click here.


Waikiki Beach, Oahu: More a view of the Duke Kahanamoku statue than a beach view, but, oh well.

Click here.


Waikiki Beach from the sky, Oahu: Point a camera at the top of the 31-story Sheraton Waikiki towards Diamond Head or the surf below, mix a mai tai, enjoy.

Click here.


Sunset Beach and North Shore of Oahu surf spots: Check the wave action at some of the best surf spots.

Click here.


Hanalei Bay, Kauai: The sunsets are terrific from this Webcam at the Sheraton Princeville Resort.

Click here.


Kaanapali Beach, Maui: The weather and ocean action on one of West Maui’s best beaches, fronting the Sheraton Kaanapali Resort.

Click here.


Hilo Bay, Big Island: A so-so view of the bayfront. At least you’ll be able to tell if it’s a sunny or rainy day in Hilo town.

Click here.


The South Kohala Coast, Big Island: From the rooftop of the Mauna Lani  Resort.

Click here.
 

Have a favorite Hawaii Webcam we missed? Leave us a comment below.
 

Aloha Airlines announced this morning it was shutting down passenger service—both interisland and transpacific.

Its last day of passenger operations will be tomorrow, March 31, though many of its Hawaii-to-Mainland routes have their last flight today, Sunday.

If you are holding tickets on Aloha past that date, you can contact other airlines, including United Airlines, (800) UNITED1, and Hawaiian Airlines, (800) 367-5320.

If you have a ticket on Aloha for April 1st through 3rd, 2008 (and on Hawaii-Mainland flights March 31), you can stand by on Hawaiian Airlines flights, free of charge.  Hawaiian Air has added 6,000 interisland seats in an attempt to accommodate as many passengers as possible, but cannot guarantee everyone a seat that fits their travel plans.

United had a code-sharing agreement with Aloha Airlines.  That means it sold tickets to flights actually operated by Aloha, and vice versa.  United says it will do its best to rebook all passengers who bought their tickets through United.  It answers questions here.

If you don't wish to be accommodated by another airline, you should contact your travel agent or credit card company for a refund.  You can also do that if you are forced to purchase a ticket on another airline to complete your travel.  (Unfortunately, if you paid for a ticket by cash or check, you have to file with the bankruptcy court.)

Aloha will continue to operate its air cargo unit, which Saltchuck Resources, Inc. announced last Thursday it intended to buy.

"This is an incredibly dark day for Hawaii," said David A. Banmiller, Aloha's president and chief executive officer.  The shutdown ends a 61-year tradition of service.

The announcement can be found on Aloha’s Web site here, along with a FAQ page here with information on reservations and refunds.

Aloha Airlines filed for bankruptcy on March 20. It cited the inter-island airfare war set off by Go! Airlines and the soaring cost of jet fuel for losses of $81 million in 2007 as reason. The airline was put up for sale the following day, but expected to continue to fly.


 
 

Today, we’re celebrating Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Piikoi’s birthday in the Islands.

Much of the Hawaii the world sees today can be traced to the work of Prince Kuhio. His determination and passion for the Islands and its people led him into a life of public service. He served as Hawaii’s second congressional delegate from 1903 until his death in 1922.

There’s a more complete story on Prince Kuhio’s life and the impact he had on Hawaii in the March/April 2007 issue of HAWAII Magazine. 

Across the state, schools are closed, city transportation operates on a holiday schedule and many people have the day off today to honor Hawaii’s beloved prince. Services were held early this morning at Oahu’s Royal Mausoleum, the Prince’s final resting place.

If you’re on Oahu this weekend, activities include the annual Prince Kuhio parade on Saturday in Waikiki, which starts at 4 p.m., followed by a moonlight concert at 6 p.m.

If you’re on Kauai, there are many Prince Kuhio celebrations scheduled throughout the weekend.

Another reason to honor Prince Kuhio? Without him, we wouldn’t have King Kamehameha Day—the only other state holiday dedicated to Hawaii’s royalty.

 

“I’m coming up to see a relative.”

That’s what a Kauai man said at Wilcox Memorial Hospital on Kauai—before taking a horse three floors upstairs.

Hospital security stopped the reportedly intoxicated man and his steed. He’d already trotted the horse through the hospital’s lobby and into an elevator, all to cheer up his relative.

But when he saw the stallion, the ailing patient said, “That’s not my horse.”

The incident, which happened earlier this month, went international this weekend as newswires picked up on the story.

It was a field day for headlines.  BBC News: “Hospital Bridles at Horse in Lift.” FOX News: “Hospital to Visitor: No Horsing Around.”  Honolulu Star-Bulletin: “Hospital Just Says Neigh to Horse.”

Security escorted the equestrian and his horse out of the hospital, into the truck and trailer in which they arrived. The pair left without incident.

(Letting an allegedly intoxicated dude drive away with a horse? Oh, well.)

The hospital did not release photos of the incident, nor the identity of the rider or the patient. The steed remains a horse with no name.
  

The Na Pali Coast of Kauai is the focus of a photo essay and feature in the April issue of National Geographic.

The story, “Fortress Coast,” explores the history of the remote north shore of Kauai coastline, and human impact on its near-pristine valleys and beaches. Though largely inaccessible save for foot trails and ocean landings, the Na Pali coastline has in recent years proven catnip for visitors intrigued by its natural beauty and isolation.

The valleys of Na Pali were populated by Native Hawaiians continuously for six centuries through the early 1900s. In recent decades, however, it has lured another kind of population: the more than half-million visitors annually who hike its trails, camp overnight in its valleys, buzz over its 3,000 foot cliffs in helicopters and, sadly, at times prove poor stewards of Na Pali.

The feature is accompanied by stunning photos of Na Pali by National Geographic photographers Diane Cook and Len Jenshel.

You’ll find the story, photos and an interactive map of Na Pali at National Geographic’s Web site here.