Where the Locals Play

Paul Theroux, as he so often does, said it best.

“We’re here,” he said. “We don’t have to go anywhere.”

“Here” is Hawaii--specifically, his hideaway home on a ridge above Pupukea on the North Shore of Oahu.

Theroux spoke for fellow islanders from Don Ho to Sam Choy, hotel valets to resort executives, when he said that his idea of a great Hawaii getaway is staying home, bicycling down the hill to the beach to swim or snorkel, spending an afternoon with his wife tending their orchids, having a few friends in for a casual meal.

The problem for many who live in the islands--especially those employed in the 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week travel industry--is finding the time to enjoy the place where so many come to relax and play.

“I’ve never been on vacation in my life,” rasped Don Ho in that trademark whiskey voice he still puts to good use five nights a week at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. He was speaking by cell phone from the Ko’olau Golf Course in Kaneohe, on the windward coast of Oahu, where he grew up. He was playing a round of golf alone, as he often does. “Living here is a vacation. I’ve been all over already and I can’t find anyplace in the world I’d rather hang out.”

But where, exactly, do Ho and others hang out when they can tear themselves away from work and the comforts of the backyard lanai?

Sam Choy, celebrity chef whose local-style cooking first came to wide attention at his Kaloko restaurant near Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. He’s a partner in an eight-restaurant chain.

Favorite retreats: The tiny forest village of Volcano, near Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island, an area dotted with B&Bs.; And South Point, the southernmost point in the U.S., at the very tip of the Big Island.

About Volcano: “You’re up there in the evening, the fog rolls in, you’ve got a fire in the fireplace and a meal started. . . . It’s got that real relaxation feeling. It’s just different.”

And South Point: “You drive down to the point, and you see the ocean changing colors so many times . . . and the wind that blows there can take you away. . . . A lot of times when I’m out there, people will stop and they recognize me and they all say the same thing: ‘Is it always so beautiful?’ And I say, ‘Yes, that’s why I’m here.’ ”

Jocelyn Fujii, travel writer, Honolulu.

Favorite retreat: Ke Iki Hale, a cluster of vacation rental cottages on the beach on Oahu’s North Shore--for days spent looking for shells, sighting whales in season, gazing out at the waves. There are great snorkeling areas nearby, Fujii says, as well as Waimea Valley Park. In winter, major surf tournaments make exciting watching.

“We always think, ‘Well, we could go to Kohala [Big Island] or Hana [Maui],’ and we do go there sometimes, but this way, we save on car and travel time and I feel just as fulfilled as if we’d left Oahu.”

Keali’i Reichel, 38, contemporary Hawaiian singer, chanter, hula teacher and Maui resident.

Favorite retreats: Camping at isolated La Perouse Bay near Makena on Maui’s southwest shore, where “I don’t have to comb my hair for three or four days or worry about signing any autographs. I can just be regular.”

And, in Waikiki on Oahu, the Alana Waikiki Hotel (recently purchased by the Doubletree chain). “The people are really nice. It’s on the outskirts of Waikiki but within walking distance of everything. The prices are good. The rooms are nice . . . and the cookies [a check-in amenity] are wonderful.”

Kawika Souza, 28, who worked for 10 years as a hotel valet in Honolulu.

Favorite retreats: Uncle Billy’s on Hilo Bay on the Big Island, a comfortable old-Hawaii hotel with lots of rattan, woven lauhala leaves and tapa cloth, well-tended gardens and beautiful ocean views for about $85 a night.

Back in Waikiki, his two favorites are small boutique hotels that offer good rates for kama’aina (locals) as well as mainlanders: Royal Garden and the Doubletree Alana Waikiki.

On Uncle Billy’s: “Lotta people won’t go to Hilo because they say it’s always raining, but I love it there. For one thing, it couldn’t be more different from Waikiki--quiet, no traffic. There’s lots of good local-style places to eat. . . . We always go to Big Island Candies to buy our omiyage [gifts for family and co-workers, a must for any local on return from vacation]. You ever had the potato-chip chocolates? Wow!”

On Royal Garden, a Japanese-owned 220-room high-rise on the mauka (mountain) side of Waikiki with nicely appointed rooms, a friendly staff and an award-winning Italian restaurant, Cascada: “Both the kama’aina and visitor rates start at under $100, and they’ve always treated us really nice. Sometimes they run a special where you get a continental breakfast with the room, too.”

Gardner McKay, best-selling playwright and author (and star of the 1960s TV series “Adventures in Paradise”).

Favorite retreat: The Lodge at Koele, a plush country-style inn on the island of Lanai, once dominated by pineapple, now home to two top-drawer resorts, the Lodge and the beach-side Manele Bay Hotel.

“It’s like taking a trip to Michigan or Maine without the flight time. A complete feeling of getting away, with all the trappings of a fine resort.”

John and Bobbie McDermott, travel guidebook writers.

Favorite retreats: The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, founded by Laurence Rockefeller in 1965 on the Big Island’s Kohala Coast as the first of Hawaii’s truly luxe resorts; and Molokai Ranch, a 2-year-old tent hotel meant to capture the eco-tourist trade on one of Hawaii’s least-known islands, Molokai.

The McDermotts were married at the Mauna Kea in 1973 and still return there for downtime whenever they can. Part of the draw is famed Kaunaoa Beach, which John McDermott calls “the best beach in the islands. You get up at dawn and take a run on that beach when the light is just coming over the golf course, and it’s just heaven.”

Molokai Ranch is another experience entirely: John McDermott’s favorite part is Kaupoa Beach Camp on the island’s west shore, where 40 pairs of “tentalows” are clustered in two areas--near a bay and around lava tidal pools. (Ask for Unit 39; it’s got a spectacular view.)

“At night, you can stretch out on your little easy chair and look up at the stars and you don’t hear a sound and you ask yourself, ‘Why would I want to be any place else?’ ”

John Toner, manager, Ritz-Carlton Kapalua resort, Maui.

Favorite retreat: His getaway home at Sunset Beach on Oahu’s North Shore. He knows every stretch of sand from Haleiwa to Kahuku and still considers that side of Oahu heaven.

“It’s country; it’s like the frontier and, really, nothing has changed except the value of the homes. The people are still great, and the beaches aren’t crowded. . . . If you’re out on a surfboard or a raft and you look back at the coastline, it’s just breathtaking. The houses disappear, and all you see is the beach and that beautiful mountain range.”

Patty Tam, general manager, Halekulani hotel, Waikiki.

Favorite retreats: Golfing vacations on the Big Island, at Mauna Lani, Mauna Kea or the new Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, all on the Kohala Coast, with courses carved out of centuries-old lava flows.

“There’s a special quality to the light, perhaps because of the dark of the lava against the green and the blue of the ocean and sky; it just glows somehow. It’s a scenic drama.”

Don Ho, entertainer.

Favorite retreats: The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua on Maui for the annual Celebration of the Arts on Easter weekend; the Kea Lani Hotel in Wailea, Maui, for its Grand Chefs on Tour series; the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows or the Hapuna Prince Hotel at the Mauna Kea Resort--both on the Big Island’s Kohala Coast, north of Kona--for golf and the food- and wine-related events both hotels host.

He likes to reminisce about sitting outdoors at Mauna Lani on a moonlit night, “talking story” with longtime residents of the area who knew it before the resorts were built. “It still has the feeling of ‘over there’ “--meaning the gracious, old-Hawaii feeling--and a consciousness of the time when the Kohala Coast was home to ancient chiefs.

Paul Theroux, novelist and travel writer. Theroux maintains a summer home on Cape Cod, Mass., but spends much of the year in Hawaii when he’s not traveling to research or promote his books.

Favorite retreat: Theroux, whose travel commentaries have involved every form of transport from third-class train to canoe, wants to challenge himself on vacation--snorkeling, kayaking, bicycling. His latest “mission” is to bike up really steep mountains such as Maui’s 10,000-foot Mt. Haleakala, which most people ride down, and 13,796-foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island: “You really haven’t earned the right to coast down unless you’ve ridden up.”

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GUIDEBOOK

Staying in Hawaii

Prices quoted are rack rates; inquire about discounts.

For South Point and Volcano on the Big Island, Bed & Breakfast Hawaii, tel. (800) 733-1632, represents 200 properties throughout the islands.

Ke Iki Hale, North Shore, Oahu; tel. (808) 638-8229. Modest beachfront inn near world-class surfing beaches. Rates: $85-$185.

Doubletree Alana Waikiki Hotel, Waikiki, Oahu; tel. (800) 367-6070. Pleasant, full-service, 313-room hotel at the edge of Waikiki. Rates begin at $185.

Uncle Billy’s Hilo Hotel, Hilo, Big Island; tel. (800) 367-5102. Friendly, local-style, 143-room inn on ocean. Rates: $84-$104. Always booked during Merrie Monarch Hula Festival (April 4-10, 1999) and Kona Ironman event.

Royal Garden Hotel, Waikiki, Oahu; tel. (800) 367-5666. Nicely appointed 220-room high-rise hotel on the mountain side of Waikiki. Good food, small pool. Rates begin at $95.

The Lodge at Koele, Lanai City, Lanai; tel. (800) 321-4666. Luxurious country inn of 102 rooms featuring fine dining, “visiting artists” program. Rates begin at $325.

Mauna Kea Resort, Kohala Coast, Big Island; tel. (800) 882-6060. Two properties in one: traditional Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, secluded and quiet, and the relatively new, contemporary Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. Golf, tennis. Rates: Mauna Kea begins at $325 for mountain view room, Hapuna Beach Prince begins at $325.

Molokai Ranch, Molokai; tel. (877) PANIOLO. Hawaii-style dude ranch/eco-resort in isolated country locale. Outdoor activities. Rates: $128-$148 including meals, airport transfers, transportation; children 4-12 free with paying adults though Dec. 18, 1999.

Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, Kapalua, Maui; tel. (800) 241-3333 or (800) 262-8440. Beachfront resort with ocean views in windy, dramatic Kapalua; golf, art center. Rates begin at $265.

Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows, Kohala, the Big Island of Hawaii; tel. (800) 367-2323. 350-room beachfront hotel with open, tropical feel; golf, tennis. Rates begin at $335 for garden-view room.

Four Seasons Hualalai, Hualalai, the Kohala Coast, Big Island; tel. (888) 340-5662. Hawaii’s newest luxury resort; 450 generous-size rooms scattered in fourplexes on manicured property; golf, tennis, spa. Rates begin at $450.

Kea Lani, Wailea, Maui; tel. (800) 659-4100. 413-room, beachfront all-suite hotel; good for families; hosts cooking weekends with chefs and winemakers. Deli for in-room dining, spa, near golf. Rates begin at $295.