Hawaii's first hotel, opened 1901. The banyan courtyard, the beachfront lanai, the afternoon tea — this is what Waikiki looked like before it had to try.
The Moana opened on Waikiki Beach on March 11, 1901, as the first hotel on what was then a quiet stretch of sand accessible primarily by horse-drawn carriage from downtown Honolulu. It predates the Royal Hawaiian by twenty-six years, the development of Kalakaua Avenue by decades, and the tourism infrastructure of modern Oahu by the better part of a century. The original building, now called the Banyan Wing, is a Colonial Revival structure with wraparound verandas and a central courtyard dominated by a single banyan tree planted in 1904 that now has a canopy spanning 60 feet. Afternoon tea has been served under that tree since 1904.
The property was acquired by Westin and expanded in the 1950s with the Diamond Head Tower, and again in 1969 with the Surfrider Tower — adding the resort's beach wing and effectively tripling the room count to the current 791. The name Moana Surfrider acknowledges the merger of the original hotel with the former Surfrider Hotel next door. Despite the expansion and the Westin affiliation, the historic character of the Banyan Wing has been preserved with a fidelity unusual for a property of this scale, and the original 1901 building remains the atmospheric heart of the hotel.
The Beach Bar, open-air on the sand directly below the Banyan Wing's ground-floor veranda, is the most historically authentic hotel bar in Hawaii: a place where a mai tai and a view of the beach reproduce an experience that has existed in roughly this form for over a hundred years. The Beachhouse at the Moana is the main dining room, offering fresh Pacific seafood in a setting that captures the hotel's colonial beachfront aesthetic. The Tapestry Bar occupies the original veranda and is the afternoon tea address in Honolulu.
The Moana Lani Spa, on the sixth floor of the Diamond Head Tower, runs a treatment menu that includes Hawaiian and Polynesian therapies alongside contemporary wellness treatments. The rooftop pool and the beachside pool provide two very different swimming experiences: one quiet and elevated, one at the centre of Waikiki Beach activity. The hotel's location — directly between the Royal Hawaiian and the modern towers of central Waikiki — is the argument for it. No other Waikiki address provides this combination of beachfront position, cultural depth, and price point.
An anniversary at the Moana Surfrider trades on history in the most literal sense. Couples who choose this hotel are selecting an address that has hosted honeymooners and anniversary celebrations continuously since 1901. The banyan tree courtyard afternoon tea, the Beach Bar sunset, and the beachfront dinner at the Beachhouse provide a sequence of experiences that are authentically Hawaiian in a way that more recently constructed luxury hotels cannot replicate. For couples who want to feel connected to the history of the destination rather than merely occupying a beautiful room in it, the Moana Surfrider makes the strongest case of any hotel on the island. Other anniversary hotels →
Rates from $380/night. Check availability on Marriott.com.
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