The resort era grew out of that royal ground. In the 1880s King Kalākaua cut the first real road to Waikīkī, opening it to recreation; by 1893 the little Sans Souci had become one of Hawaiʻi's first beach resorts, and Robert Louis Stevenson lingered there. The Moana Hotel — the “First Lady of Waikīkī” — opened in 1901, and in 1927 the Matson Line raised the Royal Hawaiian, the Pink Palace itself, on the Helumoa grove. Elegant ships carried mainland visitors to its doors, and Waikīkī began its second life as the most famous beach in the Pacific.
Today Waikīkī is where the world learns to surf. The royal sport the aliʻi rode here became a global one through Duke Kahanamoku, the Kālia boy turned Olympic champion, whose bronze statue now stands on the sand with arms spread wide in welcome. Outrigger canoes still launch through the breakers, hula and music drift from the beachfront, and beneath the towers the old name endures — Waikīkī, the spouting waters, a royal shore that taught the world to ride the waves. Our designs carry that older, deeper name with pride.
Why People Visit Waikīkī
Waikīkī offers a whole world in two miles of sand: the birthplace of modern surfing, royal history beneath the hotels, Diamond Head at the end of the beach, and the easy warmth of Hawaiian hospitality. It is the most famous beach in the Pacific — and for the surfers, paddlers, and families who live and gather here, simply home.
