Outrigger Hospitality Group is working on the $80 million renovation of the brand’s flagship property, Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort on Oahu. The project is being overseen by architecture and designer firm Hart Howerton in consultation with Hawaiian cultural practitioners.
Property enhancements include residential-style rooms and suites, poolside experiences and a fully reimagined Kani Ka Pila Grille and stage. The resort design emulates a beach house, with a canoe-hale arrival experience lit by traditional fishing-basket lanterns.
The resort grounds include three accommodations: the Ocean Tower, the Pacific Tower and the Diamond Head Tower—a five-story oceanfront building that will be converted into 23 new rooms and suites, raising the key count to 658.
Voyaging Legacy
Outrigger’s connections to the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the Friends of Hōkūle‘a and Hawaiiloa are highlighted in the lobby with a 30-foot mural of a double-hulled canoe, painted by PVS co-founder and Hawaiian historian Herb Kāne. His painting of Hōkūle‘a, the canoe that sailed around the world using only signs from nature (ocean currents, wind and stars) also hangs in all guestrooms. The print is part of a curated gallery wall of museum-caliber photos and illustrations depicting ocean navigation and Hawaiian heritage.
A “Grand Navigator Experience” at the property links a collection of penthouse suites at the top of the Pacific Tower that are named in honor of Hawaii’s Pwo Navigators. Travelers can book a single suite or reserve the entire 18th floor. The property also has a few dozen larger rooms with three double beds for traveling families and friends.
Kani Ka Pila Grille, the poolside dining venue, has been expanded with a larger stage and additional open-air seating. Slack-key guitar player Cyril Pahinui gave the venue its name, which means “let’s play music.”
In a bid to eliminate plastic from the property, water stations have been installed on each floor for guests to refill the metal Outrigger water bottles provided at check-in.