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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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Luxury digs at Halekulani rate with Robb Report
THE Vera Wang Suite at Halekulani is on the cover of the inaugural issue of "Luxury Hotels," a special publi- cation by the Robb Report magazine.
The Robb Report and its sister publications have reported extensively on Hawaii for more than 30 years, but this is the first time in at least five years a Hawaii-anything has been featured on a cover, according to Bruce Wallin, executive editor.
The premiere issue of the Robb Report's "Luxury Hotels" hits newsstands Tuesday and sells for $7.99.
Without ranking them except as the best in their cities, the guide shows and describes 27 hotels in the United States and Canada; 33 in Europe; 15 in Asia and the Pacific; six in Africa and the Middle East and another six in the Caribbean and Latin America.
"The truth of the matter is, a lot of the city properties aren't visually appealing," Wallin said. Halekulani, on the other hand, "photographs very well."
It is the first one featured in the magazine, on Page 24, with a money-shot photo by Barbara Kraft stretching across a page and a half.
Taken from inside the room, the photo shows the Vera Wang-designed seating area and extends to the outside, across the waters of Waikiki, backdropped by Diamond Head at twilight.
HOTELS & RESORTS OF HALEKULANI.
The Vera Wang Suite at the Halekulani is featured on the cover of the Robb Report's inaugural issue of "Luxury Hotels." It will hit the newsstands on Tuesday.
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Photos of other hotels in the guide show a diverse range of accommodations, from old, gold-plated-palatial to Picasso-colorful-funky; from busily ornate to serenely spartan; from fiery warm and lush to nearly icelike neo-Jetsenesque.
Naturally, Halekulani officials are thrilled the Robb Report took notice.
"Its commitment to quality and excellence is a validation of the Halekulani brand and Honolulu's viable global market share in an ever-dynamic and competitive urban luxury market," said Peter Shaindlin, chief operating officer of Halekulani Corp.
General Manager Janis Clapoff said the Vera Wang Suite, "is the ideal city escape as it blends the magic and stylish glamour of Waikiki romance with the pulse of Honolulu's urban offerings."
Halekulani was compared against other hotels in Honolulu, not other hotels elsewhere.
The guide was compiled by writers and "travel professionals we work with," Wallin said. In contrast to many publications, the Robb Report does not insist that writers travel anonymously and "we do accept comps in some cases," he said.
Boy, if that doesn't spell o-p-p-o-r-t-u-n-i-t-y to a freelance writer, nothing else would.
Publishers recently produced a "Luxury Resorts" guide, but the hotel edition differs in that it is intended to focus on city escapes as opposed to destination resorts.
"We just selected one per city," Wallin said. There is no crossover between the guides, both of which are planned for annual publication.
By its nature, Hawaii often blurs the delineation between hotel and resort, but for the Robb Report's purposes, "the first thing we look at is the range of facilities," Wallin said.
"If you have a golf course, you're a resort. If you have an outdoor beach setting, that's more resorty. If you're smack-dab in the middle of a city, you're going to be a hotel."
Yes, Halekulani has a beach -- a rather famous one -- right out front, but it was the publication's call.
Wallin said "about four" Hawaii resorts were in the Robb Report's "Luxury Resorts" guide, available via the company Web site at $12.95. The list does not appear online.
The Robb Report and its other publications are for people who don't need to ask what the price is before making reservations, or deciding to order something, etcetera.
We all know someone like that, right? Let's see ... nope, not me either.
For those of us who do have to ask how much it costs, thereby proving that we can't afford it, the published rate for the Vera Wang suite starts at $4,000 a night for the one-bedroom configuration, or $5,500 a night for the two-bedroom set-up.
At those prices, guests receive more than just a place to lay their heads, and those extras are outlined online.
One thing missing from the Halekulani coverage is an inset box citing each hotel's location, accommodations, facilities, dining and concierge recommendations.
However, it had been included in an earlier, special subscriber edition, containing a sneak preview of the Luxury Hotels lineup.
The Robb Report features are often discussed on TV shows about investment and wealth management. It also was seen on an episode of "The Sopranos" last season.
Producers had requested a copy "and we were hopeful, obviously," Wallin said. "It was last October's issue, I think," and it was clearly visible in a shot being read by lead character Tony Soprano.
"We have the highest demographics of really any magazine out there," Wallin said. "The average annual income of our readers is 10 times what you would find among more mass-market publications," he said.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4747, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at:
eengle@starbulletin.com