Isle Hopping
Star-Bulletin staff
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'Locals Only' special at Aqua
Aqua Hotels & Resorts is offering a "Locals Only Special" for the Aqua Aloha Surf & Spa and Aqua Palms & Spa hotels through Aug. 31.
For $89 per night, Hawaii residents booking the special will receive a standard room at either hotel. A one-category upgrade is available for an additional $1 per night, representing a savings of up to 55 percent.
Aqua Aloha Surf & Spa is at 444 Kanekapolei St., where amenities include a spa, swimming pool with cabanas and the new Aloha Bistro.
Aqua Palms & Spa is at 1850 Ala Moana Blvd., walking distance to Ala Moana Center. Amenities at the AAA three-diamond contemporary boutique hotel include a spa, fitness room and swimming pool.
Both are part of the Aqua Boutique Collection and offer guests daily continental breakfast, in-room high-speed Internet, WiFi in the lobby and in-room safe.
The deal cannot be combined with other offers, and is subject to availability and rate change. Proof of Hawaii residency is required upon check-in and taxes are not included. Call Aqua toll free at (866) 406-2782, or visit www.aquaresorts.com.
Stay green at Marriott
Those who wish to stay green might want to check out the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, recently recognized on Travelocity's IgoUgo.com list of "10 Hotels Where Every Day is Earth Day," on top of having received the Energy Star seal of approval by the United States Environmental Protection Agency three years in a row, from 2004 to 2006.
The resort received the State of Hawaii's Green Hotel Award in 2007 for exemplary environmental and resource conservation efforts. Since 2000, the resort has recycled bottles, plastic, aluminum, cardboard, paper, lead waste, fryer oil, and green and wet waste. Fryer oil is used to make biofuel by a local vendor, while wet waste from the resort's kitchen is provided free to local farms to feed their animals.
Last year, the resort recycled:
» 33.6 tons of glass.
» 287.9 tons of wet waste.
» 28.2 tons of cardboard.
» 13.3 tons of fryer oil.
» 3.8 tons of mixed paper.
» 2.9 tons of white paper.
Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa also participates in the state's HI-5 recycling program for beverage containers. The resort donates the money made from the recycling redemption to a neighborhood high school.
Energy conservation efforts include:
» Compact fluorescent light bulbs in 90 percent of the resort and all guest rooms.
» Four efficient chillers.
» Motion detectors in back-of-house areas to reduce lighting/electricity use.
» Guest room sensors that turn off air conditioning when lanai doors open.
» Tinted lanai doors in guest rooms to block the sun.
Water conservation efforts:
» Low-flow toilets and shower heads.
» Automatic sensors for toilets and sinks in public restrooms.
Another area being updated is the pool and hot tub. Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa is installing a system that uses saline (chemical-free) instead of harsher chlorine. Visit www.marriottwaikiki.com.