By Georgina Cruz
For Al Día Today

Like dancers executing steps around the city, a mountain range and undulating hills surround Honolulu –their lush green color reminding the traveler of the typical grass skirts that young women wear to do the hula, the traditional dance of Hawaii.

Honolulu, on the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian chain, boasts both natural and cultural treasures. Nature reigns in beautiful and diverse panoramas of beaches, volcanoes, waterfalls and canyons with an abundance of greenery and flowers, including jasmines, plumerias and gardenias that perfume the air with their delicate fragances. Crystalline waters for snorkeling and other water sports beckon, and on the cultural front, the exotic pleasures of culinary delights tempt travelers (including pork roasted underground for a luau), the lomi lomi salmon, and the huapia or coconut pudding that are served in the restaurants of cosmopolitan Honolulu). Shops and boutiques around the city sell such delightful local products as chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies, Kona coffee and tropical fruit jams and jellies.

The mixture of cultures including the Polynesian (Polynesians were the first to arrive in 400-500 A.D.) as well as Asian cultures, Europeans and North Americans who came throughout the centuries and settled on the Hawaiian islands is another of Hawaii's charms, giving rise to what is often referred to as "the golden race" of Hawaii. And added to all this is the islands' "aloha spirit." "Aloha" means "love," "hello" and "goodbye," but it mostly translates as a warm welcome to visitors.

And now there is a new option for family and couples' vacations in Hawaii: Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, a new property that opened its doors in August on the west coast of Oahu. Its name means "messenger from a higher authority," said Joe Rohde, senior vice president, Walt Disney Imagineering, and the resort, located on 21 oceanfront acres in Ko Olina, 17 miles from the Honolulu Airport and half an hour from world-famous Waikiki, is inspired in the natural beauty and the traditions and legends of Hawaii.

The new resort boasts typical Hawaiian architecture and décor. "Aulani celebrates the best of Hawaii and represents a new way of enjoying a family vacation with Disney," said Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. The resort is not connected to a theme park but has its own natural, cultural and just plain nifty attractions.

Disney contracted local architects, artisans and historians and combined their input with the magic of Disney Imagineers to create the resort –weaving legends and local color throughout. To cite some examples: guests can enjoy the statues of "menehunes" (the legendary little people of Hawaii) hidden in multiple corners of the resort, and they are able to join in storytelling sessions at a fire pit in the evenings.

The resort's two towers house 359 hotel rooms and 481 villas from the Disney Vacation Club (the villas have two bedrooms, kitchen and other home-away-from-home amenities) as well as angled windows for optimal views of the sea and mountains. Guests can enjoy a quintessential tropical paradise swimming and sunning themselves at a spectacular white sand beach, a complex of pools and slides, and a snorkel lagoon. Other amenities include an 18,000-sq. ft. spa with multiple treatment rooms (including two for couples), steam room, fitness center and outdoor theraputic pool garden. There's a spa for teenagers with treatments for them, a yogurt bar and computers; two table service restaurants and other eateries; a children's club; appearances by Mickey, Minnie and other Disney characters; a wedding lawn; and sunset-facing whirlpools.

After enjoying the beach, the sun and amenities of Aulani, guests can arrange onsite for optional excursions including kayak tours, Hawaiian cooking lessons, nature hikes, catamaran sails and horseback rides (there's even a teens-only tour to a surfing school and there are adults-only excursions as well).

Guests can also opt for tours to Honolulu and the rest of the island or explore independently –perhaps taking in beautiful Waimea Falls, a cascade that tumbles down 45 feet into a pool in the North Shore. Aulani's excursions are ideal for families as they include local lore, feature knowledgeable local guides, lunch or snacks (depending on itinerary) and have good cultural content. They can be combined with independent sightseeing by car to Honolulu and Waikiki, both conveniently close to the resort.

Naturally, nobody leaves without taking in some of the attractions of Honolulu which include the Iolani Palace of Hawaiian royalty, the King Kamehameha Statue (he unified the Hawaiian Islands), the moving Pearl Harbor Monument, commemorating the victims of the Japanese attack during the Second World War, and beautiful Waikiki with its dramatic backdrop of extinct Diamond Head Volcano (visitors can climb to its 750-ft. crater).

Other must-sees in Oahu. include the "Blow Hole" (a natural "fountain" caused by water shooting through a hole in the coastline) in Halona Point, and Pali Lookout with its views of the Ko'olau Mountain Range. The Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie (approximately an hour away from Honolulu) is an ideal spot to learn about seven Polynesian cultures: Fiji, Hawaii, Marquesas, New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti and Tonga.

And after returning to Aulani from our explorations each afternoon our favorite activity was enjoying the sunset from one of Aulani's whirlpools, with a tropical drink in one hand and a camera in another.
IF YOU GO – For additional information about Aulani, visit www.aulani.com.

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