Aloha Hawaii: A Penthouse Sunrise in Waikiki

Sometimes things turn out for the best. Case in point: a couple of years ago, I had a hotel reservation in Waikiki that got screwed up. After some back-and-forth with the check-in desk, I somehow ended up in a penthouse suite. Our room didn’t even have a number. It was called the Oahu Suite. The suite was spacious, though not very luxurious. That didn’t matter. Even if the room was nothing special, the view made up for it. Even late at night, I could tell it was going to be spectacular. I could barely sleep that night, and as soon as dawn started to break, I was out on the balcony snapping these photos.

Before Dawn

Waikiki just before dawn 1

Waikiki just before dawn. You can see that people are just starting to wake up for a long day of tourism.

Waikiki just before dawn 2

I love the blurry traffic lights on the road below.

Sunrise Over Diamond Head

Sunrise over Diamond Head

Sunrise over Diamond Head Mountain.

Early morning in Waikiki 1

Early Morning in Waikiki. You can almost see the shadows shrinking as the sun comes up.

Early morning in Waikiki 2

I could have stared off the balcony for hours.

Ship on the horizon

A ship on the horizon. Hard to tell from so far away, but it looks like a cruise ship.

Clouds on the horizon

Big ole clouds on the horizon. It was a beautifully sunny morning, but a storm rolled in that afternoon.

Street Level Vistas

Waikiki highrises

Waikiki highrises. I like the round one.

Waikiki church 1

I really liked the look of this church, and it ended up in about half of my pictures.

Watching the sun rise from a Waikiki penthouse was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. But I couldn’t stay on that balcony for very long. Once the sun was up, I went out onto Kalakaua Avenue and got some pictures before heading over to the beach. It was an amazing experience, and one of these days, I’d love to go back.

Have you ever stayed in a hotel room or suite with an awesome view? If so, where? Let me know in the comment section.

Steve Lovelace

Steve Lovelace is a writer and graphic artist. After graduating Michigan State University in 2004, he taught Spanish in Samoa before moving to Dallas, Texas. He blogs regularly at http://steve-lovelace.com.

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3 Responses

  1. July 30, 2012

    […] couple of years ago, I had an overnight layover in Honolulu. Somehow, I ended up in a penthouse suite overlooking Waikiki Beach. The suite was nice, but I couldn’t resist the chance to go down to […]

  2. April 19, 2013

    […] throngs of people milling about, looking confused at their surroundings. They were so used to the high-rise condo settings of luxury living that the simple cinder block and tin roofed buildings of Samoa […]

  3. February 7, 2017

    […] moved to American Samoa. Along the way, we had an overnight layover in Honolulu. Most people visit Hawaii for more than a day, but since I only had about 12 waking hours of tourism, I had to make the best […]

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