B on Hawaii

Four Seasons doesn't let much time slip by without a major renovation or improvement to one of their deluxe Hawaii properties. This week, it's the Hualalai locale that announces the completion of a 15-month, $40 million face lift.

On Saturday, March 6, the 10th Annual Great Waikoloa `Ukulele Festival will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Held at Queens' Marketplace on the Big Island of Hawai`i, the event will feature legendary "Ambassador of Aloha" Danny Kaleikini as Master of Ceremonies.

A last-minute "Island to Island for Haiti" benefit concert and food event has been organized for his Friday, February 12, to raise money for the victims of the earthquake there. Cecilio & Kapono will headline the concert, to be held on the lagoon-fronting Great Lawn at O`ahu's Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Those that have been following the developments at Kapalua know that here, in one of the most spectacular locales on Maui (and the entire island chain), things have been evolving for the better part of two years.

Large resort hotels don't need to go green. With corporate funding coming from overseas (and profits/losses headed in the same direction), there isn't much stigma for executive boards, chair people and shareholders to insist on sustainable processes.

Colin Hazama, chef de cuisine of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Kaua`i Grill at the newly unveiled St. Regis Princeville may be the most fortunate 28-year-old chef in America. We sat down with Hazama at a table hovering over Hanalei Bay, just days before he was set to open the pinnacle restaurant at what is being hailed at Hawaii's most luxurious resort.

Hold on to your hipster gear: Edition Hotels will debut in Honolulu this Spring. The buzz has been circulating for nearly a year that traditionally staid hotel brand Marriott was set to launch a line of boutique properties with nightlife impressario and Ian Schrager, the "Father of the boutique hotel movement".

Last week, Outrigger Hotels unveiled a brand new wedding venue in Waikiki that just may rival any in bustling Waikiki. Capping a $110 million property renovation, the Outrigger Reef has opened the all-new "Voyager Deck", a 6,000 square foot, 3rd floor event space that overlooks Honolulu's serene ocean waters.

The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival kicks off this year on Friday, November 6, with events stretching through November 15th. Festival organizers seem to be taking advantage of the "cultural" aspect of the festival this go-around, to spotlight a number of unique offerings in and surrounding the Kona location, on Hawai`i's Big Island.

In these lean economic times, when the numbers at Hawai`i's hotels are staggeringly low, what does the newest hotel chain on the block do? Why, they advertise the opportunity to "Own Your Own Resort for $25,000 per day", of course. Duh!