OUT OF ALL the surprises that await first-time visitors to Oahu’s famed North Shore, perhaps the biggest is the lack of five-star accommodations. There are plenty of hostels and B&Bs and such, but it ends there… that is, until you arrive at Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore’s eastern edge, the famed stretch’s only luxury hotel.

Built in 1972 and renovated extensively since 1999, the Turtle Bay Resort’s three, six-storey buildings sprawl like a checkered ceiling fan on the edge of Kuilima Point, 270 degrees of it surrounded by the vast Pacific, as well as the area’s characteristic black lava rock reefs and ivory beaches. The resort has eight kilometres of beachfront in total. 


The property sells itself as a piece of the Hawaii you “came to see.” After an hour of exploring its 880 acres dotted by beach cabins, pools, tennis courts, jogging track, spa and wedding cabanas and almost 20 kilometres of nature trails, it’s hard to argue with the boasting. Perhaps it’s the accessible waves and friendly surfers paddling out with nervous newbies watched by diners sipping local brews and munching on fruit salads in one of the resort’s four restaurants.

One of the resort’s two championship golf courses—the Arnold Palmer (the second is a George Fazio)—hosted the annual PGA Champions Tour, the first full field event of the tour with a $1.5 million purse last month.

Rooms start at US$295 per night.

turtlebayresort.com