Luxury Oahu hotel offers historic house tours

Halekulani’s philosophy about hospitality is summed up in three words: “For You, Everything.” That’s also the name of its arts and cultural program (the only one of its kind in Hawaii), which provides guests with complimentary admission to some of the state’s finest events and attractions. Options include two remarkable homes that are not usually on visitors’ itineraries.

Shangri La

Overlooking the ocean and Diamond Head, Shangri La (www.shangrilahawaii.org) was built between 1936 and early 1939 as the Hawaii retreat of American tobacco heiress and philanthropist Doris Duke (1912-1993). Today, per her wishes, her spectacular 4.9-acre estate is open to the public as a center for Islamic art and culture. Twice a month, Halekulani transports guests there for a private tour.

Buildings, gardens, courtyards and terraces display architectural features and art commissions from India, Morocco and Iran as well as some 2,500 objects, dating as far back as 1000 B.C., that Duke purchased from those countries and Spain, Syria, Central Asia and Southeast Asia over the course of nearly 60 years. Many of the works are embedded in structures — for example, carved and painted ceilings; marble “jali” (perforated screen) doors and windows; and mosaic ceramic tile panels on walls, porticoes and arched doorways.

Embellished with verses from the Quran, the most important piece in the collection is a 13th-century Iranian “mihrab” (prayer niche) that is an excellent example of the painstaking luster ceramic technique. Metallic oxides are applied to a glazed piece that has already been fired. The piece is fired again, creating a beautiful, long-lasting shine.

The main house’s plain facade gives no hint of the other treasures within it: ceramics; glass lamps; carved stonework; elaborate textiles and carpets; wooden chests inlaid with mother-of-pearl; bronze, silver and copper vessels; jewelry studded with diamonds, emeralds and rubies; and much more — all a testament to Duke’s exquisite taste and fascination for countries and cultures far from her Hawaii home but close to her heart.

Liljestrand House

A thousand feet up the forested slopes of Tantalus, the Liljestrand House (www.liljestrandhouse.org) is an outstanding example of the genius of Russian-born Vladimir Ossipoff (1907-1998), who’s hailed as the master of modern architecture in Hawaii. On both the state and national registers of historic places, the two-story redwood structure was built between 1950 and 1952 for Dr. Howard Liljestrand, a Harvard-educated physician, and his wife, Betty.

For You, Everything offers guests two opportunities each month, transportation included, to tour the house, which was featured on the cover and all 53 pages of the July 1958 issue of House Beautiful. Beautiful it is — but not opulent or ostentatious; that wasn’t Ossipoff’s style. Rather, his design (with much input from Betty) is modest and functional, allowing nature to supply the drama. Large picture windows in every room reveal views that stretch from Diamond Head to Haleiwa on a clear day.

No doubt influenced by Ossipoff’s years growing up in Tokyo, where his father was a military attache for the Russian Embassy, a balcony runs the entire length of the upstairs bedroom wing. It’s reminiscent of an “engawa,” the exterior hallway on the side of a traditional Japanese house.

Indoor spaces flow seamlessly to the outdoors — an Ossipoff signature. In one section of the downstairs recreation area, floor-to-ceiling pocket doors open to sunlight, fresh air and a spacious lawn. Closets and cabinets are cleverly disguised as walls, and a slide-in table extension and pull-out bench and steps in the kitchen add to the clean, understated look that is pure Ossipoff.

And more …

Halekulani guests also receive complimentary admission to Bishop Museum (www.bishopmuseum.org), Iolani Palace (www.iolani palace.org), the Honolulu Museum of Art (honolulu museum.org) and, in season, Hawaii Pops (www.hawaii pops.com) and Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra (hawaiisymphonyorchestra.org) concerts. Although they’re not part of For You, Everything, two on-property tours are also complimentary and worthwhile.

“Hotel Ambassador” is the title on Melba DeMello’s business card, and she fulfills that role to a tee. The spry, genial 87-year-old PBX operator has been working at the Halekulani for 33 years — ever since the present hotel, which was completely rebuilt from 1981 to 1983, opened.

She knows every nook and cranny of the property, making her the perfect guide for the weekly Back of the House Tour, which stops at the laundry, print shop, floral department, main kitchen (which services Orchids and in-room dining) and other areas that guests normally don’t see. Participants receive little treats along the way — cookies, apples, roses — and the tour concludes with iced tea and coconut cake at the seaside House Without a Key restaurant.

Hiinani Blakesley, a licensed massage therapist at SpaHalekulani, leads a twice-weekly, information-packed walk back in time. Her extensive knowledge about Hawaiian history and culture is based on countless hours of research — something she continues to do in her spare time to augment her narrative about Waikiki and the Halekulani.

Sites Blakesley points out during the historical tour include a kuula (fishing shrine) dating back to A.D. 1100 and the 129-year-old kiawe tree beneath which novelist Earl Derr Biggers frequently “talked story” with Honolulu Sheriff Arthur Morgan Brown and Honolulu police detective Chang Apana in the 1920s. Derr Biggers’ famous character, Charlie Chan, is based on Apana.

Don’t miss the original fireplace, decorative second-floor iron railings, eucalyptus floors and lava rock walls from the 1883 two-story bungalow built by lumber, shipping and hardware entrepreneur Robert Lewers. In 1907 Lewers leased the idyllic property, which local fishermen had named Halekulani (“house befitting heaven”), to Honolulu journalist Edward Irwin, who converted it into a small hostelry called the Hau Tree Hotel.

When Clifford and Juliet Kimball took over the lease in 1917, they increased the number of accommodations to 21 and reinstated the Halekulani name, beginning a tradition of gracious hospitality that has endured for a century. Halekulani is planning a centennial celebration next year; no details had been confirmed as of press time.

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.