The W Hotel and Diamond Head Surfing

Anybody stayed at The W Hotel before? I%26#39;ve stayed at the one in San Fransisco before and enjoyed my time spent there. Cool, hip, good nightlife party scene. Was wondering how the one in Diamond Head stood up?

Also, I hear there is good surfing just that side of Diamond Head (a place called, ';Tongs';?). Is that walking distance from The W? While carrying a surf board?

Thanks for the hints!

The W Hotel and Diamond Head Surfing

The W does have a good club on Fridays and Saturdays. I can%26#39;t speak to the rooms since I%26#39;ve never stayed there, but the others I%26#39;ve stayed at have always been nice so I wouldn%26#39;t worry about it. I%26#39;m not *certain* about the breaks, but I think the ones right close to the W are kind of dangerous, but if you go further down closer to Diamond Head it%26#39;s better. I%26#39;m not sure if you can get to them from the W easily -- my husband always drove up to one of the scenic lots and walked down from there.

The W Hotel and Diamond Head Surfing

The W hotel is very hip accommodations as you described. There is a restaurant and night club in the hotel called Diamond Head Grill and it鈥檚 considered one of the hot spots for Waikiki.

Tongg鈥檚 is south from the W Hotel, about a five minutes walking. The following is a detailed description:

Used to be a cool little secret, now packed with dubious graduates of the surf school on the inside. Consistent, always has some sort of wave but often not as good as other spots nearby, when there is swell check other spots first. Actually just only a fun, funky, odd wave, sometimes (less than 10 days a year) can get very good, which will surprise you. Far inside left on a big longboard can be very fun and less crowded. Cannot hold any bigger than 3-4 ft, ends up being a dangerous washout, crowded with beginners who don%26#39;t know any better spot, save yourself the anguish and pain and surf a better wave when there is swell. Take off lineup is very small, making drop-ins by beginners more and more common. Rights can be a bit hollow but very short, like 2 or 3 turns; lefts are softer and longer, sometimes very long on small days and a longboard. Used to be shortboard only until 95 or so when it got crowded. There are sharks from fall thru winter into early spring, you can see them in the deep water just outside the reef, once or twice a year a shark clears out the lineup for a few days.

Main hazards are the clueless. Watch out for ladies, this is a very %26#39;lady friendly%26#39; lineup, and lots of couples surf together, so avoid drop-ins on women, her partner/husband/Local braddah will not like the infraction. There are a few people who have surfed out in this area for a very long time, they are easy to spot by where and when they catch the wave, nearly all are cool, but crowds and drop-ins may make a few testy. Watch who is catching waves consistently and give them space and a smile, they will appreciate it and share. Shifty lineup, if you sit in the right spot the take-off and direction to go on the wave is obvious. Mellow vibes helps when surfing this spot, it is by far NOT a premium wave so no need to get all worked up, although a few locals can be quite short tempered at times.

In addition to Tongg鈥檚 you should check out Publics, Castle鈥檚, Rice Bowels and Old Man鈥檚. All of these breaks are within walking distance of the hotel.

Peter%26#39;s right - Tongg%26#39;s is consistent but not very good.

As far the other breaks mentioned, excepting Publics, most break only when it%26#39;s bigger or the swell comes in a different direction. And then it%26#39;s the local dawn patrol who rarely get to surf those, so it%26#39;s not recommended to go to Old Man%26#39;s or Castle%26#39;s when it%26#39;s breaking good.

W: it%26#39;s got the same vibe but isn%26#39;t quite as happening here, mostly because it%26#39;s a way out of the main action. But it has a really good restaurant, and the nights that the club isn%26#39;t taken over by the 24 y.o. crowd, it%26#39;s a cool club.

And, btw, that surf school is such an issue that more than a few locals at Tongg%26#39;s are pretty testy... But not if you%26#39;re cool %26amp; not if you%26#39;re obviously not a one-day graduate of the surf school or back out there with a ';instructor'; for a private lesson. And watch out for those - they%26#39;ll push students off right in front of you.

Surf School? I thought they all stayed in Waikiki! I have a buddy who moved to Oahu about 5 years ago, and hopefully he%26#39;ll be able to take some time off from work and take me surfing. At least once so then I know where to go. I%26#39;ve heard that the whole Diamond Head area is pretty obvious, as long as you aren%26#39;t stupid and know how to read the water. I%26#39;m pretty excited about hitting some south swell Hawaiian waves.

PeterKailua: where did you find that break description? Is there a website that lists all the breaks?

We were considering the W Honolulu but glad we decided not to stay there. I%26#39;ve stayed at the W in San Francisco as well, including San Diego, Los Angeles and Chicago. The W Honolulu does not live up to expectations. The hotel doesn%26#39;t seem like the other W hotels, the decor is very Ikea like. Also, this truly is a boutique hotel, something like less than 50 rooms. Although the beach is right there, there is no pool or anything. For the price, you can stay elsewhere.

We did go to the club Saturday night and it was awesome, great bongo players that play along with the house/techno music, great drinks. It%26#39;s a fun place to hang out but I wouldn%26#39;t stay there.