OUTRIGGER Waikīkī Beach Resort has completed its redesigned guestrooms, and the rooms are now bookable as the beachfront hotel’s $100 million transformation continues.
The rooms are the first finished, guest-facing part of the project at OUTRIGGER’s original flagship. Work is still under way in the public areas, retail spaces and Voyager 47 Club Lounge, though the resort remains open. If you’re planning a Waikīkī stay, the distinction is useful: you can book a newly finished room while other parts of the hotel are still changing.
The redesign takes its lead from the beach outside and the history of the land beneath the resort. Woven screens draw daylight into the rooms, while a mural recalls Queen Emma’s lily garden. Even the rugs borrow their pattern from the sand a wave leaves behind.
Inside the new Waikīkī guestrooms
PowerStrip Studio designed the rooms in collaboration with WCIT Architecture and DTL – a Hawaiian Strategy Studio. Instead of solid walls, the rooms have woven-basket screens that let in natural light and direct the gaze towards the ocean. Sun-washed woods and pastels echo the water and the changing light outside.
The rug is an especially lovely detail: its pattern follows the marks left in the sand by a retreating wave. It gives the rooms a connection to the beach that is more specific than a seaside colour scheme. OUTRIGGER’s resort FAQ also lists custom furnishings and private balconies among the features of the refreshed rooms.
Each guestroom has a mural by Native Hawaiian artist Kamea Hadar called He keiki aloha nā mea kanu, meaning “Beloved children are the plants”. It depicts Queen Emma’s lily garden, recalling the aliʻi who previously owned and cared for the resort’s site. The garden gives the artwork a link to this address, as well as a softer counterpoint to the surf references elsewhere in the design.
Step into the corridors and the story continues. Room numbers sit alongside surf photography by Zak Noyle, while graphic lines inspired by ʻĀpuakēhau Stream wind along the length of the property. The stream’s name translates to “basket of dew”, a reference that also appears in the woven-basket screen at the room entrance.
“We wanted guests to sense the geography of this place before they ever reach the water,” said Dayna Lee, principal at PowerStrip Studio. From the basket weave to the wave-patterned rug, the references are close to the surfaces guests encounter as they move through the hotel.
Queen Emma’s garden and Waikīkī’s surf history
OUTRIGGER describes the resort’s site as the historic grounds of the original Outrigger Canoe Club, on the beach where Duke Kahanamoku shared surfing. That makes the corridor photographs feel at home here. The Queen Emma mural reaches further into the history of the land, giving the new rooms another Waikīkī story to tell.
The hotel first opened in 1967. Monica Salter, OUTRIGGER’s vice president overseeing communications and social responsibility worldwide, told Aloha State Daily in April that its last major renovation had been “a few decades ago”. For returning guests, this is a substantial change to a familiar beachfront address.
“Our hosts have been welcoming guests to this beach for nearly 60 years. What people tell us when they return is that it feels like coming home,” said Steve Miller, general manager of OUTRIGGER Waikīkī Beach Resort. “Our resort rooms are now all new, but that feeling isn’t.”
The new artwork gives those guests something fresh to look for without losing sight of the place they have come back to. Queen Emma’s garden is present inside the room; photographs of Waikīkī’s surf meet them outside it.
What’s still changing at the resort
OUTRIGGER announced the wider $100 million transformation in April 2026, projecting that the guestrooms would be ready in the year’s third quarter. Their completion in September meets that timetable. The rest of the project is following in stages, so the finished rooms should not be mistaken for a finished renovation.
The plans include a redesigned arrival staircase with details inspired by ʻĀpuakēhau Stream. Public spaces and retail areas are also being updated. The Voyager 47 Club Lounge is being enlarged to three times its former size, but that part of the work has yet to be completed.
The resort FAQ says the lounge closed temporarily on 28 February 2026 and is scheduled to reopen in January 2027. If access to the club lounge is central to your stay, that date is worth keeping in mind when choosing when to travel. The newly completed guestrooms are available to book now; the expanded lounge is still to come.
There is plenty at the hotel that remains open during the works. Duke’s Waikīkī and Hula Grill continue to operate, as does Blue Note Hawaiʻi. OUTRIGGER says guests will retain beach access and oceanfront dining while the wider transformation continues. You can still make plans around a day on Waikīkī Beach and dinner by the water, even as shared areas of the resort are being redone.
A chance to win a Waikīkī stay
As the rooms are unveiled, OUTRIGGER is also running its “Catch Waikīkī’s Next Wave” campaign, inviting people to describe what makes Waikīkī Beach special to them. Participants can enter online or by scanning QR codes at the resort, submitting a photo or video along with a short story. Entries are accepted from 15 September to 16 November 2026.
The grand prize package comprises a Club Ocean View room for three nights; round-trip airfare for two, supplied by Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines; dinner for two at Duke’s Waikīkī; and a canoe-surf session with Faith Surf School for two. OUTRIGGER plans to announce the winner on 17 November.
