The Donald goes Hawaiian

When you hear the name Donald Trump, you think New York. Maybe Atlantic City.

But not Hawaii. Yet, there was that name sprouting among the urban canyons of Waikiki.

The Trump International Hotel & Tower at Waikiki, which opened in November, is the newest -- and perhaps for a time, last -- major addition to the famed Oahu skyline.

The building is restrained by Trump's standards but still drips with the ego-driven desire to stamp his name on everything. The building. The stationery. Even the neat little ribbon tied around a roll of toilet paper.

With its blue plate-like glass "tropical deco" exterior, the 38-story Trump looks like an architectural refugee from Miami Beach. Still, during a trip there this month, I found it a fresh, interesting entry into the tired world of Waikiki hotels. I still love the venerable Moana Surfrider and Royal Hawaiian (despite an ill-advised interior redo). The Halekulani is luxurious, though it lost its soul in a 1980s makeover. Beyond those three, Waikiki is a collection of mostly aging, unimaginative and oversized skyscrapers or boxy hotels that could be in any sunny spot. Little indicates the Hawaiian sense of place beyond gift shops stocked with surf industry T-shirts and jogging shorts that spell out HAWAII across the back.

The Trump's interior is where the designers have tried to go a little local. The rooms have some nice Hawaiian touches -- dark wood desks, and lamps with brown fabric shades. Dominating the room is the seemingly ubiquitous massive flat screen television. Design elements include tapa textiles, lots of marble and granite, set off by lovely koa wood elements.

The good, the bad, the sand

The bad news about the location is that while the Trump boasts it is a five-star hotel, it's missing that key ingredient for Hawaii: a beachfront. The hotel is across the road from the Halekulani and visitors must take a path between buildings to get to the sand. Once there, they arrive at what's not one of the better of Waikiki's sand strips.

The good news is that the hotel is not surrounded by other hotels on all sides. The west-facing side is built across the street from Fort DeRussy Beach Park and the grassy Ainahau Triangle. The sweep of green lawns and treetops stretching to the hotels and office buildings across the way give a breathing space that is rare in Waikiki. If you can't get a west-facing room, enjoy the view from the beautiful six-floor, open-air lounge.

My room was spacious and had a kitchenette area (with microwave) and a big bathroom -- rare in Waikiki -- with a deep Japanese-style soaking tub and a separate flat-floor tile shower. Water pressure left something to be desired. Other rooms were smaller and the TV was set oddly atop a bureau. I had opted for a room on the $199 "Grand Opening" special, which was available only for rooms on the lower floors that looked out on the neighboring Embassy Suites hotel.

Pool may flop for families

I'm a bit split on my opinion of the pool. It seems more of a design emblem to be looked at than used -- a long rectangle of blue that faces out over the street six floors below with views of other hotels and the park. Still, sitting with the one you love is a pretty romantic idea. Just don't expect to get in a lot of water play with the kids.

I don't like skyscraper hotels in Hawaii and I don't like development in general. By all rights I should dislike the Trump -- for its egomaniacal name, its size and its beautiful but geographically misplaced architecture. But the building at least has a design flourish missing in much of the area, an amiable staff and a beautiful view of Fort DeRussy Park. It helps that there is little competition. Not much fresh and interesting has sprouted in the past decade or two in Waikiki.