Blackout in Honolulu, question

I%26#39;m curious, was anyone in Honolulu during the recent blackout? Did the electronic keys to hotel rooms work? Were the elevators in hotels on auxiliary power? I was there in Nov. and the idea of having to climb 14 floors to my room makes my back ache.

Blackout in Honolulu, question

We were on the Waikiki strip when the power went down and many people were waiting outside of the hotels and not allowed to go in. Escalators and elevators were not operating. It is my understanding that the cardlock keys should work because they have their own power. Most places were completely unprepared, and even hospitals did not have enough auxillary power for the duration of the outtage. We were happy that we were staying in a vacation home on the north shore, and although the driving was a little scary (Thank goodness for GPS), we got home and called it an early night...in all about 18 hours without power.

Blackout in Honolulu, question

A major island wide outage doesn%26#39;t happen too often. The last time we had a major outage was 2006 during the earthquake. I can only remember one other time during a hurricane many years ago.

I was in my condo and we had a generator run one elevator but there was no electricity to pump water up to our floor. Luckily I save water in 2 liter bottles for emergencies such as this.

I wouldn%26#39;t dwell on things like this happening to you while on vacation.

Thank you, I%26#39;m not dwelling on it, but I am curious how the hotels, stores, and tourists handled it. I plan to go back next Nov.

Most stores asked everyone to leave and closed. Some of the grocery stores allowed people to line up outside and they let in a limited number at a time so people could buy what they needed. It all seemed to run pretty smoothly. Restaurants that had tiki torches and candles on the tables stayed open for the most part. My friend was at Zippy%26#39;s with a group of 11 people and the restaurant gave them their dinners free! Ala Moana Shopping Center closed and when everyone tried to leave there was a big traffic jam since all the traffic lights were out. We watched traffic from our lanai and traffic finally died down around 10-10:30pm.

The newscast (the next day) showed Waikiki and interviewed a few people. Everyone was out on Kalakaua walking around with tiki torches in some areas lighting the way. You can read the articles in the Honolulu Star Bulletin or the Honolulu Advertiser. Or you can go online and visit one of our local TV stations..KITV, KHON or KGMB.

It was our first night in Waikiki. We were in our hotel room at the Outrigger Reef when it happened. First the cable TV went out, then a few minutes later everything went black. We hadn%26#39;t eaten so we went downstairs (elevators must have been on generators, luckily). The hotel restaurants were still open but couldn%26#39;t serve up new food. Shore Bird had a salad bar that was running out, and they were still serving drinks (nothing blended - no blenders). We finally found food at a little souvenir market in Outrigger - we bought some packaged sandwiches, cash only, and they wrote down prices on a piece of paper and used a calculator. Reminded me of the TV show ';Jericho!'; The hotel gave everyone complimentary glow sticks downstairs. They also had housekeeping going room to room handing out glow sticks later. The power finally came back on the next morning around 7am when I was getting in the shower.

The blackout happened on our first night in Hawaii too. I was in the shower and my husband was in the middle of shaving when everything suddenly went black. We were in the Wyland and the elevators and room keys did work. There were lots of hotels that had some basic lights on so with the curtains open you could make your way around your room and you could also make your way around the streets. Our hotel also gave out glow sticks. We weren%26#39;t able to find anywhere to eat so we had a packet of pringles for dinner and went to bed early! We were flabbergasted that the airport did not have immediate back up power - we missed our day tour to Kauai the next day because all the flights were delayed.

We were there for the blackout and were staying at the Prince Kuhio Hilton. Our electronic keys worked and our elevators were operating. We were actually in line to get into Bubba Gumps at the mall and had to bus back to waikiki. Luckily the ABC around the corner was open and letting a few people in at a time for food! We dined that night on cheese, crackers, cereal and fruit. Had cold water for showers in the morning after power returned but all in all it wasn%26#39;t too bad!

We were at the Waikiki Banyan. We had 3 suites there, and most of our group was together in one of the units on the 11th floor when the power went out. I was in the internet cafe when it happened. The hotel emergency lighting lit the hallways decently, but the coffee shop was very dark. After severl minutes, the cashier left about 4 of us there, and went to see if the front desk had any information. I believe they kept the elevators going, although some people were looking for family, and worried they could be stuck between floors.

The front desk decided to conserve their emergency power by operating only 2 elevators per tower, and asking that they only be used for emergencies. One of the staff announced that they would open up stairwells.... scary, if they aren%26#39;t always unlocked for fire escapes. I joined a group, and walked up 11 flights to join the rest of my family.

The suite had a flashlight, and the hallways were lit. Most people had their doors open to the hallway. there were at least 2 general announcements throughout the hotel advising that it was an island-wide outage, and they advised that people not go out unless necessary. We had food in the fridge, and had already eaten dinner so it wasn%26#39;t a problem.

The second announcement stated that power would like be out for 12 hours, and asked that everyone conserve water.

Since our rooms were in a different tower, on levels 35 and 27, we all stayed in the unit on the 11th floor. It slept 6.... we had 7 people, so my son had to make do with couch cushions on the floor. I didn%26#39;t want to walk up all the stairs, nor did I want to risk being stuck in an elevator if the emergency power failed.

All in all, it was handled fairly well by the hotel.

We were in Waikiki eating dinner and when we returned to Hilton Hawaiian Village found that only one elevator in the Tapa tower was operational but key cards worked. The queue for the elevator was understandably long. After sitting around the pool for a while, my husband and kids decided that we should climb the stairs to the 23rd floor!!! Of course, they all had to race, thinking it quite hilarious that I would be puffing after the second floor. However, I aquitted myself quite well and made it not too long after my much younger competitors. Maybe I%26#39;ll have to do the top of the Empire State next year (not!!).

The elevators at the Hale Koa were still working during the outage, running on generators. I have to say that the level of preparedness for a power outage of Oahu was the lowest I have ever seen. We had $50.00 worth of steaks sitting in front of us at the Shorebird that they were not going to let us cook because the vent fans were not running. The manager finally told us we could grill our steaks and we were the last ones to get to do so. Everyone else had the option of salad bar only. In Mexico, a power outage does not have near the affect, I suppose because it happens so much more often.

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