Champalimaud Design Creates A Hidden Paradise at Halekulani Okinawa
When Halekulani Okinawa called on Champalimaud Design to design their hotel, the famed NY studio created a stunning hidden paradise! The name Halekulani, meaning ‘house befitting heaven’ in Hawaiian, perfectly complements the concept of the hotel. A concept that promises its guests the opportunity to create special memories during their stay. Located in Japan’s picturesque Okinawa Kaigan Quasi-Nation Park, the aesthetic at Halekulani Okinawa offers the perfect setting to make memories.
The award-winning Champalimaud Design first worked with Halekulani on a sister resort, Halepuna Waikiki. Renowned for its unparalleled expertise, Champalimaud is run by five partners, including the company’s founder, Alexandra Champalimaud. The studio celebrates design excellence and the traditions of craftsmanship. A pairing that has allowed them to explore and redefine designing for impact.
Inside Halekulani Okinawa
Champalimaud Design chose an open plan layout for many of the spaces at Halekulani Okinawa. This purposeful decision allows guests to find themselves deeply immersed in the breathtaking nature-rich scenery of the Okinawan coast. Continuing to blur the lines between interior and exterior, Champalimaud placed an emphasis on a natural palette throughout the hotel’s public spaces and guest rooms.
Halekulani Okinawa features two beautiful lobbies designed to bring the ocean indoors through the use of open and expansive spaces, exhibiting spectacular panoramic views. Upon entering either lobby guests encounter familiar nods to the original Halekulani hotel in Waikiki: a slated ceiling, bespoke metal and glass light fixtures, and organic design references.
Dining at Halekulani Okinawa
When it comes to dining spaces at Halekulani Okinawa, Champalimaud Design continues to pay tribute to the hotel’s magnificent surroundings at the all-day dining venue ‘House Without a Key’. Clad in travertine columns and elegant oak flooring, this space pays tribute to the impressive landscape with a stunning plaster feature wall with organic impressions, reminiscent of the ones that shells leave in sand. The restaurant’s outdoor terrace further continues the hotel’s play on blending indoor and outdoor spaces, offering more outstanding views.
The hotel also boasts two additional dining spaces thoughtfully designed by Champalimaud Design. Kingdom – the island’s premier steak restaurant – is a sophisticated and intimate, featuring a show kitchen to amplify the dining experience. Warm, rich, and sleek, the space is wrapped in different iterations of light and medium oak woods. The hotel’s Bar Spectra sits within an open frame composed of a peaked slatted ceiling with cove lighting and trapezoid tiled travertine walls. The hotel’s nature-inspired palette continues here with beautiful woven rattan chairs paired with light amber leather banquets and marble cocktail tables, shades that perfectly complement the hues of a sunset or sunrise.
Design Lover’s Guide to Green Luxury
Guestrooms, Suites & Villas
Inspired by the waterfront location along with Halekulani’s original ‘seven shades of white’ philosophy, Halekulani Okinawa guestrooms offer elegant peace. Each guestroom continues the overarching theme of nature, featuring bespoke decor including rugs that reference the sandy shores of Okinawa, and cane and plush wood-framed boucle seating. Guestrooms also feature large dressers fitted in a beautiful grid pattern inspired by traditional Japanese shoji screens.
Following the ‘seven shades of white’ narrative, all of the hotel’s suite formats follow a similar story as the guestrooms. Warm whites, muted browns, and earthy stone colors layer within each space. Champalimaud Design masterfully designed each suite, which features its own living and dining room, to feel like a stately island residence.
Champalimaud Design also created exquisite one and two-bedroom Villas at Halekulani Okinawa. Each villa offers a unique elevated experience. Surrounded by the local flora of the island, traditional Japanese design elements are interwoven throughout the architecture of the villas. Each villa was built with traditional Okinawan aka-gawara red tiles with the intention of blending into the local landscape. In addition, each of these luxurious spaces has its own private pool and natural onsen.
