Cool Hunting

The Surfjack Hotel + Swim Club Honolulu

Honolulu-based design studio The Vanguard Theory—who took the lead on the hotel’s public spaces—called in over a dozen island artists to help gut-renovate and redesign Hokele Suites: a budget hotel originally built in the ’60s. Inspired by the existing structure’s mid-century modern architecture, their objective was to reimagine old Waikiki (think slack key guitars, Duke Kahanamoku, and a pastel-hued VW Bus hoisting a longboard) through the lens of modern creatives. “We wanted to share with visitors an authentic story about Honolulu. Our story of Honolulu was not our own to tell and we felt it was important to involve our local community,” reveals Michelle Jaime, The Vanguard Theory’s Design Director.