The tours leave the Honolulu Academy of the Arts ( corner of Beretania and Victoria Sts., 80 purchase tickets over the phone by calling 866-DUKE-TIX) by 15-minute minivan ride, and only guided tours are permitted. Tours (lasting 2.5 hours) of the mansion are administered through the Honolulu Academy of the Arts, which has a helpful Shangra La information page with details on buying tour tickets.
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Guides here tend to be extremely well-versed in the life of Doris Duke, her collection, and her dedication to Islamic art (she was not, by the way, a practitioner of Islam but rather of ardent aficionado of the Islamic aesthetic). Guided tours of Shangri La take visitors through the entry courtyard, the ornately decorated foyer, past a central courtyard and vintage powder room (complete with a fabulously retro Mylar ceiling), into a living room with a fully retractable wall that instantly converts it to an open-air parlor, through the dining room, out to the lanai, past the 75-foot saltwater pool, and through the exceptionally stunning Turkish and Baby Turkish rooms.
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Upon her death, she willed her former home to be managed as the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA), with the intention of promoting "the study and understanding of Middle Eastern art and culture." The estate is open to the public by tour only, and it takes a little effort to get here, but a guided walk through this fanciful homage to Islamic artwork is worth doing (and paying for - the cost of admission is $25).
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You may not automatically associate Honolulu with Islamic art, or even necessarily with iconic heiress and philanthropist Doris Duke (1912-1993), but Shangri La decorative details, and architectural pieces from throughout the Middle East and North Africa.ĭoris Duke built the elegant, largely open-air mansion on 5 acres overlooking the surf below Diamond Head in the late 1930s. All shapes and sizes congregate here, including plenty of tourists just working on their tans. It's a very congenial scene, not particularly attitude-y or stuffy. As the day progresses and the sun sets, many of the beachgoers here walk over to nearby Hula's gay bar for some post-beach socializing and hobnobbing. There's no nudity along here, and it's far too centralized to qualify as cruisy in any racy way, but that's not to say this isn't an excellent spot to mingle, make new friends, and find out what's on during the evening. A bit farther northwest along the beach, you'll also find a nice-size volleyball court There's a small covered pavilion along the grassy area behind the beach that has restrooms and a snack bar, and plenty of GLBT folks also lie along this grassy section. The approximate street address is 2715 Kalakaua Ave., across from Honolulu Zoo and the northwest edge of Kapiolani Park, and just north of Waikiki Aquarium.
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Queen's Surf is easy to reach - it's just a short walk along the beachfront south of where Kapaluhu Avenue intersects with Kalakaua Avenue at the beach (not far from Hula's gay bar). The beach here draws a mostly gay-male crowd, although certainly not exclusively so, as plenty of lesbians and straights seeking seclusion tan their hides here, too. By far the most popular gay beach in Hawaii, and one of the most scenic and well-known in the world, Queen's Surf Beach is a relatively secluded stretch of sand in the heart of Waikiki, but along a section with no direct hotel frontage - this accounts for the fact there's more privacy and fewer families here than to the north or south.