Nohea Gallery, Honolulu

First off you are struck with the richness and variety of the useful, beautiful things for sale. You will find local artists paintings and hawaiian koa furniture, which is not cheap, pretty decorative glass, and also affordable Hawaiian kitchen towels and potholders and stuff for cute gifts. The staff was super. They shipped my (gorgeous koa) box with no trouble, I never saw a better variety during my whole trip, and I though the prices were actually pretty good. The only complaint I have was that you can't see all the goodies on the website, but you can order from it. They must've changed the website since the last reviewer's trip. I still get compliments on the earrings I bought there and they cost 20$. If you want jams and jellies and stuff, Long's drug store is great for that, but if you want something that will last, check out Nohea Gallery.

What I saw was authentic local art and very nicely made koa boxes, bowls, and other items my friends told me to look for in Hawaii. The prices were better than I expected for a Waikiki store. There is a lovely feeling in the store - the salespeople are not pushy - they just talk about the items there and I didn't feel rushed into buying things. I bought a few things, but what I really liked was I could ship them home at a very reasonable cost. I looked for the store because a friend had sent something from there on their last vacation. It is NOT easy to find - no sign on the main street at all. But inside the Moana hotel you can't miss it.