Moana Surfrider on O’ahu (Dogbite/flickr).

In one of my past lives, I was a Victorian woman of independent means who loved taking afternoon tea in the Moana Hotel veranda.

There, neath the spreading banyan tree, cooled by gentle ocean breezes, I’d relax in my comfy lounge chair, sip cup after cup of darjeeling, and rejuvenate my body and spirit with dainty sandwiches and sweets.

Side view of the grand porte cochere entrance that welcomes all visitors to the Moana Surfrider.

That’s why I felt so "at home" when my sister-in-law Alison invited my mom and me to join her for tea at the beautiful and historic "First Lady of Waikiki." The Moana Surfrider, which opened its doors in 1901 with just 75 rooms, is Waikiki’s first large hotel. At the turn of the century, long before any of the high rises were built, the Moana welcomed Hawai’i’s first tourists with its "modern" amenities (telephones and bathrooms in every room, billiard room, saloon, first electric elevator in the Islands).

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