When the hospitality company Dovetail + Co. first envisioned a Hawaii outpost for Wayfinder, the boutique hotel brand whose original Rhode Island location is beloved for its Newport-specific charm, the group’s owner, Phil Hospod, knew he wanted to design a place that drew from “the B-side” of Waikiki, a reference to the lesser-known songs often found on a record’s flip side. The Wayfinder Waikiki is accordingly situated not on the oceanfront but on the (relatively) quiet Ala Wai Boulevard, with sweeping views of Diamond Head and the Koʻolau mountain range. (Still, it’s just a short three-block walk to the white sands and surf breaks.) The hotel’s rough-hewn ’60s Brutalist structure — a rarity among the neighborhood’s muted high-rises and tiki kitsch — now features…
