YWCA Laniakea

Remember being here few times for the café and the dress for success clothing sales event.
The building was elegantly designed with geometric lines and aesthetic symmetry, under tremendous western influence, the building was highly valued as historical architect and significant masterpiece. Ornamented with iconic vines and classical arch-​shaped windows, ideologically delved monument which left an unforgettable impression. It is somewhere I am fond of and somewhere of my incline :)

I partially attended a course called «Launch My Business» held by the Patsy T. Mink Center for Business and Leadership. I want people to know that what is offered in regards to this course is not what you actually get. The staff uses the word Aloha, but it was anything but. Aggressive/​passive-​agressive people that also mislead on top of not following through with what they say they are going to do. I also found one staff member in particular manipulative and meddling as well. Their supervisor was nowhere to be found or it could maybe have been ironed out. It was more than just misunderstandings. Very un-​professional and totally uncalled for. The lessons were not bad from what I gleaned from it, but you have to take into consideration the difficult personalities (yes, several) you have to overcome first. Being that the curriculum is very demanding, it just isn’t worth it. It does not deliver what you pay $ 300.00 for.

Nestled across of the Iolani Palace lies this wonderful place called YWCA which has programs that support mostly women (though I think men can join in the recreational programs and more – it’s best to inquire with the organization).
I had the honor of attending their monthly clothing sale which consists of selling designer and ordinary business wear to raise money for their programs. The sale dates varies and it’s best to look at the website or their Facebook page. The sale usually goes from 10 am until 2 pm, but it’s best to go early since that’s when you can get the best clothes, jewelry, and shoes.
I arrived at 9:50 am and there was a bunch of ladies waiting anxiously for the sale. Once the clock hit 10 am, all the ladies dashed into this small area of the lobby to get all the clothes they could carry. It was kind of a mad house, but I managed to get some clothes – slacks, dresses, and blouses to try. There was also bags, purses, jewelry, watches, shoes, slacks, pants, dresses, skirts, aloha shirts, and Ugg boots too, but I was determined to find appropriate business wear for work.
There was a closed small community room with chairs and mirrors for women to try the clothes and see if it fits. I took 2 hours to find 6 designer brand clothes – 1 $ 5 Express Slacks, $ 10 Anne Klein dress, and 4 blouses ($ 5 each) for a total of $ 35. I wanted to search more but felt weary after trying on so many clothes. I would definitely come again for the sale, but wished it was a little less of a mad house in the beginning.
The price range for their clothes are as follows: $ 20 for suits, $ 10 for dresses, and $ 5 for slacks and blouses.

Nice 60×30 heated pool with $ 10 daily membership available. But you have to fill out 8 pages of forms first. No frills locker room — no towels, locks, or soap. Still a good bargain.

I just had my wedding here and I couldn’t have been happier. The star of this place is Kelii the manager. He was such a pleasure to work with. Very responsive, accommodating and adaptable. The courtyard was beautiful and the ballroom was exactly what we wanted. If the weather wasn’t so unpredictable having both the ceremony and reception in the courtyard would have been nice. Emerson the owner was also very nice. He seemed sincerely excited for us to get married at his place.
The only negative was the bartender working our wedding she wasn’t the friendlies. We brought in our own alcohol and she opened all the bottles of wine. So at the end of the night they gave us back all the leftover alcohol and we had about 8 full bottles of open wine. Other than that everything and everyone was fantastic to work with.

We have our yearly office staff meeting here today, it’s the second time now and the quality of service and the overall feel has improved significantly perhaps it’s the lighting but they did a much better job with the room.

This was my very first time to this place. I have to say that this place has good activities for all ages alike. Also the courtyard of this place is breathtaking beautiful and for a wedding like this, it was very nice and wonderful. I highly recommend that if you wanna have a wedding, just let the people know and for sure that it will happen for you. I was very pleased that it was a nice and up kept place and not run down like other places I have been to. I hope to return there someday to see what they offer

I am not a member of YWCA so I can’t base this review on membership perks. I came here for a special event, held in the Fuller wing. Without this event I would never have known this «wing» existed. Enter through the front door, head straight past the pool and turn right and there you have the Fuller wing.
It’s a good size room to hold banquets (and wedding reception or any special events — can the YWCA allow wedding receptions here?). The room is air conditioned. The building is kind of old and it shows in the wooden windows, that if opened, would look over the pool. During the event, the doors kept rattling and was quite distracting.
All in all, not a bad place. But definitely not a go-​to place to hang out. If another event is held here that I want to attend, you can bet I’ll be back. But not because I want to be there, but have to because of the event.

YWCA LANIAKEA @1040 RICHARDS STREET:
One of my favorite buildings in downtown Honolulu.
I love Julia Morgan’s design, the first woman to be admitted to the architecture program in Paris, and the first woman architect licensed in California. She designed many buildings for institutions serving women and girls including YWCA.
I used to take some classes here years back, nowadays I come back here every month for Dress Sales, and Café Julia dining.
Parking: Alii Place or street parking (Sunday free).

This is a beautiful building that does and provides so many great programs and services to the community. My main reasons for visiting the YWCA Laniakea are to (1) drop off clothing to donate to the Dress For Success program, and (2) eat at Café Julia.
The Dress For Success program is an awesome program to help ladies get on their feet and into the workforce with training, tips, and a couple of outfits to boot. The program accepts career clothing, shoes, handbags, accessories, and makeup. It feels good to help by donating. The second reason I visit the YWCA is to eat Café Julia, which deserves (and has) its own Unilocal review.
Each time I visit this historic building, I feel like I am taken back in time. I love the architecture of this building with the beautiful courtyard and swimming pool in the middle. You forget that you are in Downtown and easily ignore the glass and concrete office towers situated around this building.
I’ve been here to use their meeting rooms for seminars, but the YWCA also houses a gym, classroom and studio space and even the Myron B. Thompson Charter School. So much is housed in this gem in Downtown Honolulu. It truly is a must see.

This venue is stunning, and a perfect hideout downtown.
The gym facility is great and is an amazing deal for students on a budget.
The pool is stunning and always makes me long for days when women wore one piece suits and crossed their legs.
The classes offered as part of the wellness program are amazing.
Café Julia is a great spot for casual or formal lunches and offers catering services. For the last few years they have really grown their events side and I wouldn’t hesitate to hold my wedding here!
All around great local, with an admirable mission and great staff!

I’ve attended a few events at the Laniakea YWCA and it’s one of my favorite buildings in Downtown Honolulu. Located right next door to the Iolani Palace, the YWCA is a quiet hidden gem that can often be forgotten about. If you’re looking for a mid-​size venue for a wedding reception or business function this is a great option because it’s centrally located and the grounds are gorgeous. I’ve attended a few social media seminars in Elizabeth Hall and it’s the perfect size for a group of 50 – 80 guests. The building itself is over 100 years old and I love looking at the architectural details on the columns and entranceways.
Parking can be a bit tricky because it is downtown but you can park at Ali’i Place which is accessible via Alakea Street, at Iolani Palace across the street or at the post office located at the corner of King & Richards Street. Bring quarters if it’s before 6pm.

Review for Wedding Event: Just attended a wedding at Laniakea YWCA and it was the perfect venue for a middle size and price wedding. There are lots of advantages to this having your wedding at this beautiful historic building.
I’m not an expert on wedding planning, but just like everyone else, I’ve been to a few over the years. To me high end weddings at HHV, Royal Hawaiian or Ihilani Ko Olina Resort are great. If you can afford it, go for the best and don’t hold back. If all you desire is a simple wedding on the beach, then that don’t let any one try to convince you otherwise. Follow your heart!
But, for almost everyone else, a wedding must be carefully planned and, just as importantly, budgeted. This is where Laniakea shines. This place is really worth looking at.
Venue: Indoor/​Outdoor court yard area with two dining rooms available. Private to the max and flexible to allow you to do things your way. Chairs were set up for the wedding ceremony out in the courtyard and taken down after to allow for dancing and a band later on. First dining room (Café Julia) was used as reception/​gift receiving area and for drinks and pupus pre-​dinner. Outdoor tables were also arranged to allow for maximum socialization and activities like a photo booth pre-​dinner. A program and dinner was served in the second air-​conditioned dining room (Elizabeth Fuller Ballroom).
This link has lots of pictures:
Catering: Clearly not world class cuisine, but this was a very very nice buffet. Wait staff were helpful and friendly. As a guest I was pleased and it seemed like everyone else was happy with the food and drinks and service. Heard no complaints at all.
Weddings: Weddings always contain a few common elements like a ceremony exchanging rings and vows. But the rest of it is a blank slate. This wedding was lots of fun for everyone. People were more into socializing than dancing though. The good thing was that there were lots of areas for people to gather and talk and laugh and move around and mingle.
Weather: This has been a hot summer. Courtyard was shaded, cool and pleasant at 4:30 pm. Was not hot at all.
Parking: Available in Alii Place off of Alakea St. About a 2 minute walk. $ 3 max on weekends.
Rates: Search the website for rates. They are very reasonable.

7.25.13.
This place brings back a lot of memories… not always the best but nonetheless, passing by this place everyday makes me a little nostalgic.
I love the feel of this YWCA… the old school architecture to me makes this place so beautiful. The iron wrought balconies, wood details in the lobby, cobbled stone… The courtyard area is also a beautiful place to relax, outdoor yet still indoor. The addition of Café Julia on the premises is also a plus.
I was here today for the First Lady: The Movement event that was held here. I loved that this event was promoting business women & entrepreneurs! The set up was throughout the courtyard and in the Café Julia area. There were a lot of great vendors, but weaving throughout the tables was a bit confusing… Either way, I’m happy that the Y is continuing to support and provide opportunities for women!
As for facilities, I’ve only seen the pool and the indoor gym – yes, there is one here believe it or not! If you enter the Y from the front entrance (on Richards Street) and walk straight, up the stairs, the gym is right at the top! I haven’t really explored elsewhere but I would say that the facilities are decent!
Unilocal 365 Challenge: #206/​365

Donate your women’s professional attire and accessories here and be assured that you are giving to an organization that is helping sisters in need. Women who left abusive situations and others who are currently in extreme financial need that don’t have/can’t afford the professional attire to secure a job interview benefit from the Dress for Success program. It empowers them, gives them the confidence and the tools they need to be on their way to being self-​sufficient.

Review for SOCIAL WAHINES event:
*Before I review park in the Ali’i Place building on Alakea street as parking is $ 0.75 per half hour. then walk around onto Richards street. its like a 2 minute walk.
I found this event on MeetUp dot com and registered via event brite. It was a FREE networking event for career, business oriented wahines (women). I went by myself, which was kind of lame… should’ve brought a friend. Anyways, check in was in the front which they gave me a name tag. All the women were in this small banquet room with random tables promoting certain businesses. I felt very disconnected as the women at the tables weren’t as inviting. However I found Café Laniakea where I ran into a couple old coworkers. I had a glass of wine and ending up leaving.
I’d definitely go back to YWCA for the café but probably not for that event.

love this place!!!

Why is there only 1 review besides mine? Anyway, I just recently started to volunteer for the Dress for Success program which has only one location on the island, YWCA Laniakea. There are so many great things about the facility and the program I don’t know where to begin! Dress for success is a great program which provides disadvantaged women with professional attire so they are prepared in their quest for their perfect career. You must go to their website and read about this awesome program:
As far as the facilities go, the building is historic and beautiful, built back in the 1920’s it has great character. If the building could speak I’m sure she would have wonderful stories to tell. I actually took swimming, tennis, computer, and ukulele classes there as a child. The pool still looks exactly the same, except they took away the spring board! Oh well! But the pool is heated now! Overall its a great place to become a member, there are countless activities and programs. There is even a new café which I heard has great food! Café Julia.

DRESS FOR SUCCESS: After doing a huge purge of my closets, I realized that most of my cast-​offs were work-​type outfits. Normally I take my clothes to Goodwill, but I really wanted my career clothing to find a better home than a donation bin. Then I remembered that the YWCA has a program called Dress For Success, which helps women in difficult situations get back into career force by providing them with outfits to wear on their interviews. You can read more about the program on their website, but after speaking with them, I also learned that they sell the rest of the clothing they don’t give away in their thrift store. All of the profits go back into program, which allows them to purchase clothing in different sizes for the women in the Dress For Success process. It was great knowing that even the items I donated that are not exactly career pieces are still benefiting the program in some way.
PARKING/​DROP-​OFF: You are allowed to park right out in front of the YWCA Richardson Street entrance if you have items to drop-​off. I had several boxes and bags of clothing, and the man who usually works at the front desk was helpful in getting my paperwork processed while I made a few trips to the car.

As a member of the YWCA in Oahu, I like taking advantage of the offers that the YWCA provides for its members. I heard about the «YWCA Benefit Sale: Dress For Success» through the website and fliers inside the Laniakea location/​building on Richards street (their main building on the island). This is definitely one resale that the YWCA holds every month that is worth checking out.
The sale is the last Tuesday through Friday of each month. I think that you can go in during select months and shop/​buy if you aren’t a member. Times of sale for it is 11am-​2pm. Their current members get a «Give Back Card» for every $ 100 you spend.
Their set up thrift sale is inside the Laniakea building, and has only women’s clothes for sale. Items are in pretty good condition; they do a good job picking out the pieces that people would actually wear and want to buy. A lot of styles are catered towards women in their late 30’s and up, but there are enough younger looking picks to bring in us young girls. There’s a big section for LARGE and MEDIUM but a smaller section for SMALL clothes. They have tops, pants, skirts, dresses and a big selection of name brand professional 2-​piece suits. Accessories include purses, shoes, scarfs and jewelry. I skipped the shoes and purses since nothing was interesting. Bottom line: if you’re looking for clothes for work that need to be professional
looking, conservative or business casual – you’ll definitely walk out with something then.
As for the prices – they’re mad cheap! Their flier ad says: «$ 5 tops/​skirts/​jackets/​slacks + $ 10 dresses/​2-​piece outfits + $ 20 suits» Although, when I went on their second to last day of the sale, I walked in and the signs on the racks said, «everything $ 3 except for ’boutique store’ «…boutique store meaning brand name fashions, which were marked at $ 5.
The fashion brands there were pretty impressive; Calvin Klein, Ann Taylor, Armani Exchange, Banana Republic, Bebe, Wet Seal, Charlotte Russe, Cinnamon Girl, and much more. Some of the clothes are new with the tags still attached and others are mostly pre-​worn clothes
I got a summer dress, a Bebe dress, a Calvin Klein button down work shirt and a Wet seal tank top — all for $ 12 total! That’s only 3 bucks a piece people, and all in great condition! I think most of my clothes were on the «boutique store» racks but the girl didn’t charge me $ 5 for it. Perhaps all the clothes were discounted from $ 5 (what it said in the ad) to $ 3 because it was near the end of the week and they want to sell as much as they can to make a profit. Either that or it was because of my member ID I showed her or because she just didn’t give a you-​know-​what!
All their proceeds from the sale go to the Dress For Success Honolulu Program. Their program supporters are AUW Society of Young Leaders, Kate Spade New York, Ann Taylor and Ala Moana Center.
1 star deducted because the dressing room is communal… there’s lots of room in the dressing room but there’s no separated rooms for privacy – you’re stripping down in front of others!