Louis Vuitton Honolulu Gump’s Building

Came here to but myself a new bag and wallet and my friend a new wallet. I know Louis Vuitton is high class and expensive but I really love the brand so I went to treat myself cuz I just got paid
A nice Chinese guy was helping us and he was really kind to deal with our pain ass always picking what to buy. I love Louis Vuitton and the fabric is long lasting it won’t fade away.
If you love Louis Vuitton than come to the one in ala moana or Waikiki

After reading the many reviews about LV on the islands, I decided to make my purchase at the LV Gump location. I arrived about noon on a Thursday May 5^th and we appeared to be the only shoppers in the store. This is where my life changed for good. I met Mary the most friendliest and helpful SA I ever worked with. I mentioned that I was from Texas and She told me a story of her awful experience driving in San Antonio… she was really shaken when recalling the experience. After our convo Mary helped me find the purse I was looking for «made in France.» If she was unsure of A question she always referred to her manager. After the purchase she took us upstairs to view the awesome antique trunks from the 1800’s!!! Going above and beyond customer service she even recommended a place to eat and called to let them know we were coming!!! Reach out to Mary if you ever visit Honolulu. You won’t be disappointed!!!

Beautiful store with super attentive staff. Ichiko was excellent in helping select the right items to purchase.

When I woke up this morning, I certainly did not think I’d end my day telling you all about my Louis Vuitton experience. I, who this morning put on an ill-​fitting t-​shirt bought used because I was too cheap to pay retail and a pair of shorts older than some of your children, look like a hobo asking for spare change. Plus, no one really NEEDS a thousand dollar wallet the way one needs, say, toilet paper, or even just a regular $, $$, or $$$ wallet. At a $$$$ store, you are shopping for utilitarian art. My life is currently about as well-​curated as an abandoned junkyard, so a $$$$ purchase for me would be like placing a priceless European sculpture in the un-​irrigated yard of an abandoned Kahala home.
What brought me to this particular location is the fact that this Louis Vuitton is housed in the historic Gump Building designed by Hart Wood. Hart Wood designed a lot of other buildings worth staring at from both afar and up close. Alexander & Baldwin (in collaboration with Dickey) and Spalding House (although several other architects have worked on it over the years) are just two examples. The building was constructed for Gump’s (1), a store founded in San Francisco in 1861 by Solomon and Gustav Gump, resellers of art collected on their world travels. There were also Gump’s stores in Los Angeles and Carmel (2). The building opened in 1929, making it the third oldest building currently in Waikiki (after the Moana Hotel (1901) and Royal Hawaiian (1927); as far as I know). Here is a description of the building from the 1969 Historic Buildings Task Force taken from «Old Honolulu: A guide to Oahu’s Historic Buildings»:
«Combining Oriental motifs with Hawaiian, the architect used imperial blue roof tiles, exterior woodwork of stained Burmese teak, and verde antique copper gutters. Within, Oriental rooms were appointed with hand-​crafted Japanese tatami mats and shoji and Chinese hardware. Display walls were covered in carpet; concrete floors were acid-​stained in mellow earth tones and greens for an aged effect. The ceiling of the Spanish Room was gray weathered wood; other ceilings were left with their rough form marks and stained.»
Looking at it today, it sounds as though the exterior remains very much the same. Once inside, though, it is hard to tell you’re in a historic building at all. The Asian accents have been replaced by a modern showroom with glossy surfaces and dropped ceilings (at least on the first floor; the second floor ceiling is open with exposed beams).
For a while, possibly in the 1970s or 80s, McDonald’s set up shop here (3). Now the home of Louis Vuitton, the building’s use is closer to that originally intended.
Louis Vuitton, like Gump’s, has a rich and storied history. The company was founded in Paris by its namesake in 1854, just seven years before Gump’s. LV was originally known for its trunks with innovative stackable, lightweight, and airtight flat tops and bottoms (4). You can see some of their early trunk designs on their website:
As for the customer service and goods, I now understand why Holly Golightly spent so much time window-​shopping at Tiffany’s! (By which I mean LV’s products are so beautiful and their service excellent such that the experience makes everything better and you never want to leave.)
(1) You can still shop their store:
(2)
(3)
(4)
More info:

This review is long overdue, life is busy. Anyway, back in July 2015 I was on my way from my mom’s Pacific Heights home to the HNL airport to fly back to SoCal. I figured at that morning hour Kalakaua would be less crowded than the Ala Moana location. I had no trouble with parking quickly in the Gump building. Taeko S. could not have been more patient and helpful in my rush. She knew which two bags I wanted and packaged them as I had asked without the boxes (for shame, lol). I was out the door in a flash. I definitely will return and call ahead of time to see if Taeko is available… esp. if I find myself short on time again. Two thumbs up!

Karen, the sales associate who assisted me made my experience enjoyable. This location usually requires 2 days to hot stamp but they we’re able to get it done the same night. Purchased the delightful mm in damier ebene and the Sarah wallet in the same print. Prices are cheaper in hawaii than vegas or california.

Service here is amazing! I have never had such a patient salesperson. He showed me every bag that I wanted to see without hesitation. He wasn’t bitter about it and even when we left to check out other brands, he wasn’t pissed. He simply said that he would put the bag on hold for us and we could just come by to pick it up later, if we were still interested. I love the no pressure experience.
Tip: LV bags are much more cheaper in Hawaii than in the mainland by at least a couple of hundreds (~200) and tax is 4% instead of the normal 9% in CA.
What’s great is that you can still order LV bags from hawaii and have it shipped to the mainland for free with the same rates as you would if you were in person in hawaii. I might just have to do that.
PS. I love my new turenne. Thank you, Mike for also sending me a follow-​up text to show his appreciation. What great service! Wish we had that here in Cali.

It’s LV. Service is impeccable and products speak for themselves. Stephen helped us out and he was awesome! He was patient and even had products sent over from 2 separate stores. Definitely will return on our next HNL trip.

Excellent store with kind, friendly staff. Prices below the mainland US even paying tax. Beautiful Hawaiian hot stamp done in a couple days. Our hotel even told us they often deliver to the hotel if you want to keep shopping. Excellent customer service… Thank you Mike for the help choosing my new Keepall.

One of the best Louis Vuitton stores I’ve been to. The store is pretty big and well stocked. Customer service is excellent! Everyone was friendly, greeted upon entering store, associates are eager, willing, and happy to assist. While on vacation I decided to stop by and just browse since I didn’t really need any more Louis Vuitton merchandise. However, when I was done visiting, I walked away with a new makeup bag, a smaller wallet for me (for my smaller LV bags) and the same wallet for my daughter for her Never Full bag. We had both wallets hot stamped with our initials, which were ready in about 2 hours. Noriko L. was very helpful and never pushy. It was a nice shopping experience to «look» without any pressure to buy, which made it much easier to buy when something did catch my eye.

For months I have been stalking the LV site and always felt too intimidated to go into an actual store. So finally I told my bf to drive to Waikiki from Kapolei (about a 45min) and yes that’s far for us Hawaii people lol.
Immediately upon entering, we were greeted by Steven and as soon as I stopped to admire the Favorite PM, there he was ready to assist. He was great and I never felt pressured to buy anything.
Steven was able to track down the monogram key holder in rose ballerine for me, so I hope that comes in soon. I also looked at the empreinte cles and fell instantly in love. We left without buying anything and ended up going back for the empreinte cles in noir.
And like the other reviews, the prices are cheaper! Which I was super excited about. Everyone is very helpful and kind which eased my nervousness and now I’m no longer intimidated. This will be my store from now on.
First purchase & definitely not last. Big girl status now!

This is my favorite LV store! We are always greeted and assisted by the sales associate. My first purchase in 2013 was fantastic but my most recent purchase today was by far the best experience I’ve ever had. Our sales associate Mary assisted me with my purchase and made me and my husband feel special. She even went out of her way to help make a reservation at a local favorite for our 12 year anniversary. If you’re looking for anything LV, check out this store! It is fantastic!

Being on the main strip of Waikiki it was packed with tourist but you will not lack attention or sale consultants. I didn’t know when I walked in, one of the consultants was already eyeballing me and started following me around but kept his distance as I gazed through the store. When I turned around to get help, he was behind me ready to help! I must have asked to see about 5 different purses and he was patient and kind to show each one. I couldn’t decide which one to get so, I told him I will be back. He gave me his card and I left.
The very next day I knew which one I wanted so I went to look for him but he wasn’t in. Another sweet lady assisted me instead. It was freezing in the store and she saw me holding my arms, so she went and got me a LV thick wool scarf to cover my arms. How sweet!
I told her which purses I was looking at the day before and she went to get them all down for me to look at it again! I told her I didn’t have to see it again but she insisted she wanted to be sure I get what I want.
The customer service here is par excellence! The store is spacious. I’ve been to other LV stores and you don’t get the personal attention as you get here. They make you feel that you are the only one in the store. Another perk is the purses are less expensive than the mainland with the base price and tax! Best place to buy any LV!

I love Louie !’ I have been obsessed with the Estrella bag for some time. The women helping me was so nice and I fell in love. I can’t buy it today but will be back soon to get it

So when I go to Hawaii with the wife this is LV store is on her must visit list. It is located on toward the Hilton Hawaiian Village which for us was a decent walk to get to them. But in the wife mind it is always well worth the after dinner walk. Since the wife is a big fan of Louis Vuitton she in turn has made me learn more about them. We have been to several locations from San Diego, Hawaii, Los Angels, DC, Guam to Singapore. This is our favorite location not just because of price but because of the service.
Many of the other stores service lacks compared to this location. We have been here on numerous occasions and have always received helpful and friendly service. The wife takes her time in deciding which new bag to add to her selection. The staff is understanding and assists her in selecting the new bag. We have bought 7 times from this location including 2 wallets for me. Hey a man needs a good wallet too! They even put my initials in my latest one — so fancy.
The latest visit we had the pleasure of having Neil as our salesman. He was fantastic. We had been in a few days before and the wife was now ready to make the purchase. We waited for him as he helped another customer and even helped the young couple decide on a bag. He had spent some time helpline the wife decide so we owed it to him to do the purchase with him.
What impresses me the most about this location is the fact that the staff treats everyone who walks through the door the same. The give everyone the same great level of service each and every time. Despite coming in each time looking very casual — shorts, T-​shirt and flip flops we always were treated awesome. I have been shopping at this LV location for 7 years and never had one bad experience. The other location in Honolulu is totally opposite and has the snooty sales staff. That’s OK as I don’t buy from them and keep buying from this location.
The funny thing is Neil not only sold a bag to me for my wife but my brother who was also in Waikiki on business kept hearing us talk about LV and this store that he went in 2 days later and bought his wife her first LV bag. He sent us a picture of he nice bag he selected and I sent back a picture of my wife with her selection boxed up with the salesman. My brother quickly text back and said hey that’s Neil my salesman. He is the best sale person we have ever had at any LV store. Thanks Neil for making the wife purchase so special.

Right when we walked in, my husband and I were greeted.
Steven was very helpful and explained everything. I was deciding to get the tote and wasn’t pressured to. After walking around and looking at everything I’ve decided to buy it. Very happy with my purchase and service that we received.

Came here to explore the shopping with my family. We didn’t expect to buy anything but ended up purchasing 3 wallets. I’m from California and most workers are STUCK UP… but the staff here were super friendly and helpful! We had great service and a great experience! Would definitely come back again.

My favorite store ever! This is a very busy store but salespeople try hard to help everyone. They have a great inventory and creative window displays. I’ve bought a few bags here and can’t wait until I come back again next spring to buy a few more. Great location

This is the best LV store!
Staff is very friendly, especially Dana. She showed me new pieces and offered her opinion on the Speedy sizes for me. She was also very patient when it came to choosing personalization.
Dana handed me off to Rod to finish the sale and he, too, was great. Rod understood my departure timing and made sure I had my bag ample time before I left the islands!
Sales tax and retail price is cheaper than in the mainland stores, too!