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NEWS: The COCO Palms to re-open in 2008 |
TheTikiGuy
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jul 31, 2002
Posts: 84
From: Ladera Ranch, Ca.
|  Posted: 2005-07-14 5:38 pm Permalink
Posted 7/14/2005 8:42 AM Updated 7/14/2005 8:53 AM
USATODAY
Famed Kauai resort to re-open as condo, hotel mix
LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) — Plans for a famed Kauai resort that has been shuttered since Hurricane Iniki are moving forward, with construction expected to start next year, according to the principal sales broker for the project.
Still beautiful: Elvis Presley crooned his wedding vows in Blue Hawaii,which remains a popular spot for Elvis fans to tie the knot.
The plans call for the Coco Palms to re-open in mid-2008 with 200 condominium units and 104 hotel rooms, said Donna Apisa, president and principal broker of Oceanfront Realty International.
The 396-room resort — made famous as the backdrop for the 1961 Elvis Presley movie Blue Hawaii— sits on 45 acres along and around the Wailua River that was once a gathering place for ancient Hawaiians. It was the ancestral home of Kauai's royalty in the 13th century and was also the home of Kauai's last reigning queen, Queen Deborah Kapule, a wife of King Kaumualii, in the mid-1800s.
The Coco Palms, which opened in 1953, was developed as the image of what visitors then thought a Polynesian resort should look like. It was renowned for its 2,000-tree coconut grove, lagoons and evening torch lighting ceremonies.
The redevelopment of the resort will involve tearing down most of the buildings, except for the lobby building, because there was too much damage from the Sept. 11, 1992, hurricane and the 13 years of vacancy, Apisa said.
"We want to keep the flavor of Coco Palms, but it will be a new rebuild," she said. "We'll try to salvage as much as we can and recreate the feel of Coco Palms."
The $200 million Coco Palms project is a joint venture between developers Richard Weiser and Walt Petrie.
Sales and marketing of the condominium portion of the resort won't begin until the project has all its approvals from the state Real Estate Commission, Apisa said. The Kauai Planning Commission approved permits for the restoration in January.
The developer is currently talking to boutique hotel operators about running the hotel portion, Apisa said.
"We want someone who will be sensitive to the historical and cultural aspects of Coco Palms," she said. "It's got so much history and culture there that we want to do it right."
The project includes three restaurants, including the beachfront Sea Shell restaurant, across Kuhio Highway from the main property, which has also been closed since Hurricane Iniki. The renovated resort will also have conference space, a spa, a general store, a shop and a beauty salon.
The developer also wants to dedicate a museum as a tribute to the late Grace Guslander, the resort's general manager during its heyday. Many of the artifacts from that time are being held by the Kauai Historical Society. Elvis Presley's bungalow, fondly known as Cottage 56, will also be restored and used as a memorial to the late star.
Although the resort has been closed for nearly 13 years, weddings are still being held at the Coco Palms property.
Coco Palms is one of the last hotels devastated by Hurricane Iniki to re-open. Last year developer CTF Hawaii Hotel Partners won permits to rebuild the Poipu Beach Hotel on Kauai's south shore.
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USATODAY.com - Famed Kauai resort to re-open as condo, hotel mix*
-TheTIKIGuy
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pablus
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 23, 2003
Posts: 2156
From: www.crazedmugs.com
| Posted: 2005-07-14 5:58 pm Permalink
Let's start planning a TC party there NOW.
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TheTikiGuy
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jul 31, 2002
Posts: 84
From: Ladera Ranch, Ca.
| Posted: 2005-07-14 6:44 pm Permalink
Never to early to plan. Sounds like they are going to try their best to keep the history alive at the site.
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Exoticat
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 08, 2003
Posts: 481
From: Hutikihi Island ~ near Seattle
| Posted: 2005-07-14 10:48 pm Permalink
We took a Hawaii Movie Tour a few years ago when my niece got married on Kauai and they stopped at the Coco Palms and let you stand right where Elvis was in the bar scene in Blue Hawaii.
We drove by it again last December and I looked longingly at it, wishing *someone* would fix it up. They seem to keep talking and talking and talking about restoring it...I hope it really does happen!
If someone plans a party there...I'm going! woohoooo! To me it would be the ultimate place for a tiki party...
http://www.hawaiimovietour.com
[ This Message was edited by: Exoticat 2005-07-14 22:49 ]
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Pacific Andy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 17, 2003
Posts: 193
From: Tahiti
| Posted: 2005-07-15 08:18 am Permalink
They have been trying to fix this up for years. I have heard all kinds of stories about what they where going to do for over 10 years. Nothing has been done. When the hotel is done is when I will believe. I think the original land owners recently died so it maybe the reason for the new interest. There where a lot of lawsuits regarding the land and insurance issues after the hurricane.
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Kailuageoff
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 27, 2002
Posts: 1504
From: Honolulu Lounge,Lewes, DE
| Posted: 2005-07-15 2:23 pm Permalink
Mr & Mrs NeptuneTiki just came back from Kauai and toured the old resort. They said it looked like the management just walked away from it after the storm with furniture, etc. still in the lobby.
I hope they do it up old style.
KG
[ This Message was edited by: Kailuageoff 2005-07-15 14:23 ]
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Neptune Wahine
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jan 30, 2005
Posts: 45
From: Neptune Beach
| Posted: 2005-10-15 07:01 am Permalink
Finally, here are the pictures from the Coco palms Hotel. We were on our way to snorkeling on the North Shore and saw the hotel. The first thing you notice ie the thousands of palms on the property. It is really eerie to see how everything is still in place. These beautiful lamp fixtures hanging from the ceiling, phones laying around, the posters hanging in the store and boutiques, it is as if it is exactly the same from when the hurricane hit. The debris, of course was cleaned out.
It brought back memories to my mother-in-law that remembers eating at the restaurant years ago.
Hopefully, the next time that we visit Kauai, it will be restored and brought back to the beautiful hotel it was and can be.
[ This Message was edited by: Neptune Wahine 2005-10-15 07:20 ]
[ This Message was edited by: Neptune Wahine 2005-10-15 07:24 ]
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pablus
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 23, 2003
Posts: 2156
From: www.crazedmugs.com
| Posted: 2005-10-15 07:21 am Permalink
I say: Tiki Central event at the grand re-opening.
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Neptune Wahine
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jan 30, 2005
Posts: 45
From: Neptune Beach
| Posted: 2005-10-15 07:29 am Permalink
We are definitely hip to that!!!! Let's GOOOOOOO!!!!
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stuff-o-rama
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 20, 2003
Posts: 751
From: Central Coast of California
| Posted: 2005-10-15 1:24 pm Permalink
I'm going to start saving up now, talk about paradise! I'd love a TC party there...
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tedtiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 06, 2004
Posts: 331
From: Sunny Springfield Illinois
| Posted: 2005-10-15 9:06 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2005-07-14 22:48, Exoticat wrote:
We took a Hawaii Movie Tour a few years ago when my niece got married on Kauai and they stopped at the Coco Palms and let you stand right where Elvis was in the bar scene in Blue Hawaii.
We drove by it again last December and I looked longingly at it, wishing *someone* would fix it up. They seem to keep talking and talking and talking about restoring it...I hope it really does happen!
If someone plans a party there...I'm going! woohoooo! To me it would be the ultimate place for a tiki party...
http://www.hawaiimovietour.com
[ This Message was edited by: Exoticat 2005-07-14 22:49 ]
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Savage Patty and I took that tour on our honeymoon too. It was very interesting. Standing in the same place "Blue Hawaii" was filmed(watch out for those coconuts). The highlight for me though was seeing where "She gods of Shark reef" was filmed. TC party in Kauai? We're there.
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pablus
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 23, 2003
Posts: 2156
From: www.crazedmugs.com
| Posted: 2006-05-17 12:48 pm Permalink
My dad and mom are over in Kauai right now and I asked them to swing by Coco Palms to see how the rennovation is going.
Here's the response, "Well, you know, not a lot gets done on schedule over here. No one is in a hurry except the mainlanders and that doesn't make much sense since they're on an island. It looks to me like not a lot is being done right now. In fact a lot people are working on roads that were washed out from that bad flood they had here recently."
So. There you have it from our TC reporter of the day: Kahiki Karl.
(He was raised in Columbus and a proud friend of the Kahiki.)
Well, looks like we might have to postpone the TC party for 2008, but I believe that one day, that hotel will be rebuilt in splendor and we should definitely plan on meeting up there. Get a few good Hawai'ian musicians to come and play, do it up island style.
[ This Message was edited by: pablus 2006-05-17 12:49 ]
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pablus
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 23, 2003
Posts: 2156
From: www.crazedmugs.com
| Posted: 2006-05-17 12:57 pm Permalink
<<<The $220 million project is expected to begin in June or July, with a grand opening scheduled for summer 2008.
"We will continue to pay close attention to that heritage" of Grace Guslander, the general manager of the resort that turned Coco Palms into the icon it was before the devastation of Iniki in 1992, Weiser said.
Plans include using the footprints and much of the architecture of the former buildings, restoring the Polynesian decor and even building a museum to Elvis, the Hawaiian culture and the resort's history.
Coco Palms will be "the remaining Hawaiian cultural hotel" in the state, said former Kauai Mayor Maryanne Kusaka, who is working with the developers.>>>
Oh, ok. This from the official site: http://www.coco-palms.com
Gonna start in June or July. Good luck to them.
[ This Message was edited by: pablus 2006-05-17 12:58 ]
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Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 5218
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2006-05-17 1:20 pm Permalink
Please give me an excuse to go to Hawaii and hang out with you Pablus. Sounds wonderful.
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AquaZombie
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 01, 2003
Posts: 461
From: Thrillville
| Posted: 2006-05-18 10:32 am Permalink
My wife Monica and I also took the Movie Tour when we were in Kauai for our honeymoon five years ago, and even then the guides were talking about the big renovation plans. We figured by the time we reached our 5th anniversary it would be ready, the perfect spot to celebrate. Flash foward five years: no dice. So we're instead returning to another honeymoon spot, the Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki, to spend our 5th anniversary in a couple of weeks. Oh well, maybe for our 10th the Coco will finally be ready....but I'm not holding my breath.
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