Royal Hawaiian Hotel

Royal Hawaiian Hotel, also known as the Pink Palace of the Pacific, is a hotel located at 2259 Kalākaua Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. One of the first hotels established in Waikiki, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel is considered one of the hotels in Hawaii tourism. It opened its doors to guests on February 1, 1927 with a black-tie gala attended by over 1,200 guests. The hotel quickly became an icon of Hawaii's glory days. It was the Hawaii residence or Western White House of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and boasts the bar that invented the Shirley Temple cocktail (as does Chasen's restaurant).

The Royal Hawaiian will be closed from June 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008 for a complete renovation. The property will reopen on January 1, 2009 as a member of The Luxury Collection division of Starwood Hotels.

History

With the success of the early efforts by Matson Navigation Company to provide steamer travel to America's wealthiest families en route to Hawaii, Captain William Matson proposed the development of a hotel in Honolulu for his passengers. This was in hope of profiting from what Matson believed could be the most lucrative endeavor his company could enter into. Matson purchased the Moana mansion, fronting the Ainahau royal estate. Christening it the Moana Hotel, it opened in 1901 as the first hotel in Waikiki. With its overwhelming success, Matson planned and built the Royal Hawaiian Hotel which opened in 1927.

During World War II, the Royal was closed to tourists and instead served as a place of rest and relaxation for U.S. troops. While the Royal Hawaiian's lush tropical garden was (and still is) tranquil and poetic, on the beaches fronting the Pink Palace (sometimes referred to as the Pink Lady) one saw reminders of the war with rolls and rolls of barbed wire planted in the sand.

The hotel was sold, along with the rest of Matson's hotels in Hawaii, to the Sheraton Corporation in 1959.

Architecture

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel cost USD $4 million and took one and a half years to build. The six-story structure had 400 rooms and were of Spanish and Moorish styles popular during the 1920s. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel was influenced by Hollywood legend Rudolph Valentino and his Arabian movies. Cupolas were created to resemble Spanish mission-style bell towers. The pink color was taken from a popular American obsession of the era. The architects were Warren and Wetmore of New York City.

Rich and famous guests

As soon as the Royal Hawaiian Hotel opened, a non-stop flood of tourists from the mainland United States poured through its doors. It served as the Pacific home to the world's most influential statesmen and early Hollywood stars.

Its first official registered guest was Princess Abigail Kawananakoa, who would have been queen of the Kingdom of Hawaii had the monarchy survived. Duke Kahanamoku, the legendary Olympic swimmer and popularizer of the sport of surfing, frequented the Royal Hawaiian Hotel restaurants and private beachfront. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel became a favorite stomping ground for Kahanamoku's famed group, dubbed the "Waikiki Beach Boys". During World War II, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel became home to many returning sailors off long war patrols. In 1961, the hotel appeared in scenes of the movie "Gidget Goes Hawaiian". More recently, the hotel was featured in several scenes of P.T. Anderson's 2002 film "Punch-Drunk Love".

Osano Empire

In 1974, Japanese businessmen and brothers Kenji Osano and Masakuni Osano purchased the Royal Hawaiian Hotel from ITT Sheraton. The Osano brothers formed Kyo-ya Company Limited, a subsidiary of Kokusai Kogyo Company Limited as the corporate entity charged with overseeing the hotel properties they had bought from Sheraton, including : Moana Hotel, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel, Sheraton Surfrider Hotel and the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. All are managed today by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii using the Sheraton brand, except the Moana, which is a Westin. The purchases put the Osano brothers on the Forbes List of World's Richest People in 1999.

After the death of the Osano brothers, Takamasa Osano inherited the billions of dollars owned in properties. Along with the Moana Hotel, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel continues to be one of the flagship hotels in the Osano corporate empire and is the part-time residence of the Osano family.

Further reading

*cite book|author=Glen Grant| title=Waikīkī Yesteryear| publisher=Mutual Publishing Co.| year=1996|id=ISBN 1-56647-107-9
*cite book|author=Don Hibbard and David Franzen|title=The View from Diamond Head: Royal Residence to Urban Resort|publisher=Editions Ltd.|year=1995|id=ISBN 0-915013-02-9
*cite book|author=George S. Kanahele|title=Waikīkī, 100 BC to 1900 AD: An Untold Story|publisher=University of Hawaiokinai Press|year=1996|id=ISBN 0-8248-1790-7

External links

* [http://www.royal-hawaiian.com Royal Hawaiian Hotel official website]