Where to stay when you leave.
Finally, Waikiki Gets a New Luxe Hotel
7/23/2007 at 9:37 AM
Tags: Hotel Renovations, Hotel News, Hawaii Hotels
[Ed. Note: Alex Salkever is the editor and founder of Hawaii travel blog, Hawaiirama.com.]
Waikiki has gotten more than its fair share of revivalism of late. A brand new retail center (Waikiki Beach Walk), a bevy of hotel renovations, and other hardhat efforts have started to swing the pendulum on the faded kitsch capital into the bling zone.
Of course, the arrival of Donald Trump and an outpost of Nobu hammer that point home.
Now Waikiki looks to get a welcome addition -- an honest-to-goodness luxury hotel. The new owners of the Park Shore Waikiki, which has a dynamite location on the eastern edge of the resort Mecca, have pledged to upgrade this 1960s era relic into a $300 per night 226 room, boutique palace.
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That will be $20 million please (a comparatively small sum that begs the question of how they plan to get that kind of pull with so little money spent per room).
The resort will still be managed by Blackstone Groups LXR Luxury Resorts. At present, there is only one truly luxury property in Waikiki -- The Halekulani. Other properties have luxury rooms and suites, for sure.
The Royal Hawaiian Hotel will probably be a luxury property after planned renovations are completed. The Sheraton Waikiki and the Westin Moana Surfrider both have some newish luxury, upgraded rooms. But hanging it all out is something most chains have not yet done, perhaps because they fear departing from Waikiki's everyman roots.
Have no fear, folks. Waikiki is swimming upstream and desperately needs more gleam in the bedchambers.
[Photo: Kelliphoto]
Related Stories:
· Park Shore sold, renovations planned [Pacific Business Journal]
· Hotels in Honolulu [HotelChatter]
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