Maui Owie: The Maui Prince to Close Next Month

September 1, 2009 at 8:34 AM | by juliana | 1 Comment

The first Hawaiian hotel casualty of the recession has been claimed--The Maui Prince Hotel and Makena Golf Course will close on September 16, according to news reports. The hotel's management company, Prince Resorts Hawaii, was forced to close the hotel after the owners defaulted on a mortgage of $192.5 million. And it wasn't just the mortgage the owners couldn't keep up with--they couldn't keep up with their end of the operation contract either.

So while a hotel in foreclosure usually doesn't affect the guest experience during their stay, once the hotel owners are unable to meet the demands of their contract with the hotel management company, then things really start to go south.

Pacific Business News has a statement from Prince Resorts:

�Maui Prince Hotel LLC cannot continue to operate the hotel without adequate assurance that funds will be made available to pay for payroll and operating expenses for the hotel and golf course,� [Prince Resorts Hawaii President Donn] Takahashi said. �As of our deadline, Friday, Aug. 28, we did not receive funding from the owner or the lenders to pay for past-due account payables, and as of our deadline today, Aug. 31, we had not received a favorable indication from the owner or the lenders that they are willing to guarantee the required funding going forward.�

However, the hotel won't be entirely abandoned. Wells Fargo is working to keep the hotel open but a different management company will have to step in and agree to operate a hotel that's in foreclosure. Um...good luck?

In the meantime, room rates at the hotel were going for $298 a night with the fourth night free.

[Photo: gimpbully]

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