Timeless Magic, 1965 - 2015
29 MAUNA KEA BEACH HOTEL In 1967 LSR formed a development company with Dillingham Corporation to move forward on his ambitious plans for a second hotel at Hāpuna Bay several communities of luxury residences and an industrial complex and village of affordable housing near Kawaihae At the time the master plan called for acquisition of over 12000 acres from Kawaihae south to Hāpuna and mauka into Waimea Hundreds of homes and condominiums a shopping center additional hotels and golf courses and a large marina with helipad were all part of the long range vision much of which went unrealized In 1968 the Beachfront Wing was added designed by renowned Honolulu based architectural firm Wimberly Whisenand Tong Goo with interior design by Phyllis Brownlee The addition included the Batik restaurant and lounge for after dinner dancing and the John Young Room a library and television lounge named after Honolulu artist John Young who created three original paintings for each beachfront room and several for the public areas In 1973 largely funded by LSR the Queen Ka ahumanu Highway opened linking Kawaihae to Kailua Kona and the new Kona International Airport The same year the eighth floor was added to the hotels main building In spite of an earthquake that caused the floor to shift inches construction noise and dust the hotel remained open and operating Many Hollywood celebrities discovered Mauna Kea though gossip and juicy stories are scarce the well trained staff sworn to discretion Local residents tell of coming to the beach to see if they could spot a movie star The Christmas holiday period became a new high benchmark in these years a two week reservation booked a year in advance and paid by check or cash no credit cards Golf togs tennis whites swimsuit cover ups and dinner jackets required FAR LEFT Couple sitting in open air atrium LEFT Richard E Holtzman receiving the Esquire award BELOW General Manager Bob Butterfield at front entrance sign
You must have JavaScript enabled to view digital editions.
