FILE – The Coco Palms Resort retail annex where a second-floor store was destroyed by fire in Wailua on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, is pictured December 3, 2009. Demolition will soon begin at the resort once favored by both Hawaiians and its royalty Hollywood before it was severely damaged by a hurricane three decades ago. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that the Coco Palms Resort on the island of Kauai will be demolished for a new 350-room hotel. Construction is expected to take about three years. (Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island via AP, File)
HONOLULU (AP) — Demolition will soon begin on a resort once favored by Elvis Presley and other Hollywood royalty before it was severely damaged by a hurricane three decades ago.
The Coco Palms Resort on the island of Kauai will be demolished for a new 350-room hotel, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
The resort is best known in movie lore as the location where Presley and Joan Blackman’s characters were married in the 1961 film “Blue Hawaii.”
It’s also the site of other key scenes in the film, including the final one where Presley sings “Hawaiian Wedding Song” and holds Blackman’s hand as they board a raft to cross a lagoon.
In its heyday, it was famous for being frequented by other Hollywood stars such as Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Bing Crosby.
The 46-acre (19-hectare) grounds were also once the home of Kauai’s last queen, Deborah Kapule, who died in 1853.
The resort opened in 1953 next to a historic coconut grove and an ancient Hawaiian fish pond. The property fell into disrepair after being damaged when the powerful typhoon Iniki hit the island in 1992.
Several attempts to restore the property have failed over the years.
The $250 million project will take three years to complete, said Patrick Manning, managing partner of Utah-based Reef Capital Partners.
Reef Capital served as a lender to a previous developer and took over the property in 2018 when they defaulted. Manning said the plan was to sell the property, but that changed after researching its history.
“I called my partners and said, ‘This property is too important to sell,'” Manning said.
The new hotel and a cultural center honoring the property’s history will be built on approximately 10 acres (4 hectares) of the property.
At one time, the community wanted the resort rebuilt, but those sentiments have changed, Kauai Council President Mel Rapozo said. “They don’t want to see a resort built,” he added.
At a meeting of the state Land and Natural Resources Board on Friday, some spoke out against the development, citing some bones of ancestors buried on the property.
Cultural practitioner Joseph Kekaulike Kamai said his great-grandmother is buried there and others are buried under the hotel, road and tennis courts.
“I really don’t want them digging anymore. I don’t want them to uproot our land,” Kamai said.
Manning said something needs to be done or the site will be a nuisance for another 30 years.
“While we know there are many who don’t want to rebuild it, we intend to be seen and gain a reputation for doing everything we can to honor its past and respect the people of Kauai and visitors to Kauai and how we manage his future,” Manning said.
The Associated Press
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