Ilikai Hotel & Luxury Suites
| Ilikai Hotel & Luxury Suites | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Coordinates | 21°17′04″N157°50′18″W/ 21.28444°N 157.83833°W |
| Opening | 29 February 1964 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 26 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | John Graham, Jr. |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 343 Hotel 80Time share 586Condominium |
| Website | |
| http://www.ilikaihotel.com/index.html | |
TheIlikai Hotel & Luxury Suitesis a landmark oceanfront high risehotelandcondominiumat the western end ofWaikikiinHonolulu, Hawaii.When it opened in 1964, the Ilikai was the first luxury high rise hotel in Hawaii.[1]
The Ilikai is also well known, outside of Honolulu travelers and residents, for appearing prominently in the opening credits of the long running TV seriesHawaii Five-O.The show's star,Jack Lord,is standing on the Ilikai penthouse balcony as the camera dramatically zooms in on him. This same sequence is used in the opening credits of the2010 remake,withAlex O'Loughlinreplacing Lord.
History
[edit]The Ilikai was developed byChinn Ho,a self-made millionaire, and two California businessmen. The building was designed byJohn Graham, Jr.,who also designed theSpace Needlein Seattle. The original building features three wings radiating from a central point in a "Y" shape.
The building was originally intended to exclusively house 1056 apartment units, and construction began in 1961. However, when the project encountered difficulties, Ho assumed complete control of the $27 million effort, and eventually re-imagined it as a complex with 509 condominium units and 504 hotel rooms.[2]Because the hotel rooms in the original tower were designed as apartments, they were unusually large, many with their own kitchens. Two of The Ilikai's most unique features, its external glasselevator,running express to a rooftop restaurant, were both added mid-construction when the project was re-conceived as a hotel.[3]
The Ilikai Hotelopened on February 29, 1964, with a total of 1050 units.[4]Due to The Ilikai's success, Ho immediately announced the construction of an adjacent additional wing, eventually known as the Yacht Harbor Tower, containing 360 more hotel rooms, located across the open air lobby and pool.
Western International Hotelsassumed management of the property on January 1, 1965, and managed it until October 1971. In April 1974, Ho sold The Ilikai's hotel portion, consisting of 425 rooms in the original tower and 360 rooms in the addition, to Western International for $35 million[2]and the hotel rejoined the chain. In 1980, Western International changed its name to Westin and the hotel was renamedThe Westin Ilikai.In 1987, Westin sold The Ilikai to Arizona-based Heller-White Hotels for $55 million, and it becameThe Ilikaiagain. Jowa Hawaii Co., a subsidiary of Heller-White's lenders, theIndustrial Bank of Japan,exercised an option to purchase the hotel later that year for $69.5 million.[2]The Ilikai was renovated between 1987 and 1990, at a cost of $40 million, and Jowa Hawaii brought inNikko Hotelsto manage the hotel in 1991, when it was renamedThe Ilikai Hotel Nikko Waikiki.[5]The hotel was sold again in 2000 for $57 million to Forward One LLC, owned by the Zen family of Taiwan, and reflagged to Marriott'sRenaissancebrand as theRenaissance Ilikai Waikikion February 14, 2000.[6]
In 2006, Brian Anderson and Anekona Development Group purchased the 703-room hotel portion of the property for over $200 million and the hotel left Renaissance.[7]The remainder of the building had been converted to 575 individually owned residential condos and 80 time-share units.[8]In 2009, the 203 hotel rooms remaining in the Ilikai, which was facing foreclosure, were acquired by New York-based iStar Financial, which brought in Honolulu-basedAqua-Aston Hospitalityto manage the property.[4]In 2010, the Yacht Harbor tower, which had been severed from the Ilikai, reopened as a separate hotel, the Waikiki EDITION Hotel, part ofMarriott's luxury boutique EDITION brand. It was renamed The Modern Honolulu Hotel in 2011, after a dispute between the owners and Marriott.[9]
Ronald and Nancy Reagan (1968) are some of the many celebrities who have stayed at the Ilikai Hotel.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^"Ilikai Hotel - History".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-02-25.Retrieved2009-02-07.
- ^abc"Now that Ilikai deal is done, is Hard Rock in its future? | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper".the.honoluluadvertiser.com.Retrieved2018-07-07.
- ^"Waikiki's Ilikai Hotel and Suites Turns 50".Retrieved2018-07-07.
- ^ab"Ilikai Hotel History".www.hawaiiforvisitors.com.Retrieved2018-07-07.
- ^Lynch, Russ (February 15, 2000)."Landmark Waikiki hotels changing hands".archives.starbulletin.com.Retrieved2018-07-07.
- ^Johnson, Richard L."The Ilikai/Hotel Nikko Waikiki Reglagged as Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki; Managed by Interstate Hotels / Feb 2000".www.hotel-online.com.Retrieved2018-07-07.
- ^"Anekona Development Group, Owner of the W Honolulu Hotel, Acquires the Former Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel".Retrieved2009-02-07.
- ^Shimogawa, Duane (June 26, 2015)."New York's iStar Financial settles lawsuit with Waikiki's Ilikai hotel unit owners".www.bizjournals.com.Retrieved2018-07-07.
- ^"Aqua Hospitality sells Modern Honolulu management entity: Travel Weekly".www.travelweekly.com.Retrieved2018-07-07.