The Grand Naniloa Hotel is a hotel in

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement i ...

, on the eastern side of the Big Island. It is the largest hotel in the

state of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

's second largest city, and has the longest history as a hotel on

Hawaii Island Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of t ...

History

The Grand Naniloa Hotel opened in 1939, on Waiakea Peninsula, a small peninsula that protrudes into Hilo Bay. It is located on

Banyan Drive Banyan Drive is a tree-lined street at the shoreline of Hilo, Hawaii. It is known as the "Hilo Walk of Fame" for the banyan trees planted by celebrities. These trees have withstood several tsunamis that have devastated the town on the Hawaii (islan ...

which was developed in the early 1930s and which is lined with large Hawaiian

banyan trees A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

Liliuokalani Park and Gardens Pagoda and Torii in Liliu'okalani Gardens Liliuokalani Park and Gardens is a park with Japanese gardens, located on Banyan Drive in Hilo on the island of Hawaii. The park's site was donated by Queen Liliuokalani, and lies southeast of downtown ...

are within a walking distance. In 1946, Hilo was devastated by the tsunami associated with the

1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake The 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake occurred near the Aleutian Islands, Alaska on April 1, 1946. The shock had a moment magnitude () of 8.6, a tsunami magnitude of 9.3, and a surface-wave magnitude () of only 7.4, and a maximum Mercalli inten ...

and others, but the town and hotel recovered. The hotel currently consists of three towers, named after the Big Island's volcanos:

Mauna Kea Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak is ...

, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea. The management and ownership of the hotel have changed several times. It was originally owned by a local company. In 2013, Aqua-Aston Hotels and Resorts of Honolulu started its management, while Tower Development became the owner. In 2016, the

Hilton Hotels & Resorts Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton Worldwide, Hilton. The original company was founded by C ...

completed a three-year renovation of the hotel, and it now operates as a Hilton DoubleTree hotel. It was a $30 million renovation.

Hula

The hotel has an association with hula dancing. It is a host of Hilo's annual

Merrie Monarch Festival The Merrie Monarch Festival is a week-long cultural festival that takes place annually in Hilo, Hawaii during the week after Easter. It honors King David Kalākaua, who was called the "Merrie Monarch" for his patronage of the arts and is cre ...

, which began in 1963, and is now a week-long event with three days of hula competition. The Hula Halau Ke 'Olu Makani 'O Mauna Loa, a

hālau hula A hālau hula () is a school or hall in which the Hawaiian dance form called hula is taught. The term comes from ''hālau,'' literally, "long house, as for canoes or hula instruction"; "meeting house"', and ''hula,'' a Polynesian dance form of the H ...

, regularly practices on the hotel's grounds.

Frommer's Frommer's is a travel guide book series created by Arthur Frommer in 1957. Frommer's has since expanded to include more than 350 guidebooks in 14 series, as well as other media including an eponymous radio show and a website. In 2017, the company ...

summarizes that the hotel "has declared itself 'the home of hula.' Renowned photographer Kim Taylor Reese’s images of hula dancers hang on virtually every wall, high-definition video of the Merrie Monarch hula competition plays in the new, open-air lobby, with a central bar. Hula Hulas poolside restaurant offers locally sourced dishes, live music, and hula."

Other

The hotel has a nine-hole golf course, the only one in Hilo. The hotel has a small swimming pool and stands directly on Hilo Bay, but the guests have to drive one or two miles from Banyan Drive to Kalanianaole Avenue to find sand beaches. Like other businesses on the bay, the Grand Naniloa Hotel does not own the land on which the hotel is situated, nor its golf course, but rather leases from the Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources. The lease was assumed in the 2013 purchase of the property when the lease had 58 years remaining and required payments of $500,000 per year.

References

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External links

Official siteOfficial site (Hilton)
Hilton Hotels & Resorts hotels Hilo, Hawaii Hotels in Hawaii (island) 1939 establishments in Hawaii Hotels established in 1939

History

Hula

Other

See also

References

External links