Travel

[twinsister]

This hotel has been closed since it was destroyed in 1992 by Hurricane Iniki.  After many attempts it is being rebuilt with completion by 2026.  It's where the wedding scene from Elvis'  Blue Hawaii was filmed.  I stayed there in 1988 and it was one of the most beautiful, peaceful places I have ever visited.  Has anyone else stayed at this resort in the past?

[simplyfriends]

No I never stayed there, but I have stayed at Koloa Landing Resort. Highly recommend 🌴

[PansyBoo]

YES, @twinsister, my husband and I stayed there around the same time...probably 1989. I still remember so many things about the hotel, our room, our time there. My hubby and I were just talking about it last week. He had actually forgotten about it till I reminded him. So many good memories!!!      

[Meowingkitty]

I'm in the minority here. Kauai was my least favorite island. We were there in May several years ago and it was so humid everything was wet. Money, toilet paper, our clothes, sheets were damp and limp. Just hot and humid. I guess being from the desert I wasn't used to the humidity. Glad we only had to spend 3 days there before going to Maui. 

[PA Mom-mom]

@twinsister Grace Bucher (not Buscher) Guslander was my cousin. She managed the Perkiomen Bridge Hotel near Collegeville, PA before joining her brother in Hawaii. She managed the Coco Palms Hotel and started the torchlighting ceremony for which the hotel became famous. My parents and one brother went over to visit her before she passed away, but I never got over there. Grace changed her maiden name from Bucher to Buscher because people just didn't understand the original spelling (who knows?).

I barely remember her, but we have old family movies of her coming to our house in a limo. Our neighbors thought someone had died. I was astounded to read the obituaries after she died. I didn't know how much in esteem she was held in Hawaii. I do know she was very much interested in preserving the history of Hawaii.

[twinsister]

@PansyBoo - I have such great memories - the torch lighting ceremony, the beautiful chapel and even the shell sink in our room!

@PA Mom-mom - Wow - Grace was your cousin!   Do you have the book "The Story of Coco Palms - The Grace Buscher Guslander Years"?  I bought it a few years ago and there are so many interesting stories and pictures of Grace.  It is too bad you never got to visit CCP.

If either of you are on Facebook, there is a group called Coco Palms Resort.  It is run by a man who did tours of the grounds after it closed.  There are posts from people who stayed and updates on the rebuild.

[We rescue cats]

The Coco Palms was one of my all time favorite hotels, and Kauai is my favorite Hawaiian island. The torchlighting ceremony was a 'must be done' on every itinerary I planned.

[PA Mom-mom]

@twinsister  I saw the book on Amazon, but it was too expensive for me. Maybe it's cheaper on other sites, but eBay is even more pricey. I'm really sorry I didn't get a chance to go to the hotel while it was still at it's best. I've heard great stories about it, and have heard family stories about the creative ways Grace improved it.  

[roeroe1005]

I did not stay there, but remember seeing it (from a bus) on a tour in 2009. By that time, it was pretty sad looking.

Looking forward to seeing the end result.

[PansyBoo]

@twinsister, yes, the same memories for me!!! Totally remember that shell sink and just the room in general. One big thing hubby and I remember is getting this envelope slipped under the door. It was an invitation to a complementary cocktail party. We were still suffering from some leftover jet lag and thought we would just take a short nap. We laid down and never got back up! Totally missed the cocktail party and to this day feel bad about it. We were soooooooo young and green back then. But what fun!

Thanks for this thread!