Hawaiian Village Renovates, Offers Long-Term Rates
<B> Hawaiian Village Renovates, Offers Long-Term Rates</B>
By Judy Jacobs
The Hilton Hawaiian Village is implementing a series of improvements that are expected to make it more attractive to corporate incentive attendees.
The hotel is converting more than half of its Lagoon Tower apartments into suites and renovating the Diamond Head Tower, and plans to build a new wing and a lagoon reef attraction.
Once the renovations are complete early next year, 160 of the property's 243 Lagoon Tower apartments will be suites. The Hilton Hawaiian is spending $14 million to refurbish the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments to be ready to sell them as part of the hotel's regular inventory. Although some of the existing units have been available since early this year, they only can be booked direct with the local property.
Starting this month, the hotel will accept reservations for the suites--to be refurbished later this year--through Hilton's chainwide res system.
"Although there is no minimum stay, we'll be offering special weekly and monthly rates," said managing director Peter Schall. "The suites will be sold to the incentive market, as well as to convention attendees who bring their families."
Each unit has a full kitchen stocked with utensils, but there are also full hotel facilities.
The Lagoon Tower building features both room service and a grocery store where guests can buy food to cook. "We plan to offer maid service once a week, but daily maid service will be available as well," Schall said.
To further improve the property, the Hilton's owners are spending $11 million to renovate the Diamond Head Tower in a project that started last fall and is set to be complete by the end of July.
"The rooms will be brand new," Schall said. "We've stripped everything down to the bare concrete and put in new walls, new tiles, new fixtures in the bathrooms and completely new furnishings."
Meanwhile, plans are rolling ahead for the new Kalia Tower, which will break ground next spring. The 26-story tower will add 400 rooms to the property, giving it a total of 3,000 rooms. The Kalia Tower also will feature a spa and fitness center, more tropical gardens and an aviary. The project is set to be finished in two years.
Hilton Hawaiian also plans to build the Lagoon Reef, a swim-through underwater reef in which participants swim with some 20,000 native fish.