Sheraton Buys Ritz-Carlton, Will Reopen Maui Property

<H1> Sheraton Buys Ritz-Carlton, Will Reopen Maui Property</H1>By Maria Lenhart

<B>I</B>TT Sheraton Hotels in Hawaii is casting a bigger shadow in the neighbor islands this year with its recent acquisition of the former Ritz-Carlton Mauna Lani on the Big Island and the upcoming reopening of the Sheraton Maui following a two-year, $150 million renovation.

With the addition of the former Ritz-Carlton, now called the Orchid at Mauna Lani, Sheraton is opening a sales office dedicated to selling its three Luxury Collection hotels in Hawaii to the corporate meetings and incentive market. Along with the Orchid at Mauna Lani, the collection includes the Princeville Hotel on Kauai and the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki.

Staffing the new Honolulu-based sales office will be director of sales DeeDee Woods, former director of sales for the Princeville, and account executives Terry Iwata and Brenda Chong.

Sheraton assumed management of the Orchid at Mauna Lani on March 6 following the purchase of the 539-room property by Los Angeles-based Colony Capital Inc. The hotel offers 28,000 square feet of meeting space and is part of the Mauna Lani Resort on Hawaii's Kohala Coast. The transaction marked the return of Sheraton-which managed the nearby Royal Waikoloan during most of the 1980s-to the Big Island after an absence of several years.

Sheraton is planning a few changes at the resort, some of which will especially benefit the group and incentive market, which accounts for more than 50 percent of the Orchid's business. They include the creation of more private outdoor areas for receptions and a landscaping project that will result in more unobstructed ocean views from many rooms.

Rates will go up in 1997, Viera said. Until then, the hotel is honoring the already-established 1996 rack rates, which start at about $300.

Sheraton's re-entry into the Big Island market will be followed by a renewed presence on Maui with the reopening of the Sheraton Maui in November.

The completely refurbished Maui hotel, which was the first to open at the Kaanapali Beach Resort back in 1963, will feature 510 guest rooms, most with ocean views, and more than 12,00 square feet of meeting space.

The resort also will include some of the largest outdoor spaces at Kaanapali, including the 5,000-square-foot Courtyard and the Ocean Lawn luau grounds, which accommodate groups up to 500.

Rack rates for 1996-97 will range from $270 for a garden-view room to $465 for one in the luxury oceanfront category. Suites will be priced from $465 to $3,000 a night.