One thing you can definitely say about Coco Palms is that it forever remains at the forefront of Kauai news and people’s minds. With nearly 400 comments about the resort, your feelings are clear.
When we wrote about it nearly a year ago, the saga continued with an odd foreclosure sale. Since then, your editors have frequently drive by the once luxury resort (see video below), and it never ceases to amaze us. It sits there, an ugly old decaying concrete shell. Truly an eyesore.
There are no signs of demolition and to our understanding there are no demolition permits. Instead, building permits from years ago are still pending and those are found below.
Coco Palms was sold again last year.
A scheduled foreclosure auction took place at the Fifth Circuit Courthouse near Lihue Airport in July 2021. Alas, there was only one bid, and there’s a new owner, sort of, at least for now. The property was sold in “as-is” condition.
One commenter on Facebook said what many of us were thinking, “I was dreaming that one notorious billionaire from the north shore would buy it, tear down all the man-made structures and donate it for a cultural park and parking for Wailua beach.” (Margaret Goode).
Neal McManus added, “It seems that a team of multimillionaires and certain billionaires that enjoy the island could “pitch-in” and have the parcel restored, made into a multi-use Hawaiian cultural space/center for the Kauai community. The resultant development could be endowed in the same manner and intent that Duncan McBryde did with Kukuiolono with the county of Kauai.”
In the end, however, the company Private Capital Group, paid $22 million for the land. The bid was actually a credit for the original principal value of a loan obtained by the prior developer. The new buyer was the lender for the previous owners who defaulted on their debt during the last of a string of failed efforts to rebuild the hotel. That plan, which would have turned Coco Palms into a 350-room resort, began in 2015 and then changed hands again in 2019 through a massive mortgage default.
Being the new owner in title, Private Capital Group can now move forward to try to sell it yet again. No one knows exactly what their next move will be.
Read more about Coco Palms:
Breaking: Coco Palms Plans Explode In Bizarre, Emotional Hearing
60 Years Ago Elvis’ Blue Hawaii + Jets Transformed Hawaii Travel
There’s no place for a new Coco Palms Resort. So what about a park?
The county was moving in the direction of wanting the former resort to become a park. But even that seems to have gone quiet.
Coco Palms wouldn’t be viable any longer as a hotel, for a myriad of reasons, as you’ll read below. Among them, the property is located on what’s become a very noisy stretch of Kuhio Highway, with no beach access. In recent years, many hotels have been built that, while not Coco Palms, offer beachfront locations at prices that undermine any potential for profitability.
The idea of a park has been floated for many years. BOH editors’ friend and Kauai Council Member Felicia Cowden asked that Coco Palms be “set aside for a future community wilderness or cultural park. Those prime, historically significant lands should not be attached to the problematic private pieces to help move a distressed asset.”
When we last reached out to Felicia about this, she replied that she doesn’t believe that the County has the financial resources to acquire the property. “Hopefully, the county will consider it; however, I don’t think we can afford it. A best-case would be a friendly buyer, and that is where I will focus my efforts.”
Ultra-popular Coco Palms of the past. Still Kauai’s most iconic and most infamous resort ever.
Kauai Coco Palms Resort’s enduring popularity is unending. The unexpectedly awful eyesore and safety hazard on the island after being largely destroyed nearly three decades ago during Hurricane Iniki, continues.
This was where the rich and famous once stayed, and Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii was filmed. The property consists of 20 acres fronting the highway at Wailua Beach, combined with 15 acres of state-leased land.
This post-series has now been read more than a quarter-million times, which is a good indication of your love of and fascination with Coco Palms. We, too, enjoy reading your hundreds of fascinating comments depicting fond memories of Coco Palms and ongoing dreams for its future.
Demolition rumors.
We continue to anticipate, as we reported last year, that Coco Palms will eventually be demolished. However, we were never able able to verify rumors that it was inevitable last year. When we checked, the county wasn’t aware of demolition permits being issued.
All essential concrete structures failed.
The original building core was to be an integral part of future development. That, however, became impossible when steel rebar within the buildings’ concrete corroded and failed because of exposure to ocean salt and moisture. The corroding steel cracked the concrete and spall due to the swelling and increased tensile load on the steel. That issue began on the upper floors, then expanded to affect the entire infrastructure.
More reasons Coco Palms can never be a hotel again.
Kauai’s prior mayor JoAnn Yukimura, said development permits “should have never been issued.” She bemoaned that Kauai has too many hotels as it already stands. “Removing the cloud of resort development from the property will enable the community to come together around a new vision for that site — a vision that could include a park and culture center that interprets the history of the place.”
Another BOH editors’ friend Allan Parachini, jokingly wrote on his Facebook page during Covid about Coco Palms Resort: “I am so happy to hear today that Kauai County has officially designated a Quarantine Hotel for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic…As you can see, all of the accommodations have plenty of fresh air.” As we said, “Elvis has left the building.”
Coco Palms current condition.
The last round of attempts disintegrated with multiple developers unable to make it work—all to the chagrin of visitors, locals, and the Kauai County government.
When driving by, you see enormous amounts of ugly, original concrete and steel, as in the image below. The developers had planned to use these preexisting steel, and concrete structures as the base of the new resort before those plans were terminated by nature and finances. The iconic lagoon was also set to be restored, as is shown in the image depiction above.
Beat of Hawaii: Coco Palms sits largely unchanged, destroyed through hurricanes, fraud, neglect, and to this day, ongoing controversy for over a quarter-century.
In 2016, a multi-million dollar selective-demolition project was completed. This included drywall and asbestos removal, electrical and mechanical repairs, renovations at the Lotus Restaurant, and bungalow building. It pretty much was stripped clean. And it has sat virtually untouched since then.
Status of building permits.
There are fourteen pages of building permits in various stages for Coco Palms Resort that can be found here. Search by name and enter Coco Palms.
Could Zuckerberg still play a role?
Turned into a historic park or something similar via a gift to the county or otherwise, this could be a way for the island’s wealthiest to make a very favorable impact. Kauai is Zuckerberg’s island home. Who else might help out?
Another commentor about the sale offered this, “Sounds good. Too risky to do anything, lender playing money games, price is low enough for the state to buy it. Great work!” (Robert Gluckson)
Did you know these Coco Palms’ details?
1. A once planned connection to the Koa Kea Resort was dropped. The last developer was rumored to have been in discussions with the Meritage Collection about running the Coco Palms in addition to Koa Kea.
2. Reopening as a Hyatt property was also aborted. In 2014, the plan was for Coco Palms to reopen in 2020 with 273 rooms, 77 suites, 3 restaurants, a cultural center, 12k square feet of retail, and more. It was then to be part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection.
3. In 2017, a dispute arose when a group of Native Hawaiians claiming to be descendants of Kauai’s King Kaumuali’i began living on the property. A judge refused to remove them from Coco Palms while determining their rightful owners. Developers said, “The county recognizes us as the owner of the property.” The court affirmed that in 2018.
4. The land is considered ancient Hawaiian royal property, and disputes have been ongoing since the 1800s.
See our recent drive-by video.
We welcome your comments.
Updated 4/21/22
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Chris C. says
I am celebrating the 50th year anniversary of my stay at the Coco Palms. My first wife and my friend and his wife (8 months pregnant) spent a long weekend there. We had rooms at the end of the lagoon from rooms that showed up as backgrounds of Blue Hawaii! We spent days just touring around the island. Memories are bitter sweet for me in the condition of Coco Palms and divorce of my first wife. But when I close my eyes sometimes the beauty of the memories of the Coco Palms and my first wife flood over me. I do hope that someday Kathy, Jack and Gloria find my words and know that I still love you all.
John A says
Aloha, ❤️💞That is very Beautiful, such a Wonderful memory you hold in your Mana✨..it can never be replaced! the islands are magical in everyone that visits..it’s something else that’s for sure, and touches us all so far..and so wide, ..it cannot be broken once you have the Aina in you..ever, ..they know trust me, you are loved and have a very special and good place that started it all😊💖🌴🌊🌴🌺💖keep watering your feelings.. ..it connects us all✨💞
EdG says
If I recall didn’t the powers that be just declare imminent domain on acreage on the north shore? Why not declare this and merely take it and allow the good island citizens to clean it up for free? You know Malama Aina.
Bob B. says
Eminent domain doesn’t mean it’s free just means they are going to take it and pay sum for it, the owners still have to receive fair market value. So where is that money coming from?
My brother went through this with a highway dept in Illinois wanting to build a freeway through a house he owned. They made a low-ball offer which of course he turned down, the State then stipulated they were going to take the property and only pay their price. Basically they forced him out of his property, NEVER did build the road and offered to sell his former house BACK to him 15 years later at a hyperinflated price! He told them to pound sand.
Frank S says
I went to Coco Palms 44 years ago. I’ll never forget it. Old world charm. Pig roasting in the pit all day. The fire ritual at night. I can still remember laying on the beach at 6 in the morning. Thanks for the unending memories. My daughter is on her way to Hawaii for her honeymoon and I’ve told her all about the best resort ever.
Chuck V says
I remember the beautiful torch lighting ceremony narrated by Grace Buscher in the evenings among the palms. It was a very beautiful resort. I had the privilege of escorting travel agent fam trips from Seattle to Kauai for Northwest Airlines. Coco Palms was a real highlight of the tour.
Sad to see it in such a state of ruin.
Gary V says
An aunt took me to Kauai when I was in the fourth grade and I fell in love. Freckles Smith himself took us up the river to the Fern Grotto because our flight was late. He gave us his own personalized tour of the river and grotto, then returned us to the Coco Palms, where we stayed for a week and immersed ourselves in the “old Hawaii” being showered with Aloha from everyone we met, every day.
Decades later, there was no better way to introduce my new wife to Hawaii than to return to the Coco Palms, where General Manager David Ueno invited us to evening appreciations of hula and Hawaiian music.
When people say “There are too many hotels”, they maybe aren’t thinking of what a restoration of the Coco Palms might do for the Aloha of Kauai.
Kay M says
We first visited Kauai in 1994 two years after Inki. On our last visit in 2017, it was so sad to see Coco Palms just decaying. Wish the county, state and developers could reach some agreement. A park would be beautiful and the history of the site could be remembered.
gladys k says
the book on the coco palms is great….i bought it years ago on one of our trips….& refer to it often to bring back memories of what a wonderful place it was…especially the small zoo with the gibbons…i’d go talk to them every day….
Carl B says
I was at the Coco Palms Resort in 1994 on vacation with my family. The resort was already abandoned. We went there after playing 18 holes of golf at Wailua golf course. My entire family were big Elvis fans and just to walk on the property was nostalgic. Would have loved to see it restored but it now seems an impossibility.
Nancy M says
There are probably a couple hundred people who have commented on these BOH pages about the happy memories they have of staying at Coco Palms. You folks might enjoy the book The Story of the Coco Palms Hotel, The Grace Buscher Guslander Years, 1953-1985 by David P. Penhallow. It was published in 2007 by Rice St. Press. It’s a big (8 1/2 by 11 inches) book, with lots of photos, and is 368 pages long. My copy is autographed, but I can’t remember when or where I got it. Probably some craft fair or local event years ago. It’s a great addition to a Hawaiian library.
MJ says
We have an Hawaiian library as well. Having just finished the first book about Ruth born in the Kalaupapa settlement where she was ripped from her Hansen’s diseased parents and now we are on the sequel where we follow her life (the first one followed her Mom). Very good reading!
Darrell D says
I don’t regularly play the lottery, but I spent $40 on the big one last week. And one of the first things I was going to do with my $550M was buy the Coco Palms and make it what it was. Alas, I didn’t win….
Dorothy says
We stayed there when it was dream place to stay. We have visited Kauai many times even 2 weeks after Iniki had reservations in Princeville. It broke our hearts.😭
Kristi S. says
I have been seeing some work activity and heavy equipment at the old Coco Palms Hotel; can you please give us an update? Thanks.
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Kristi.
We’ll update again as soon as possible.
Aloha.
Mia C says
It is largely to do with the adjacent road work.
Carol N says
I was just on Kauai last week and saw that the Coco Palms was even more of an eyesore than ever. So saddened by this. I also saw all the heavy equipment, but believe that is used for the roadwork that takes place at night.
It breaks my heart every time I come back to Kauai (about a dozen times) to find my beloved Coco Palms (lucky to have stayed there in 1988) still languishing.
Ernie S. says
To see and hear, for my first time, the shambles that the property is currently in really gives a Twist to Blue Hawaii, very sad. As I read the article I couldn’t resist seeing in my Minds Eye the Myriad of possibilities for the property. The State could have purchased it and made it into many beneficial things. The Price of $22 MM would have been about 1.1% of the $2 Bn wasted by Ige and Green on Homeless with No Results! Too many mistakes and missed opportunities because of Mismanagement. $2 Billion, just the interest alone could have paid for the sale and what needs to be done.
MJ says
Sort of, Ernie. Remember that being able to afford the regular maintenance of a place that size is way more than the cost of purchasing it. And remember the $22M was the price of the default, not the actual property value. I doubt that the state or county could ever stay above water trying to manage anything they come up with for Coco Palms. Not without murdering the taxpayers with huge tax increases! No, this needs to be a well orchestrated contract buy for one or more financial heavy hitters who have to run it a certain way.
mj says
And again, it needs someone(s) with very deep pockets to be able to run it as a proper museum and tourist attraction.
Brian S says
Coco Palms resort was more than a resort. It was part of the history of Hawaii and the culture of Kauai. The local employees at the hotel offered the Spirit of Aloha to every guest. It wasn’t a show, it was in their hearts. I was fortunate to have been an employee at Coco Palms in 1969 and 1970. I believe it was one of those once in a lifetime places that can never be replaced. Grace Guslander was the queen and without her the place could never be the same again. The day I left the employees circled me, placing flower leis around my neck while they sang Aloha. The tears have dried but the memories will last forever. It would be my wish the grounds go back to the locals, to share the Mana with their children.
Eleanor G says
We were married at the Coco Palms in 1981. It was a beautiful place and holds a warm and loving memory in our hearts. It is so sad that this beautiful place has fallen into such disrepair and is becoming a forgotten thing of the past.
MJ says
I don’t know how much you have watched BOH, Eleanor, but Coco Palms is anything but forgotten. Residents and visitors, both past and present talk about it incessantly. Someone needs to print the whole thread out and deliver it to Mark Zuckerberg. He is one of the few who can rescue it single-handedly.
Maryanne E says
Years ago I stayed at the Coco Palms. I stayed for 7 days and it was awesome. Every night they had the torch lighting ceremony, and a personal invited cocktail party. I was heart broken when I heard about the destruction that the hurricane did to the property. I always hoped that someone would rebuild it the way it was. I remember Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii was filmed there and it was an awesome hotel. I was surprised to read that no one had done anything in all these years.
Robert H. says
Archaeological cultural information at the Coco Palms site must be recorded prior to any future use of the property. The State Historic Preservation Office should expedite the selection of a company to perform an archaeological inventory survey and a cultural landscape record of the site before any future plans are made.
marcie c says
Post-shutdown property sales zoomed so high the county has lots and lots of money now. Mr Mayor, want another term? Step up and start fixing this! Be partners with one of our wealthy citizens or groups — or just go it alone as a county financed, non-profit native heritage center. Please, make it happen!~
MJ says
I have done work at Hotel King Kamehameha in Kona on The Big Island. There was a real Kahuna who lived as a native in a grass shack and performed in ceremonies.
Consider this, Mark Z:
Negotiate an acquisition with demolition and create an authentic Hawaiian tribal ground across from a lagoon where tourists pay for restaurant and torch lighting/ceremony views. I think it would support itself and spread real Hawaiian culture.
Evelyn G says
The govt should sell the coconuts and juice. It’s good against Covid. Then use the remaining as decorations or as a flooring. Use the leaves as a fan- the govt can the fans as a decor in the house or anywhere .