It’s been about a year since it was sold again. What’s up now at Coco Palms.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
488 thoughts on “Infamous Coco Palms Kauai | Why It Just Won’t End”
Comments are closed.
It’s been about a year since it was sold again. What’s up now at Coco Palms.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
Comments are closed.
Time to put this hotel in the past and leave it there. I have some great pictures of the empty hotel and lagoon before the hurricane.
I’m not sure if this has been mentioned yet, or it it is even a reasonable possibility, but I would hope that whatever is done there would include a plan to provide alternate access so as to not further complicate a very overburdened and frustrating intersection.
All these years of arguing about COCO PALMS has been a complete waste of time. If I was leaving a monument to my late mother (or other ancestor), I would make sure it was something attractive and pleasing. Yes, the hotel was a big part of Kauai’s history. But it was destroyed in 1992. Time to move on and make win-wins for everyone: for example, a multidisciplinary approach including something like: a park with Hawaiian artwork and an entrance off the highway; a ceremonial ancestral space to pay homage; a learning center for dance and language; a walk way over the highway to the beach. Anything but this terrible, disrespectful, failing pile of concrete pays homage to no one.
When they demolish it, they should sell bits of it to the 200,00 more poeple who read this…. that might help finance a cultural center or something like that.
🙂
With Kauai anti-tourist stance why would anyone want to sink money into the place? We loved Kauai when it was a friendly island to tourists but don t get that vibe anymore. Many other places in the world to go that we feel welcomed to bring our dollars.
Very interesting the writings about Coco Palms Resort. A real shame that it can’t be developed again.0
I was conceived at Coco Palms when my parents honeymooned there in 1955. I live on Oahu now and have always dreamed of spending time there. I hope that the land is restored honoring nature and Hawaiian culture.
Honeymooned there in 1978. Remarried there in 1985. Remarried again in 2003 (behind fence but still magical). Nothing ever beat sitting in the open restaurant feasting at our first breakfast buffet. Or the shell sinks. Or just walking the grounds of the Royal coconut grove. It was a magical place and could never be recreated. Turn it into a park and a
Wedding venue. I probably have one more remarriage in me.
😂
Loved the place. It is a terrible shame that this delightful and historic place is dying due to neglect and lack of use. Hawaii and Kauai should make every effort (even the “impossible”) to restore the Coco Palms Resort (great for commerce and income). Create an IPO and go public to raise funds and attention.
Thanks for keeping this subject in the public eye.
Sea level rise is the final blow.
what sea level rise? this is not a real thing on kauai
So sad to read on what’s been going on there! We were married in 1991 and Larry Reveria sang Kauai is Love and the Hawaiian Wedding song. We were married under a palm in the grove that was special to us! It was magical!!! We returned in 1992 only to find it closed because in hurricane Iniki ( not sure of the spelling). We have been back many times but never able to visit our tree!😞
It just breaks our heart to see there isn’t a future for such a wonderful place.
Loved this article! I am doing my senior capstone project for interior design and architecture at CSU and would love all the information I can get. I would love to talk to the author if possible, thank you!
I stayed at Coco Palms in 1978 and what a lovely stay it was. We were in a cabin or hut not far from the koi filled lagoon. It had a beautiful private outdoor lava rock shower & bathtub. Kauai is my favorite island and staying at Coco Palms was the cherry on a memorable trip. I’m sad to hear it has been neglected and ignored. It’s part of the islands history. A landmark. It’s a shame Hawaii cannot see the benefit of bulldozing and build all new Coco Palms. So…here’s hoping. Mahalo
Couldn’t you get a large group of investor’s to rebuild Cocoa Palms to it original state. I went there in 1976 & 1978. It was beautiful and so much fun. I remarried and wanted to take him there.but never got to go there due to the storm that destroyed it. My husband past away this January 2021 of Covid Pneumonia.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
At this point, the property would make for a grand park and cultural center.
We had stayed at the Coco Palms in the early 80’s….I loved the zoo & visiting with the gibbons & “talking” to them…I often wondered what happened to the animals when Iniki went through…
I am so happy that I have my memories of the Coco Palms…the little chapel, the torch ceremony every evening, the clam shell sinks…..all gone but…not forgotten
I visited the hotel several years ago – it was a short tour which was offered at our hotel. I have been a bit of an Elvis fan, but did not see all his movies. The tour was fascinating, and I’ve checked out this site a few times over the years. When we were there, you could enter the bar and the main building I think – we also spent time in the area where the bungalos are located. This is a sad end – but I totally understand – a resort so close to the water but with no beach access would be a disaster. I enjoyed Kauai a great deal and hope to return some day.
Thanks for keeping the world informed!
Hi Brian.
Thanks for your report on visiting Coco Palms. We have done the tour too.
Aloha.
I wish I knew how wonderful Kauai was (and is) earlier. I went to Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island before visiting Kauai – I knew Elvis had ties to the islands but never knew about the hotel – the trip to Kauai was very special for so many reasons -kayaking, golfing, eating outdoors with chickens hopping about and of course seeing Coco Palms – like going back in time.
Our family’s first vacation to Kaua’i was in 1971 during the heyday of Coco Palms but before hurricane Iniki dealt the final blow. A few years after Iniki, we were again vacationing on the island when another massive Kaua’i wind and rainstorm destroyed many structures on the island including major flooding of the Kaua’i Marriott where we were staying. During that visit, we we found a very quiet post-hurricane island devoid of tourists and once again enduring a Pacific rain and wind storm while trying to rebuild Iniki’s damage.
That makes two of us Judy G!
Mahalo!!
The Coco Palms should be a cultural center for all Hawaiians and for visitors to come to see the best of Kauai.
Have a place that serves Hawaiian food and park land for kids to come an enjoy what Hawaii is and also what Kauai is.
There are enough resorts. Cultural should be number one.
So sad. Kauai is my favorite island. I think the best thing to do is to turn it into a well maintained nature park that emphasizes the natural beauty of Kauai. Keep it natural. Low cost and easy to maintain. Turn it back to nature with a well placed plaque on lava rock recognizing coco palms history.
Drove by yesterday in the traffic jam and it is just a skeleton. Foreclosure sale in Lihu’e July 26 to highest bidder. Buyer responsible for demo permits.
I was with Elvis in this movie
My husband and I stayed at the Coco Palms hotel in January 1977. It was a beautiful hotel. We were able to cross the street and go to the beach. I also loved the lagoon and the ceremony of lighting the torches at dusk. So sorry to see the once beautiful hotel now in ruins.
I also loved Kauai and knowing that Elvis filmed the wedding scene on the lagoon made it even more special for me. I have a picture my husband took looking up into the majestic palm trees. He has past now 30 years ago, I know he would be crushed seeing how it looks now. We had a great vacation and time at this hotel.
It is such a sad thing to see such a beautiful place as the Coco Palms resort pass away into memory. My family stayed there in 1972, I was about to turn 10 years old. I remember it so well and with such happy memories. Now, my family has passed away too, I’m all that’s left. But I’ll never forget that lovely happy summer we had there. I do hope that a way can be found to save this wonderful place. There are still so many who would still love to stay at such a historical hotel. Please keep trying. Thanks for the great memories. My love to Kauai
Maybe the Government of Kauai should require the “decendents of Kaumualii” to clean up the mess they now “own.” With ownership comes a certain bit of responsibility.
Whether a cultural center or a hotel is chosen, it would be good for Kauai to do SOMETHING other than passing the buck for another 30 years.
Kauai is the most beautiful of the islands. It is truly a shame to see this historic site languish in neglect and disregard. It’s worse to think that is now a popular drug user location. That can’t be the wishes of Kaumualii’s decendents either.
I was married at coco palms in 1985 it was so awesome and I hoped to go back one day. Hawaii was made by the heavens, such a beautiful place. I will always love!
If the native Hawaiians claim they own the property. why are they not responsible for the upkeep of the property?
What is wrong with the politicians running Hawaii, and Kauai in particular?
I guess when you work for the government with full salary working – and I use the term loosely, from home
while so many on the island without government unemployment have to leave because of closures, layoffs.
Kids missing 2 years of valuable in person education and learning how to become responsible members of
the community – the cost will be huge. Kids almost always don’t get even mild symptoms, don’t spread it as
much, but are penalized because a lack of backbone in the governor’s office.
Kauai now has one death. 80% of deaths are over 65, most of these over 80 and in nursing homes.
The flu has killed more people in Hawaii.
Please have the courage to vote these idiots out of office next time.
I suggest Hawaii consult Dr Scott Gottleib to advise them; a former FDA chief and Democrat.
As a person that is over 65 and have a lot of life left in me I resent the cavalier attitude that we should be left to die.
Death panels are hardly the way to treat senior citizens. Mahalo!
I’m surprised no one has thought about building affordable housing there.
They just said it’s on a flood plane.
Thank you so much for the really sad information. I just cannot imagine that the Presley orga nization has no interest in this property. Even after all these years that site is so identified with Elvis. Has anyone ever contacted Graceland to see if there is interest in it? It would be an amazing place to have Elvis conventions and Elvis Artists performing…and the fans would absolutely love it. Has anyone ever tried making it into a Elvis location site? It would only take a single simple letter to Priscilla Presley to find out if there was a possibility to doing it. What do the owners have to lose by trying??
I was married in the chapel in 1989. Great memories of staying at the property in 1984 and being a guest of Mrs Guslander at her hosted dinner three times that week. I was traveling alone and she wanted to make sure I didn’t dine alone. Thank u for keeping us updated.
Hi Kathleen.
Thanks for sharing your memories of Coco Palms.
Aloha.
What would be required to brig it back to it’s glorious former status especially connected to the the Elvis legacy? |I have a few investors that may be interested.
I can only say what I heard. We visit the islands yearly. The original coco palms is built on land deemed too low to avoid flooding. It has set vacant open to the elements for decades. Someone once starting rehabbing the property but for some reason stopped leaving the structures more open to the elements. It is not oceanfront property, but across the Hwy It should be demolished and turned into a nice county park. I’m sure if you contacted the County of Kauai they would have current information
95% of the island is already essentially a state or county park. That’s the last thing Kauai needs more of.
The sad fact is that once it were to get pulled down, money would talk and another unsightly development of time shares and condos for Californians would spring up in the ever creeping cancer of property speculation. It is very important that this piece of history is not lost. If Hawaii is not protected in 30 years it will be gone and just another Californian wasteland.
As long as developers can smell a buck, they’ll keep the fiction alive that the property is desirable. Reality is that location is terrible – noisy, busy, lousy beaches. Has nothing going for it. The County should buy the property and widen the road.
Exactly. I drive by the Coco Palms everyday and lived here 13 years and visiting since Iniki. The only thing that has changed is the increase in traffic resulting in the infamous Kapaa Crawl as one admires the bombed out looking once glorious hotel. It will make a great cultural center with a widened road improved to meet the traffic demands of the the 21st century.
What does Graceland haveto do with Kauai? He’s a manifesto of NASHVILLE/Hollywood. Is that worth decimating a historical-ancestoral island birthright place of the River to the Ocean. Let the Island breath authenticity, not who rubbed elbows with who.Crass, corny, shortsightedness.
What a wonderful idea that would be 🥰 I’d love to see this beautiful place restored to its glory,Blue Hawaii, Elvis days, even if you had to start from scratch.💞
Please refrain from lumping all Californians together. I’m a native Californian and have been to Hawaii many times. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the land, culture and traditions of the Islands. It is not in the spirit of Aloha to make such generalizations. My favorite island is Kauai, and it is sad to see the shell that was once the Coco Palms. Hopefully, it will someday become a place that not only benefits the island but respects Kauai’s heritage and history.
Coco palms, condemn the property, demo it and develop a park. 30+ years is too long.
Did you know my Auntie Yoshiko Mike (past away) …Give the name Coco Palms . She enter a ..contest to name this resort when she was in the Seven grade.!
Aloha
A cultural centre and nature park would be a huge improvement! That, along with an upgrade to that stretch of highway and some biking lanes would be a welcome improvement. Kauai already has too many vacation rooms for its highway infrastructure to handle.
It’s an eyesore for anyone who traveling past the site. Tear it down and make it a cultural site. It’s prone to flooding, either from the Wailua river or the ocean.
We were on Kauai in January. We stayed at Kauai Shores Hotel. We passed this ghostly structure every day. I didn’t know then it was the shell if the Coco Palms. I saw Blue Hawaii as a child and that movie started a love affair with Hawaii. So sad that there seems to be nothing to do to bring this iconic hotel back to life. I will keep hoping for a miracle 🤙❤🌸
Am sadden to hear of this news and yet loved the movie blue Hawaii will not be able to visit until the virus has gone all away may you know its history that makes places like these remains in our hearts and sadden about who gets to make these decisions thank you for sharing.
Excessive tourism has wrecked Hawai’i and, as the C19 pandemic has demonstrated, created a lopsided and unsustainable economy. It’s amazing that any elected official would allow this project to remain on the books, let alone move forward. It’s never too late to reclaim even this small property for the people of the State of Hawai’i as a park. Or any non-commercial use.
That genie is already out of the bottle… there’s no putting back now. You think turning this ONE property into a “park” is going to somehow turn the tide back? Dream on. Doing that simply takes an already developed property–that could be–should be–generating millions in revenue and taxes–and hundreds of badly needed jobs–and turns it into a hole in the ground that the county–and local taxpayers–have to pay for in perpetuity. Try again.
Coco Palms was the icon of Kauai unfortunately all icons must perish but the memories will live on. God bless Kauai.