The ‘Queen of Waikiki’ turns 110

 
HONOLULU -- It was less three years after the United States had officially taken over Hawaii and less than eight since a group of American businessmen had toppled the monarchy. The new century was in its first year. The Victorian era ended that January with the death of the British monarch who gave it her name.
A new era. A new century. A new country. Honolulu wanted a new hotel and got it with the Moana, which turns 110 years old this year.
It rose like a wedding cake from the sometimes still swampy stretch of beach known as Waikiki. When it opened in March 1901 it was a sensation.
The 75-room hotel was a gamble, launched amid political upheaval and just a year after bubonic plague killed 70 people in Honolulu.
The Moana brought European and New York-style comforts to the islands, where most hotels of the time resembled something more like guest houses. Rooms had a private bath and a telephone. Downstairs there was a saloon with billiards and booze. The ladies could go to the library. After a day touring the island, guests were happy to have the island’s first electric elevator to take them up to their room. In the afternoon, guests gathered on the large front porch, as they do today.
The hotel attracted the wealthy mainlanders who came on steamships from San Francisco and Los Angeles.
For more than two decades, the Moana ruled the beach at Waikiki. In 1927 it was joined — and in many ways, eclipsed — by the Royal Hawaiian, the “Pink Palace of the Pacific.”
Today, what’s called the Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort, sits surrounded by tall concrete-and-glass towers that put it in shadow, but never eclipsed its cultural cachet.
The Moana was considered “old fashioned” within three decades of its opening, and it has endured many modernizations. The need for air conditioning has added lowered ceilings. The official count of nearly 800 rooms includes those in a pair of modern towers that bear its name if not its charm.
Make sure to ask for a room in the original Banyan wing. Those are the parts of the hotel that flank the massive banyan tree that shades the courtyard. The tower wings are nice and located on the beach, but are comparable to other hotels along Waikiki.
An overhaul of the nearby Sheraton Princess Kaiulani has been approved, which could cause noise and disruption. Check with the Moana for a progress report on the work before booking.

A note from Steve; On any beautiful evening , wait for the day to turn to the pinks and purples of twilight and sit on the front porch of the Moana, grab a sensational dessert and a cup of coffee (or perhaps a cocktail?) enjoy the people watching and the transition to a beautiful Waikiki Night.