Hilton Hawaiian Village

The Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort is a resort hotel on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. The resort first opened in 1955,[1] and since has grown to become the largest in the Hilton chain of hotels. It is one of largest hotels in the world and the largest in the US outside of Las Vegas.

Pre-history

Located on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu. The site was the former village of Kālia, which had many ancient aquaculture fishponds.[2] It was later part of the former Bernice Pauahi Bishop estate (until 1912), and was also the childhood home of Duke Kahanamoku and his many cousins from the Paoa family.[3][4]

History

Hawaiian Village Hotel (1955–1960)

The Hawaiian Village Hotel was conceived, constructed and first administered by Henry J. Kaiser, the same industrialist who built the Hoover Dam and Grand Coulee Dam and founded the Kaiser Permanente health system.

In 1954, Kaiser and developer Fritz B. Burns bought the 16 acre Kalia estate of John Ena Jr. and combined it adjacent properties,[8] including the Niumalu Hotel,[5] to construct the Hawaiian Village, converting the flat to a lagoon.[9] They built thatched-roof cottages with 70 guest rooms, The Tapa Room, gardens and three swimming pools and the hotel opened on September 15, 1955.[10] On May 1, 1956, Western Hotels assumed management of the Hawaiian Village Hotel.[11] In 1957, the modern Ocean Tower and the Geodesic Dome were added.

Hilton Hotels and Resorts

Conrad Hilton bought half of the resort from Henry J. Kaiser in 1961. Hilton Hotels & Resorts assumed management on February 1, 1961, renaming the resort the Hilton Hawaiian Village.[8][12] It cost $21.5 million USD when it was purchased in 1961, which was considered an unusually high price.[12] Elvis Presley stayed at the hotel soon after while filming Blue Hawaii. In 1968, the resort's iconic Rainbow Tower opened, with the world's largest and tallest ceramic tile mosaic on its facade, an image of a rainbow measuring 26 feet wide and 286 feet tall, which required over 16,000 individual tiles. The Tapa Tower was added in 1982, and the original Ocean Tower was gutted and rebuilt in 1987, with the addition of two floors, at which point it was renamed the Ali'i Tower. The 25-story Kalia Tower was added in 2001.

The hotel might be best known as the location for the popular TV series Hawaiian Eye, which aired on ABC from 1959 to 1963. (The purchase by Hilton was duly noted by the changed signage in 1961.) However, only second-unit footage was filmed there; the bulk of the series was shot at Warner Bros.' studio in Burbank.

2024 strike

On September 24, 2024, 1,800 employees at the hotel would go on strike.[17] As of October 30, 2024, all of these 1,800 Hilton Hawaiian Village employees remained on strike.[18] On November 4, 2024, the strike ended after the over 1,800 striking workers, all of whom where members of UNITE HERE Local 5, voted to ratify a new labor contract.[19][20] The striking workers would return to work by November 6, 2024.[21]

main contractor	Fritz B. Burns
location	Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
address	2005 Kalia Road
opening date	September 5, 1955
architect	Edwin L. Bauer
owner	Park Hotels & Resorts
hotel chain	Hilton Hotels & Resorts
operator	Hilton Worldwide
number of rooms	3,386
website	hiltonhawaiianvillage.com

Hilton Hawaiian Village

Pre-history

History

Hawaiian Village Hotel (1955–1960)

Hilton Hotels and Resorts

2024 strike

Village plan

Wildlife

Geodesic dome

Gallery

External links

References