Rainmaker Hotel was a 250-room luxury hotel in Utulei, Pago Pago, American Samoa.[1] It was the only proper hotel in American Samoa and was operated by the government. The hotel was at its peak in the 1960s and 1970s, when it was known as the Pacific's Intercontinental Hotel.[2]
The hotel was dedicated in November 1965. The four-day hotel opening celebrations began with a flag-raising at the Governor's Office on Flag Day, followed by a royal ‘ava ceremony conducted at the Fagatogo malae by Taumafaalofi and Aumaga of Nuʻuuli. The parade that followed was the longest in history. Several members of the U.S. Congress attended and the Air Force Band played music. Senator Alan Bible was the featured Flag Day speaker and the Department of the Interior sent its top officials. Governor John A. Burns came from Hawai'i with General Harris of the Air Force and Admiral Fabik of the Coast Guard. Prime Minister Mata'afa headed the Western Samoan delegation.[3]
In 1980, an air disaster occurred when a US Navy plane hit the cables of the Mt. Alava aerial tramway and crashed into the hotel, killing the six servicemen aboard and two tourists who were staying at the hotel.