Plain vanilla looking hotel rooms

[Miulang]

Apparently, hotel rooms with Hawaiian motifs in Hawai'i are being abandoned in favor of a more corporate look, according to this article in the PBN (http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2005/10/10/story2.html). Granted, most tourons don't visit Hawai'i just to stay in their hotels all day (unless involved in "certain" activities ;) ), but one of the nice things about hotels in Hawai'i used to be that they incorporated some of what was the best of Hawai'i into their ambiance.

Now, remodeled hotels and the ones being constructed all look as though they could be in any other city anywhere else in the country.:( I do like that some chains have upgraded the beds in the rooms though.

Miulang

[oggboy]

Eh, Tita Muilang,
Ova hea on Maui, its all about Time Share... Go figa, peak season, no moa nuff rooms.... wen get major sport events no mo nuff room.... funny 4 one state dat depend on da tourist we no can supply.....Mo betta open up da beaches and make tent... Oh, I 4-get das 4- our homeless ohana`s:mad:

[Miulang]

Hui Oggboy, yeah, I know Maui is condomania. And actually, staying in one timeshare is better den staying in one hotel room because you can make your own food and save some kala that way. But it is a bummer for people who oni want to visit for a few days at a time...no moa hotel rooms. Even places where da rich kine folks visit..Kapalua, Wailea, lidat, some of da older hotels being demolished and moa timeshares being put up.

From one developer's standpoint, da condo/timeshare deals are better foa dem...dey build 'em and den sell 'em off and den no need worry, not like one hotel.

But Waikiki going be just like Maui pretty soon. Not going have nuff hotel rooms for da "budget" kine travellers like me because all da hotel rooms being converted into condos or timeshares. So pretty soon, Waikiki going be off limits for locals too.:(

Miulang

[oggboy]

U so right about dat. U no Wen had da Hnl marathon dis pass yea, Had one big time concert at the Aloha, Nut even one room available foa the off island people....Lucky ting get some ohana on O`ahu.... But yea, If our #1 industry is tourism and we don`t have the resources, like room`s and enough airline seats and available transportation, then I think we have a BIG PROBLEM....:confused:

[Pua'i Mana'o]

the solution is: Bed & Breakfast, n? ho‘i. Google up da B&Bs...

[Miulang]

the solution is: Bed & Breakfast, n? ho‘i. Google up da B&Bs...
But then you gotta worry about whether that B&B is legal or not!:)

Miulang

[tikiyaki]

Wouldn't it be great of hotel rooms still looked like this....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/tikiyaki/aio.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/tikiyaki/aiu.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/tikiyaki/napilikaibeachclubpcard-vi.jpg

[oggboy]

Those We`re The Day`s......................aloha/cannnn:)

[Miulang]

The rooms at the Hotel Moloka'i (http://www.hotelmolokai.com/hotelmolokai_outoflanai2_forweb.jpg)still look like that! There's no A/C (only a ceiling fan) and when the wind blows just the "right" way, you can smell the septic tank.:p Our 2nd floor room had a nice lanai on it, and when you were out there, you were kept company by the resident geckos.

Miulang

[oggboy]

HOTEL HANA MAU`I....... EXPENSIVE THOUGH..... but as why you came to Hawai......:)

[tikiyaki]

The rooms at the Hotel Moloka'i (http://www.hotelmolokai.com/hotelmolokai_outoflanai2_forweb.jpg)still look like that! There's no A/C (only a ceiling fan) and when the wind blows just the "right" way, you can smell the septic tank.:p Our 2nd floor room had a nice lanai on it, and when you were out there, you were kept company by the resident geckos.

Miulang

Sorry for a dumb question but...It's on the island of Molokia, right ?

[Miulang]

Sorry for a dumb question but...It's on the island of Molokia, right ?

No, not Molokia, Moloka'i!:p

[LikaNui]

Apparently, hotel rooms with Hawaiian motifs in Hawai'i are being abandoned in favor of a more corporate look, according to this article in the PBN (http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2005/10/10/story2.html). Um... it's 2007 now, but in the interest of 'full disclosure'... that article is from 2005. :confused:

:rolleyes:

[Miulang]

Um... it's 2007 now, but that article is from 2005. :confused:

:rolleyes:
The trend continues and is acclerating as more and more of the older hotels are torn down and/or renovated because it's cheaper for the hotel chains to buy standard hotel furniture for every site rather than try to customize depending on location.

Miulang

[LikaNui]

The trend continues and is acclerating I agree that it's sad news. Got a link to a more recent article that says the trend is is continuing and accelerating?
Thanks.

[Vanguard]

Drab "corporate" style hotels are a worldwide epidemic. A lot of charming 70's camp hotels in Asia were recently retrofitted to the new style. Sad :(

[Miulang]

Design trends (http://www.hotelmotel.com/hotelmotel/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=395573)in general for condotels.

The Hyatt Regency Waikiki (http://waikiki.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/gallery/photos.jsp?hotelId=2140&start=5)was designed by the internationally-famous design firm of WATG (Wimberley, Allison, Tong & Goo) who are headquartered in Honolulu. They also redid the Sheraton Maui Kaanapali (http://www.sheraton-maui.com/rr_images.htm), the Royal Hawaiian (http://www.royal-hawaiian.com/rr_images.htm), Hyatt Regency (http://maui.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/gallery/photos.jsp?hotelId=2194&start=8) Kaanapali, Hilton Hawaiian Village (http://www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com/accommodations/images/ph_features_000.jpg), and they're designing a new wing of Maui Memorial Hospital (http://www.watg.com/singleproj_watg.cfm?categoryname=%2D3%2D%2B%3AJH%5 DV4U2%5CDDM9B0%20%20%0A&tableid=%21%24%20%20%20%0A&projectid=%26%24HS%2DZ%5D8K%0A).

From the pictures, most of those rooms look like they could also be hotel rooms in San Diego or Palm Springs or Florida! And unless they add some wood or something to soften that main lobby of Maui Memorial Hospital, that place could be anywhere in the world.

Miulang

[tutusue]

HOTEL HANA MAU`I....... EXPENSIVE THOUGH..... but as why you came to Hawai......:)
Ditto for Kona Village Resort (http://www.konavillage.com/)...individual thatched roof hales. To. Die. For.!!!

This subject is why I'm remodeling/redecorating my condo into a 'little grass shack'. I can't get enough of it around Hawaii anymore. So sad.

[tikiyaki]

No, not Molokia, Moloka'i!:p

UGH...I'M THE KING OF TYPOS !!!!

[LikaNui]

Design trends (http://www.hotelmotel.com/hotelmotel/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=395573)in general for condotels. Well, that article didn't say anything about vanilla rooms being a trend that is continuing and accelerating in Hawaii. It talked about bed sizes and curved shower curtain rods and technological improvements; I saw no mention of Hawaii in there at all. And that article was about timeshares. I just don't see how anything in that article supports the original premise. And yes, your other links were all to photos of fairly bland rooms, but I'm pretty sure that if I had the time or inclination I could find photos of lots of rooms that do indeed have a "Hawaiian feel" or "sense of place".
Yes, things are a lot different -- worse -- here than when I first arrived in the early 1960s. And frankly I hope the new bland hotel rooms do turn off the tourists. But I doubt it. A hotel rooms is where you sleep, shower and change clothes. Any fool who comes to Hawaii and just sits around inside their room deserves what they get. :p

[i-hungry]

Time I spent worrying about vanilla rooms, 0 minutes.

:D

As long as its affordable, clean and the plumbing works then I'm happy.

[LikaNui]

Time I spent worrying about vanilla rooms, 0 minutes.
Time I spent chuckling at (and agreeing with) your reply: priceless.

[SouthKona]

Time I spent chuckling at (and agreeing with) your reply: priceless.
Ditto.
Somehow a room decorated in 70's era lampshades and bedspreads equates to "funky", be it Tiki decor or not!

[joshuatree]

Design trends (http://www.hotelmotel.com/hotelmotel/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=395573)in general for condotels.

The Hyatt Regency Waikiki (http://waikiki.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/gallery/photos.jsp?hotelId=2140&start=5)was designed by the internationally-famous design firm of WATG (Wimberley, Allison, Tong & Goo) who are headquartered in Honolulu. They also redid the Sheraton Maui Kaanapali (http://www.sheraton-maui.com/rr_images.htm), the Royal Hawaiian (http://www.royal-hawaiian.com/rr_images.htm), Hyatt Regency (http://maui.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/gallery/photos.jsp?hotelId=2194&start=8) Kaanapali, Hilton Hawaiian Village (http://www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com/accommodations/images/ph_features_000.jpg), and they're designing a new wing of Maui Memorial Hospital (http://www.watg.com/singleproj_watg.cfm?categoryname=%2D3%2D%2B%3AJH%5 DV4U2%5CDDM9B0%20%20%0A&tableid=%21%24%20%20%20%0A&projectid=%26%24HS%2DZ%5D8K%0A).

From the pictures, most of those rooms look like they could also be hotel rooms in San Diego or Palm Springs or Florida! And unless they add some wood or something to soften that main lobby of Maui Memorial Hospital, that place could be anywhere in the world.

Miulang

I might be the minority here but I actually think the main lobby of MMH looks nice. I don't think every single hotel room, lobby, etc needs a Hawaiian theme. Why do you want to replicate the look of Hawaii in a room when all you need to do is step outside and soak it up? :)

[craigwatanabe]

What's even more sad is that with today's retro look I can't imagine what future generations will be thinking about our choices of olive green and orange on our walls. We escaped those colors in the early 80's from our parents generation during the 60's and 70's.

Now there's this obsession with brown again but this time designers are calling it, "Chocolate". It's brown to me. So long are the light refreshing pastels of the 80's (Maimi Vice themes) and hello the darker heavier shades for room colors.

For me the decor scheme I love is the lighter pastel island look with white whicker and nice Peggy Hopper paintings on the walls. The Ala Moana Hotel had that scheme for a long time.

[craigwatanabe]

Why do you want to replicate the look of Hawaii in a room when all you need o do is step outside and soak it up? :)


Sounds like a quote from Oprah Winfrey. She said the same thing about her plantation era mansion built here in Hawaii.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

But not everybody gets a great view of Hawai'i when they walk outside of their house. Live near an industrial area, an apt complex, or any urban area and you know what I mean.

[joshuatree]

Sounds like a quote from Oprah Winfrey. She said the same thing about her plantation era mansion built here in Hawaii.

Is it? Not aware since I hardly watch the show.

But not everybody gets a great view of Hawai'i when they walk outside of their house. Live near an industrial area, an apt complex, or any urban area and you know what I mean.

Yeah but I thought people were lamenting in this thread about hotel rooms?

[craigwatanabe]

But not everybody gets a great view of Hawai'i when they walk outside of their house. Live near an industrial area, an apt complex, or any urban area and you know what I mean.

But to some that IS Hawaii! If you've grown up your entire life in Kakaako since the late 60's, that is a true rendition of Hawaii.

When I step out of my home I see lava fields covered in Ohia and Lehua blossoms abound and a view of the ocean. I'm also beginning to see the rooftops of more and more homes being built nearby as well.

But at night the sky is so pitch black you can't see your hand in front of you but you can see the Milky Way as it parades across the sky. On average I see about two shooting stars a minute and the distant glow of Pu'u O'o vent giving off it's lava.

Before when I lived in Honolulu I lived in a home that overlooked the Waikiki skyline from Manoa. At night the view was spectacular with the buildings of lights but it doesn't compare to the heavenly skies of the Big Island. I look up and gaze at the stars and wonder, "that's what the ancient Hawaiians must have seen while standing on this very spot. When you wake up amongst the Ohia, you really begin to feel the beauty of Hawaii in ways it was meant to be felt. It's invigorating, then you drive into town with all that asphalt and concrete and shed a tear for the Aina.:(

[LikaNui]

I'm pretty sure that if I had the time or inclination I could find photos of lots of rooms that do indeed have a "Hawaiian feel" or "sense of place". Okay. Just a couple of short minutes using Google Images came up with a helluva lot of hotel rooms with Hawaiian themes. For instance, this one at the Mauian Napili Beach Hotel (http://www.mauian.com/images/5.jpg) and this one at the Kapalua Bay Hotel (http://www.uapt.com/Hawaii_Vacation_Packages/KapaluaBayHotelRoom.jpg) and then this one at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (http://affiliates.travelhero.com/graphics/propimages/72/72982-03.jpg) and another one from the Hotel Hana (http://www.azumano.com/webcontent/Hawaii/Hotel%20Hana%20Room.jpg) and then from the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel (http://travel-hawaii.com/images/aston_waikiki_beach_hotel_room.jpg) or this one at the Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation Resort (http://www.hawaii-hawaii.net/gfx/kiahuna-plantation-resort-bedroom15.jpg) and then one from the Hale Luana (http://www.virtualcities.com/ons/hi/i/hii2301b.jpg) and that's just scratching the surface. So yes, there are some "plain vanilla" hotel rooms in Hawai`i, but there are more than plenty rooms with a Hawaiian theme!
Just gotta look.

[DavidThi808]

We stayed at Kaanapali this past August and you're right, the rooms could be anywhere. But the view is 100% Hawaii and the lobby was what you find only in tropical places like Hawaii.

The funny thing is, I didn't really think about the room being vanilla until reading this here. As one poster said, you don't spend a lot of time in the room.

- dave