Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Iniki, which destroyed homes and tore Kauai neighborhoods apart.
Since then, most of the island has recovered. But, a historic and world famous landmark remains in disrepair.
The World Famous Coco Palms
For decades Coco Palms on Kauai was known as one of Elvis Presley’s favorite places to stay in Hawaii and he wasn’t alone.
"We just decided one time to come here cause we heard about Coco Palms before and so my husband and I decided to come one time and we’d been back ever since for 13 years," said Patti Mah, who is visiting Kauai from California.
Originally the home of Kauai’s last reigning queen, then a private residence in the 1900′s, Coco Palms resort was built by Lyle and Grace Guslander in 1953.
"And Mrs. Guslander was so gracious as well. In fact, I even hosted some of the parties for her at night when they had the tour," added Mah.
Famous for its beach front location, coconut groves and featured in the movie Blue Hawaii, Coco Palms was a major visitor attraction in the 60′s and 70′s with over 400 hotel rooms.
"I remember it in the glory times, when it was really nice and it was one of the more popular places for everyone to stay," said Mah.
On September 11 1992 Hurricane Iniki ravaged the island of Kauai leaving much of the Garden Isle looking like a war zone. The resort was severely damaged making it too costly to fix.
"We were driving by quite a bit and I thought oh so sad," shared Mah.
After Iniki
Twenty years have passed and the resort remains closed with obvious scars from the storm.
"I think it should be fixed. It shouldn’t be left like what it is right now and, in short, it’s kind of an eyesore," said Rolly Liberato of Lihue.
Over the years, the property has been bought and sold at least three times yet nothing has been done.
"From what I heard, they are having development issues. I think the county is holding back on having developers take over," added Liberato.
But what some people don’t know is along the mauka side of the property, where the Coconut Grove still exists, that is owned by the state. On the makai side of the property, where Coco Palms Resort used to be, that’s privately owned.
"I don’t know, whatever they do with it they gotta get rid of it," said Miles Kawamoto, Lihue resident.
"I was hoping maybe they would restore it to the old old Coco Palms but evidently not," added Mah.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
