Hawaii: Major facelifts give Starwood’s resorts the aloha spirit

Watch a golden sun sink into a crashing sea while you celebrate the good life in Hawaii with an umbrella drink and an order of shrimp ceviche tacos at RumFire Restaurant at the Sheraton Kauai Resort.

The only thing better than sitting in an oceanfront restaurant sipping a mai tai as you listen to the sound of the surf is spending the night in a newly renovated oceanfront room listening to the lullaby of the waves all night long.

Sheraton Kauai along with the Big Island’s Sheraton Kona are the most recent in a series of Starwood Hotels and Resorts in Hawaii to receive multimillion-dollar makeovers. Each of the Sheratons underwent $16-million facelifts that included new restaurants and redesigned public areas, among other improvements.

See a photo gallery of the refreshed properties.

Starwood’s multiyear improvement plan has resulted in massive renovations at the four iconic Starwood brands: Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis and the Luxury Collection. Earlier rebuilds included the $188-million update of the Sheraton Waikiki, a $165-million enlargement and redesign at the Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas in Kauai, and a $70-million renovation of the landmark Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki.

Less costly renovations have taken place at all of Starwood’s 11 Hawaiian properties, including a $6.5-million update last year at Sheraton Maui, and a $2-million refurbishment earlier this year at Sheraton Princess Kaiulani in Waikiki.

“By reinvesting in our portfolio through renovations and upgrades we are able to maintain the highest standards of quality in product and service,” said Keith Vieira, senior vice president and director of operations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Hawaii and French Polynesia.

At the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay, which completed its renovations last month, the makeover included a new name. The hotel was formerly Sheraton Keauhou Bay.

A new lobby bar, Silversword, greets guests when they enter, and Rays on the Bay, a bar and grill, offers the opportunity to watch manta rays while dining. A rum bar will feature nightly island music entertainment.

At Sheraton Kauai, a refurbished lobby leads to a redesigned ocean courtyard dotted with firepits and an expanded and tiered pool lined with cabanas. The resort’s dining venues also were overhauled. RumFire has a 180-degree unobstructed view of the Pacific, and Lava’s on Poipu Beach, a casual bar and grill, is steps away from the sand.

“We are very proud to introduce an extraordinary new playground to Poipu Beach,” said Chip Bahouth, the resort’s general manager. “Our guests can enjoy a multitude of great ocean activities, plunge into our spectacular new pool as well as dine, relax or connect.”