For Old Kauai

In Jerry Hulse’s article, “A New Look for Old Kauai” (June 29), he mentioned that he couldn’t recall any big hotels in 1960 other than Coco Palms and Kauai Surf. The Hanalei Plantation in 1962 was not a big hotel but they did accommodate a sizable amount of guests who wanted a romantic and peaceful getaway.

Hanalei Plantation was an important part of James Michener’s “Hawaii” (it really existed), and was also the location for “South Pacific,” the movie. It had been a working pineapple plantation; the planter’s home was still on the grounds.

Alas, it is no longer there, as we discovered on our return to Kauai in 1981. It had irreverently been replaced by condos (what else?) and golf courses and tennis courts and a hotel. In fact, the whole island had gone from endemic to commercial. Gone were the acres of red soil, the pineapple fields, the small towns. To my Easterner’s eye, Kauai as it was in 1962 was a dream come true.

BEA DUCHOWNY

Sherman Oaks