Celebrity Retreat Reopens After Year

The Kahala Hilton Hotel, once dubbed “KaHollywood” for its celebrity guest list, reopens this weekend as the new Kahala Mandarin Oriental, after a yearlong, $75-million face-lift.

Secluded in a posh neighborhood 10 minutes’ drive from Waikiki, the hotel (pictured left) has long been the refuge of choice for royalty, heads of state, film stars, and other luminaries visiting Hawaii. Every U.S. president since Richard Nixon has slept in its presidential suite.

In recent years, the hotel, which opened in 1964, had begun to show its age. The Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group bought a 40% stake in the hotel in February, 1995, closed it and began extensive renovations. The majority owner is Kahala Royal Inc. of Tokyo.

The new owners have completely revamped the 370-room property, but returning guests can expect to see familiar faces: 90% of the former employees are returning, along with the hotel’s well-known performing dolphins.

Bordering the exclusive Waialae Country Club and a white sandy beach, the hotel is able to offer guest-privacy, but a location close to the action in Honolulu. It has welcomed a veritable Who’s Who of entertainment stars, from Lucille Ball to Steven Spielberg, and Joe DiMaggio to Luciano Pavarotti. Stevie Wonder was given permission to swim in the hotel’s lagoon with the dolphins.

The hotel also has been the preferred playground for royals from Queen Elizabeth to Emperor Hirohito. Prince Charles and Princess Diana, in happier times, once booked 100 rooms for their stay.

Rates range from $260 a night for a garden-view deluxe to $2,950 for the presidential suite.