Honolulu Hotel Closes Rooms, Investigates Mold

The Hilton Hawaiian Village resort in Honolulu has closed rooms at one of its new hotel towers after discovering mold.

All 453 guest rooms at the Kalia Tower, which opened last year, remained closed as of last week while Hilton investigated the cause of the problem and developed a plan to solve it, a spokeswoman said. A health spa, a cafe and the Bishop Museum in the tower remained open. Kalia Tower guests were relocated to other areas of the resort, which has about 3,000 rooms.

Officials said one employee had reported a rash possibly caused by the mold. The possible toxic effects of molds have recently become controversial, with homeowners maintaining that molds in their homes made them ill and seeking claims against their insurance.