Throughout 2015, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is sponsoring events in honor of its 50th anniversary. As the story goes, in 1960 Laurance Rockefeller visited the Kohala Coast in search of a location to develop a luxury hotel (among his other properties were the Grand Teton Lodge, Caneel Bay on St John USVI, and Little Dix Bay.)
Rockefeller’s lease on former Parker Ranch lands included the beach at Kauna’oa Bay, where the iconic Mauna Kea Beach Hotel was built. It opened its doors in July 1965, hence the full week of celebration that just took place.
Iconic Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, seen from the white sands of Kauna’oa Bay (photo: Winston Welborn)
Among the events were tennis and golf tournaments during the daytime hours; along with tours of the art collection. Each evening featured a special dining event with music and dancing. Wednesday evening, it was a Mauna Kea Memories buffet dinner at Manta. Thursday evening attendees rocked to a DJ and made Mauna Kea S’Mores over a firepit.
The main activities took place on Friday, July 24th, with a helicopter dropping 50,000 orchids on the beach at 11 am, followed by a hotel blessing. Regardless of where you were on the Kohala Coast, the whole neighborhood enjoyed the 50th anniversary fireworks on Friday night. The Gala Anniversary dinner that evening featured entertainment by Willie K and Amy Hanaiali’i.
If you are interested in celebrating the 55th birthday as an owner of property at the Mauna Kea Resort, there are condos and residences at a range of price points. The condominiums are mauka (mountain side) of the highway, and are reached through the entrance to the Hapuna Prince Resort.
The most affordable condominium at Mauna Kea is a two-bedroom unit at Kumulani, listed for $849,000 (MLS# 283936).
Ground floor condo with ocean view in Kumulani is the lowest-priced property at Mauna Kea Resort
The most expensive property currently listed at Mauna Kea Resort is a 6,300 sq. ft., 5-bedroom estate in the Bluffs, just released at an asking price of $22,995,000 (MLS# 286261).
This close-to-the-ocean estate within the Bluffs at Mauna Kea is listed for $22,995,000
It’s simple to search for available Mauna Kea Resort properties on the Hawaii Life website. Or contact me if you’d like to be set up for automatic alerts of new listings meeting your criteria.
A hui hou,
Beth Thoma Robinson, R(B), BIC
Direct: 808.443.4588
Email: beth@hawaiilife.com
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