Keauhou hotel
Keauhou hotel
Demise a tragedy
In response to Tony Radmilovch’s letter concerning the Keauhou Beach Hotel: I do not agree with his opinion the hotel is an eyesore, but tastes differ. Twenty years ago, my husband and I honeymooned there. What an experience, looking down at the fish filled lagoon and sleeping on a pier over the water. Nostalgia, yes, but an experience we talk of frequently.
What I do fault him for is his incredible insensitivity towards the employees; 112 people lost their jobs. These are people with families in our community. There are children to be concerned about. And what about middle-aged people who have worked at the hotel for 30 years? This was a family of employees now out of work and displaced. The closure also affects hotel vendors like the laundry company who clean sheets and towels, the food vendors, etc., and what a loss to the community as a whole. The Outrigger Keauhou Beach Hotel offered a place for the Puana Ka ‘Ike (imparting knowledge) monthly lecture series, gave educational tours of the cultural grounds, and offered cultural classes daily; classes in the Hawaiian language, hula, ‘ukulele, chanting, lei making and lauhala history and weaving. These classes were open to the community. What a loss.
What about the area being “restored to the beauty of nature”? Maybe Mr. Radmilovch is so new the island that the eyesore of the hotel next to this one, on land owned by the same entity just to the south, is not in his memory. Lucky him. The boarded up, dilapidated hotel sat for 20 years. The land is still fenced off and definitely not restored to “beauty.”
The Keauhou Beach parcel is landscaped beautifully. What is to become of all these gorgeous plants with no one caring for them? Will the area be fenced off, denying access to the shore and cultural sites?
Have permits even been pulled to remove the buildings? When will it actually come down? This year? Next? Or maybe in 20 years?
The demise of this resort area is a tragedy on so many levels, to the community, to visitors and especially to all the families whose livelihood depended on it.
Shame on Mr. Radmilovch for dismissing the cultural value of the hotel. Shame on Mr. Radmilovch for his inexcusable, insensitivity the employees.
Cindy Whitehawk
Kukuiopa’e