KAILUA-KONA — The Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel will become The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort next year after Mauna Kea Resort LLC signed a franchise agreement with Westin Hotels &Resorts. ADVERTISING KAILUA-KONA — The Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel will become The
KAILUA-KONA — The Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel will become The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort next year after Mauna Kea Resort LLC signed a franchise agreement with Westin Hotels &Resorts.
The move will bring with it a $46 million renovation and the hotel will remain a part of Prince Resorts Hawaii, according to a news release from Mauna Kea Resort.
The hotel, located south of Kawaihae, will officially begin carrying the Westin brand in February 2018, but will begin participating in SPG, or Starwood Preferred Guest — a loyalty program by Marriott International — as early as next month.
A website outlining the changes planned at the hotel said renovations will target the main lobby, dining rooms, guest rooms and will also include the addition of a new pool.
“We anticipate the majority of public area work to be complete by late January 2018 and guest rooms by February 2018,” states the site.
That site also includes preview renderings of the plans for the hotel.
The announcement isn’t the first time the hotel and Westin have partnered together.
In 1995, the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel and Mauna Kea Beach Hotel entered into a sales and marketing agreement with Westin Hotels and Resorts to boost Mauna Kea Resorts’ market share, according to news files from the time.
The Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel first opened in 1994 as the second phase of Laurence S. Rockefeller’s Mauna Kea Resort. The hotel shares more than 1,800 acres of oceanfront with the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, the island’s first resort built by Rockefeller in 1965.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel underwent a $150 million renovation of its own about a decade ago after a 2006 earthquake caused major structural damage, prompting safety concerns.
The two hotels are operated by Prince Resorts Hawaii, which also runs Prince Waikiki and Golf Club on Oahu.
A representative from Marriott International, whose brands include Westin, did not respond to a request for more details and a spokesperson for Mauna Kea Resort was out of the office on Wednesday.
