Hotel update

 Airlie Beach ’s beachfront destination, the award winning Coral Sea Resort, is offering a show called “Hawaiian Fire” from December 2, 2006. Hawaiian Fire pays tribute to the cultures of the South Pacific and features fire dancers and hula dancers. The prelude to this display is a seafood buffet at Coral Sea Resort from 7:00 pm. The show will be staged at 8:00 pm each Saturday night from December 2, 2006 onwards and will be open to both in-house guests and members of the public. The total cost for the evening, which includes the Hawaiian Fire Show, a seafood buffet dinner and drinks specials is $79.00 per adult and $39.50 per child.

Hawaii hotels can look forward to a good 2007 if estimates by Hospitality Advisors prove accurate. Occupancy is estimated to be 80% with rates up about 5%, to $195 per night. Room revenue is expected to rise $270 million, to $3.5 billion, yielding a profit of $1.42 billion.

Winner of the 2005 Tourism Queensland Award for Best Deluxe Accommodation, Coral Sea Resort offers ocean front accommodation in a boutique style luxury resort.

For more information or to make a reservation telephone Coral Sea Resort on (07) 4964 1321 or log onto www.coralsearesort.com.

The Four Seasons Resort Lanai, the Lodge of Koele, has reopened after completing a propertywide upgrade, positioning it for its Four Seasons rebranding. All 102 guest rooms have been redone. Further property enhancements include a spa and wellness center, set to open in mid-2008. The rebranding follows the earlier rebranding of the Manele Bay Hotel as the first Four Seasons property on Lanai.

Molokai Ranch is seeking a permit to renovate and reopen the 152-room Kaluakoi Resort on the island’s beach-lined west coast. The property, which opened as the Sheraton Molokai in 1975 and failed to prosper under several other operators, has been closed since 2001. Funding for the renovation would come from the sale of residential lots at another beachfront location, which in the past has drawn some negative response from island residents who oppose large-scale development on the island.

Outrigger Hotels & Resorts is taking over management of the 837-room Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki, effective Jan. 1. The hotel is owned and operated by Honolulu-based HTH Hotels, which also owns and manages the Pagoda and King Kamehameha Kona on the Big Island.

The Hilton Kauai Beach Resort welcomed its first guests on Oct. 28, following an $18 million renovation. The low-rise property sits on 25 beachfront acres, which leads to a largely undeveloped three-mile-long stretch of beach. The Hilton provides free shuttle service to the Lihue airport for guests.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower at Waikiki Beach Walk has attracted 1,500 potential condo buyers, according to a Honolulu Advertiser report. Prices range from $445,000 for a furnished studio to $4.5-million for a three-bedroom penthouse. Work is scheduled to begin on the 462-unit condo-hotel in December, with completion scheduled for mid-2009.

Mariott has revealed a $1 billion development plan for the Kauai Lagoons Resort that will includes a mix of condominiums, time share and single-family homes. The plan will involve realigning a portion of the Kiele Golf Course to make room for the new project, which will include Marriott’s Grand Residences and Ritz-Carlton Club brands. The project is expected to be implemented over several years.

A  major expansion of the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s still rural North Shore has received a tentative go-ahead pending submission of its plans for the property by the end of the year. The expansion, initially approved 20 years ago but only partially implemented, has drawn community resistance based on the potential addition of hundreds of condominium units and thousands of hotel rooms to the resort, which currently includes the 479-room Turtle Bay hotel, several low-rise condominiums and two 18-hole golf courses. Honolulu’s Dept. of Planning and Permitting must give approval before construction can begin.

Maui’s 1,800-acre Makena Resort, owned by Japanese conglomerate Seibu, is on the market. The resort includes two 18-hole golf courses and the Maui Prince Hotel.