Press Kit

Learn everything you need to know in The Kahala Hotel & Resort media kit.

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Press Releases

Browse our news releases, and if you need more information on The Kahala Hotel & Resort, please contact:

Wakako Sasaki
Senior Marketing Manager
+1 (808) 739-8786
wsasaki@kahalaresort.com

Public Relations

For all public relations inquiries please contact kahala@thepointpr.com

In The News

Check out the latest and greatest media buzz on The Kahala.

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Hotel Facts:

Location

The Kahala Hotel & Resort is located on the island of Oahu just ten minutes from Waikiki in the most prestigious residential area known as Kahala. The resort is situated among exotic gardens complete with a waterfall and lagoon which is home to fun-loving Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins, sea turtles and an array of tropical fish. The property sits on a secluded crescent shaped beach overlooking both Diamond Head and Koko Head craters.

Description

The Kahala Hotel & Resort features 338-rooms, panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, Ko’olau Mountain Range, and the quiet tranquility of the resort’s Dolphin Lagoon. The legendary resort was originally built by Conrad Hilton who fashioned it as a secluded, exclusive retreat away from the boom of Waikiki. After it opened in 1964, it was soon embraced by the Hollywood community and became a magnet for celebrities and wealthy world travelers seeking a luxurious and private hideaway. Today, The Kahala Hotel & Resort is still a gathering place for the glitterati. In addition, families, couples and even business travelers have also discovered the virtues of this world-class resort.

Guest Rooms

Our 338 beautiful rooms and sumptuous suites are a study in luxury. Every one is generously proportioned and furnished in a luxury residential style we call Kahala Chic. Glass sliding doors open onto views of the Pacific Ocean, Ko’olau Mountain Range, Diamond Head and Koko Head craters, or the tranquil Dolphin Lagoon.

As one magazine has described, The Kahala’s rooms are “immediately embracing. All the things that make a person feel happy and balanced – light, beauty, cleanliness, order – greet you when you walk into the rooms.” The beds are a study in super comfort, covered in silky smooth luxury linens. Everywhere you turn is a touch of luxe – luxury towels, chenille robes, luxury toiletries, oversized showerheads, state-of-the-art technology with large LCD flat screen televisions, new style coffeemakers and a functional desk with wireless high speed internet connectivity. Prints by early 20th Century French artist Paul Jacoulet and shell designs adorn the rooms’ walls.

Amenities

Full-service Business Center
Concierge services
Limousine transportation
24-hour medical service
Dry cleaning services
Babysitting services
Multi-lingual staff
Room service
Island sightseeing tours
In-room safe
Bedside iHome players
Complimentary newspaper
Complimentary morning coffee service
Complimentary Internet

Dining

Hoku’s – Hoku’s, the resort’s signature restaurant, offers Oahu’s most innovative dining known for it’s contemporary Island Cuisine. Its breathtaking oceanfront setting is enjoyed by every diner thanks to a multi-level layout. Hoku’s (meaning star in Hawaiian) serves dinner and Sunday brunch prepared in an open kitchen, complete with a fresh sushi bar.

Plumeria Beach House – This casual beachside restaurant offers all-day, open-air dining. Sunset entertainment, outdoor grilling, and twilight dinners are also featured.

The Veranda – An elegant open-air lounge with panoramic ocean views. Cocktails, dancing and relaxing by day, sunset or moonlight.

Seaside Grill – Guests enjoy grilled seafood specialties in this alfresco beachfront restaurant.

Arancino at The Kahala – The newest culinary addition is Arancino at The Kahala. This ristorante opened June 18, 2013 and offers Italian cuisine for a la carte lunch and prix fixe dinner daily.

Beach Activities

An 800-foot stretch of ivory, sandy beach borders the resort’s main swimming pool and the new children’s pool. Complete water sports rentals are available including kayaks, rafts, sailboats, skin diving and snorkeling equipment.

Dolphin Lagoon

In the peaceful waters of the resort’s Dolphin Lagoon, home to playful Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins, guests may enjoy an unforgettable experience. The Adult Dolphin Quest Encounter is available for guests ages 11 and older and carefully supervised by expert animal behaviorists. The interactive experience includes shallow water interaction and awesome underwater views of these special mammals. For children, a 2-hour Children’s The Quest program is available for small groups of kids ages five to 10. The educational experience also includes tropical fish, stingrays and turtles. Space for the dolphin encounters is limited and reservations are recommended.

The Kahala Spa

Experience paradise in the luxurious Kahala Spa and indulge in treatments that merge philosophies and techniques from around the world, embracing Hawaiian culture and traditional therapies. A welcome foot ritual precedes every body treatment except the Salt & Oil Scrub. Revitalize your mind and spirit with the signature 180-minute full body treatments that will leave you in a state of meditative repose.

CHI Health Energy Fitness Center

The Kahala Hotel & Resort features the state-of-the-art CHI Health Energy Fitness Center complete with a steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi. Exercise classes and personal trainers are also available.

Shopping

The exclusive shopping arcade features a host of premier boutiques and shops, including an art gallery, sundry shop and full-service beauty salon. Nearby shopping includes Kahala Mall, Royal Hawaiian shopping center and the Waikiki’s popular Ala Moana Center, one of the largest open-air shopping malls in the United States.

Meeting & Event Spaces

Maile Ballroom

Square footage: 5,200 square feet Seating capacity: 400 banquet 320 classroom

Waialae Room

Square footage: 2,700 square feet Seating capacity: 200 banquet 100 classroom Kainoa I and II Meeting

Rooms Square footage: 415 square feet Seating capacity: 24 banquet / 18 U-shape / 24 classroom Kainoa

Board Room Square footage: 221 square feet Seating capacity: 10 conference

Kahala Historical Facts

The groundbreaking of the Kahala was in 1962.

The resort opened in 1964.

The resort cost $12 million to build. Architects were Edward Killingsworth, Jules Brady and Waugh Smith of Long Beach, California. Both Mr. Brady and Mr. Smith were former Honolulu-based architects.

The resort site is 6.5 acres.

The resort used the post-and-beam construction on a grand scale that has since become one of Killingsworth’s hallmarks.

More than 100 coconut palms were planted. 18,000 yards of fine sand were barged from Molokai island to pad the 1800-foot stretch of beach.

The resort opened on January 22, 1964.

Room rates at the newly open Kahala Hilton were at $26 and a night in the Presidential Suite cost $150. Forty years later, in 2007, the room rates start at $395 and the daily rate of Presidential Suite is $4,000.

Two man-made peninsulas were created at each end of the resort beach. They acted as devices to keep costly sand from being lost to tidal action as well as giving a picturesque tropical touch to the sun-soaked vista.

The dolphin lagoon is four feet above sea level.

The waterfall is not only used as a picturesque backdrop but is used to cool the Kahala’s air conditioning system.

The resort was almost named Waialae Hilton but it was changed due to the difficulty in spelling the name. This is the first major resort to have air-conditioning in all the rooms

To this day, the resort has one of the largest deluxe rooms in Hawaii with more than 550 square feet each and his-and-her bathroom vanities and walk-in closets.

There are 28,000 multi-colored pieces of lava glass on the chandeliers

Three acres of Thai-teak parquetry were placed on the hotel’s floors

Baseball great Joe DiMaggio was one of the first guests who dined at the Maile restaurant on opening day.

The first Atlantic bottlenose dolphins to inhabit the lagoon were named Uku, Nihoa and Kui.

They were flown in 4,500 miles from Gulfport, Mississippi.

Entertainer Danny Kaleikini began performing in the Hala Terrace in 1967, signing a five-year contract that would make him a millionaire many times over. His long-staying run at the Kahala would net him a nomination in the Guinness Book of Records.

Every U.S. President from Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush have stayed at the resort since its opening Former Honolulu Advertiser columnist Eddie Sherman referred to the resort as The Ka-hollywood due to the frequent number of celebrities spotted lounging at the pool and restaurants. Star Bulletin writer Ben Wood called the Kahala the bunkhouse of the stars. Author Joan Didion had written in an Esquire magazine piece in which she described the Kahala as the place where Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show guests go to rest.

In the 1970’s, the Maile Restaurant had the only Tibetan wine steward in the world. 

Two penguins came to spend the day as guests of the dolphins on their birthday in 1984, and remained at the resort until 1995.

A beach bar was opened and used as the location for Rick’s Bar in the TV series Magnum P.I. The bar is now a popular wedding venue and has been renamed Kahala O Ke Kai.