Ko Olina Resort facts for kids

Ko Olina Resort is a large vacation and living area on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. It's about 17 miles (27 km) west of Honolulu. This special community covers 642-acre (2.60 km²) of land.

Ko Olina has 2 miles (3.2 km) of beautiful coastline. You can find three natural lagoons and four man-made ones here. All of them have lovely white-sand beaches. This area is home to several resorts and vacation clubs. These include Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa and Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club. There are also luxury villas and homes for people to live in or visit.

Many fun events happen at Ko Olina Resort. These include the LPGA Lotte Championship, which is a golf tournament. There's also the Ko Olina Children's Film & Music Festival. Another popular event is the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival. It's a place where many famous people like to visit.

Ko Olina's Population

Ko Olina is a small community. In 2020, about 1,999 people lived there. This number comes from the U.S. Decennial Census.

Ko Olina's Rich History

Ko Olina has a long and important history in Hawaii. It was once part of a royal land area. This land stretched from Pearl Harbor to the Waianae Mountains.

A Royal Retreat

This area was a sacred place for Hawaiian chiefs. They used it for rest and relaxation. Famous Hawaiian royalty, like King Kamehameha the Great and Queen Ka’ahumanu, visited often. They enjoyed bathing in the calm waters of the coves. They also fished and took part in religious ceremonies. Hawaii's last queen, Lili’uokalani, also came to Ko Olina to relax.

Developing the Land

In the late 1800s, a businessman named James Campbell helped develop this area. He bought a lot of dry land. Then, he drilled water wells to irrigate it. This allowed him to build a sugar-cane plantation.

Later, in the 1930s, Campbell's daughter, Alice Kamokilaikawai Campbell, moved to the secluded shore. She called her property Lanikuhonua. This means "where heaven meets earth" in Hawaiian. During World War II, she let soldiers and sailors use her property as a place to relax.

Modern Development of Ko Olina

In the mid-1980s, developers bought the Ko Olina Resort property. They built four man-made lagoons, a marina, and a golf course. They also put in all the necessary infrastructure.

After some financial challenges, development paused. In 1998, a new developer, Jeffrey Stone, and his partners bought the property. They started to bring it back to life.

Since then, they have added two vacation resorts. These include Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club and Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa. They also built luxury homes and condominiums. A full-service marina was added, too. There are now two shopping and dining areas. You can also find four wedding chapels and an activity center. About half of the 642-acre resort is now developed.

Shopping and Dining at Ko Olina

Ko Olina Station and Center are shopping areas. Ko Olina Station opened in 2009. Ko Olina Center opened in 2010. It even has a second floor for offices. These centers offer shops, restaurants, and other services. They are located across from the Aulani resort.

Together, these centers have about 56,000 square feet (5,200 m²) of retail and office space. They have many different stores and restaurants. The design of the centers was inspired by the old Oahu Railway and Land Company tracks nearby. These tracks used to carry goods and people to the North Shore of Oahu.

Images for kids

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  Panoramic view of Ko Olina lagoon 1, "Koholā" ("humpback whale"), located behind Disney's Aulani resort