Moana Hotel Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Moana Hotel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Moana Hotel entrance
Location	Honolulu
Built	1901; 124 years ago (1901)
Architect	Oliver G. Traphagen
Architectural style	Hawaiian Gothic
NRHP reference No.	72000417
Added to NRHP	August 7, 1972

The Moana Hotel is a very old and famous hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii. It's located in the popular Waikiki area. It opened in 1901 and was the very first hotel built in Waikiki! Today, it's part of a bigger resort called Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa. It's also listed as a historic place in the United States.

History of the Moana Hotel
The Famous Banyan Tree
Hotel Stories and Famous Guests
- Rich and Famous Visitors
Gallery
See also

History of the Moana Hotel

Building the First Waikiki Hotel

A rich landowner named Walter Chamberlain Peacock wanted to build a fancy resort in Waikiki. This area of Honolulu wasn't very popular for hotels back then. So, in 1896, he started the Moana Hotel Company.

He worked with an architect named Oliver G. Traphagen. The hotel cost $150,000 to build, which was a lot of money at the time! The Lucas Brothers contractors finished the hotel in 1901. Building the Moana Hotel was the start of tourism in Waikiki. It was the first big hotel among many small houses. In the Hawaiian language, moana means open sea or ocean.

Hotel Design and Features

The Moana's design was inspired by European styles that were popular back then. It had fancy Ionic columns and detailed woodwork. The hotel had a grand entrance for cars on the street side. It also had wide lānais (balconies) facing the ocean.

Some of the 75 guest rooms even had telephones and bathrooms. This was very unusual for hotels at that time! The hotel also had a billiard room, a saloon, a main parlor, and a library. Mr. Peacock even put in the first electric-powered elevator in Hawaii. This elevator is still used today!

The original hotel had extra-wide hallways. This was to make it easy to move large steamer trunks. It also had high ceilings and windows that opened for air. This helped keep the rooms cool before air conditioning existed.

Early Years and Ownership Changes

The Moana Hotel officially opened on March 11, 1901. The first guests were a group called the Shriners. They paid $1.50 per night for their rooms. Walter Peacock didn't have much success with the hotel. So, he sold it on May 2, 1905.

A well-known businessman named Alexander Young bought the hotel. He owned other hotels too. After Young passed away in 1910, his company ran the hotel. But during the Great Depression, his company went bankrupt. In 1932, the Matson Navigation Company bought the hotel for $1.6 million.

Growing and Changing Over Time

The Moana Hotel became more popular as tourism in Hawaii grew. In 1918, two more floors were added to the hotel. They also added concrete wings on each side. These wings were built in an Italian Renaissance style. This made the hotel look like an "H" shape, which you can still see today.

In the 1930s, the hotel was known as the Moana-Seaside Hotel & Bungalows. The bungalows were extra buildings. They were built across the street from the main hotel. This land used to be the home of Princess Kaʻiulani.

The hotel's look changed a bit over the years. It had some "updates" in the 1930s with Art Deco style. Then, in the 1950s, it got some Bauhaus style changes.

From 1935 to 1975, a famous live radio show called Hawaii Calls was broadcast from the Moana's courtyard. People say that listeners thought the static on the radio was the sound of waves. So, the host told his sound man to go record real waves! This sound then became a regular part of the show.

In 1952, Matson built a new hotel next to the Moana. It was called the SurfRider Hotel. In 1953, Matson tore down the Moana's bungalows across the street. Two years later, they opened the new Princess Kaiulani Hotel there. Matson sold all their Waikiki hotels to Sheraton Hotels and Resorts in 1959.

Sheraton sold the Moana and the SurfRider to a Japanese businessman named Kenji Osano in 1963. But Sheraton still managed the hotels. In 1969, a tall new hotel was built next to the Moana. It was named the Surfrider Hotel. The older SurfRider Hotel became part of the Moana. It was called the Diamond Head Wing.

Becoming the Moana Surfrider

In 1989, the Moana Hotel had a big makeover. It cost $50 million! The goal was to make the hotel look like it did in 1901. The 1969 Sheraton Surfrider Hotel and the 1952 SurfRider Hotel buildings were joined with the original Moana Hotel. They all became one big beachfront resort. It was named the Sheraton Moana Surfrider.

The new resort had 793 rooms, including 46 suites. It also had a swimming pool, three restaurants, and a beach bar. The hotel has won many awards for its history and beauty. The oldest part of the hotel, the Banyan Wing, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The hotel was also a base for about 24 White House staff members. They came with President Barack Obama when he visited Hawaii for Christmas.

In 2007, the company that managed the Moana changed its name. It went from Sheraton Hotels and Resorts to Westin Hotels & Resorts. So, the hotel's name became Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa. The original 1901 part is now called the Historic Banyan Wing. The 1952 SurfRider building is the Diamond Wing. And the 1969 Surfrider building is now the Tower Wing.

The Famous Banyan Tree

In the middle of the Moana Surfrider's courtyard, there is a very large banyan tree. This Indian banyan tree was planted in 1904. It was planted by Jared Smith, who worked for the Department of Agriculture. When it was planted, the tree was about seven feet tall and seven years old.

Today, this amazing tree is 75 feet tall! Its branches spread out 150 feet across the courtyard. In 1979, this historic tree was one of the first to be put on Hawaii's Rare and Exceptional Tree List. It has also been chosen as a Hawaii Millennium Landmark Tree. This means it's one of the most important historic trees in the state.

Hotel Stories and Famous Guests

Rich and Famous Visitors

As soon as the Moana Hotel opened, many tourists from the United States came to stay. The most famous guest arrived in 1920. This was the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VIII. He loved the Moana Hotel property. He especially liked the private pier, where he often dove into the ocean.

In August 1922, the famous author Agatha Christie and her husband stayed at the hotel for a holiday. They were traveling around the world. They were promoting a big exhibition that was going to happen in England in 1924.