Assorted News From 2 Hawaiian Hotels

One major Hawaiian hotel has filed for bankruptcy protection while another has reopened after an 18-month restoration.

On Maui, the 194-room Kapalua Bay Hotel sought Chapter 11 protection after a year of financial difficulties.

KBH Operations Limited Partnership, owner and operator of the hotel that opened in 1978 as Maui’s first luxury resort, said operations will not be affected by the filing. In a statement, the company said the filing will allow the property to get additional funding while seeking to reorganize.

Meanwhile, on the Big Island of Hawaii, the 310-room Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, which closed in July, 1994, has reopened after a $30-million face-lift that included refurbishing of rooms, renovation of the plumbing and air conditioning systems and bringing the hotel up to the standards of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Some things, however, have stayed the same at the resort that was built by Laurance S. Rockefeller and opened in 1965. The new floor in the lobby is the same shade of blue as the original and the new exterior paint is the same color first selected by Rockefeller. And there are some changes. While the old Mauna Kea did not have televisions in guest rooms--to buffer them from the outside world, according to a hotel statement--TVs with cable hookups are now available upon request.