Grand Naniloa Hotel

Grand Naniloa Hotel is a waterfront hotel located on Waiakea Peninsula along Banyan Drive in Hilo, on the eastern side of Hawaii Island, United States. It is described as the largest hotel in Hilo, Hawaii's second-largest city, and has one of the longest continuous histories of hotel operation on the island. The property sits beside Hilo Bay and near Liliuokalani Park and Gardens, in an area known for its mature Hawaiian banyan trees and visitor-oriented facilities. The hotel opened in 1939, following the development of Banyan Drive in the 1930s. Its history has been closely connected with Hilo's changing fortunes. In 1946, the city and surrounding area suffered severe destruction from a tsunami associated with the 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake and related seismic activity. The hotel and the wider community subsequently recovered, allowing the property to remain part of Hilo's visitor economy over the following decades. The property consists of three principal towers named for prominent Big Island volcanoes: Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea. Its facilities include guest accommodations, a swimming pool, waterfront access, dining, and a nine-hole golf course identified as the only golf course in Hilo. The hotel does not directly own the land occupied by the hotel or golf course; instead, those sites are leased from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. The property lease was assumed during the 2013 purchase and was reported at that time to have 58 years remaining, with annual payments of $500,000. Ownership and management have changed several times. The property was initially owned by a local company. In 2013, Honolulu-based Aqua-Aston Hotels and Resorts began managing the hotel, while Tower Development became its owner. Hilton Hotels & Resorts later completed a three-year, approximately $30 million renovation in 2016. Following the renovation, the property operated under Hilton's DoubleTree brand, linking the historic local hotel with a major international hospitality system. A defining element of the hotel's identity is its relationship with hula. The property hosts activities associated with Hilo's annual Merrie Monarch Festival, an event that began in 1963 and developed into a week-long celebration featuring three days of hula competition. A hula school, Hula Halau Ke 'Olu Makani 'O Mauna Loa, regularly practices on the hotel grounds. The hotel has promoted itself as the home of hula, incorporating hula imagery, video of Merrie Monarch performances, and live cultural programming into its public spaces and dining experience. Its poolside Hula Hulas restaurant has been associated with locally sourced food, live music, and hula performances. The Grand Naniloa therefore combines conventional resort and business-hotel functions with a strong place-based identity. Its location, views of Hilo Bay, golf and leisure facilities, historic buildings, and connection to Hawaiian cultural events distinguish it from a standardized lodging property. At the same time, the renovation and DoubleTree affiliation provided contemporary hospitality infrastructure and international brand distribution. The available reference material does not establish a separate current owner, management company, or later rebranding beyond the DoubleTree operating affiliation.

Grand Naniloa Hotel opened in 1939 on Waiakea Peninsula in Hilo, Hawaii. The site is located along Banyan Drive, a roadway developed in the early 1930s and known for its large banyan trees. Its position on Hilo Bay, close to Liliuokalani Park and Gardens, placed the hotel within one of the city's principal visitor districts. The property became a significant lodging establishment for Hilo and is described as having the longest history as a hotel on Hawaii Island. The hotel was operating when Hilo experienced the devastating 1946 tsunami associated with the Aleutian Islands earthquake and other seismic activity. Hilo suffered extensive damage, but the town and the hotel eventually recovered. The property's continued operation reflects the broader rebuilding and redevelopment of Hilo's waterfront and tourism infrastructure after the disaster. Over time, the hotel underwent changes in ownership and management. It was originally owned by a local company. In 2013, Aqua-Aston Hotels and Resorts, based in Honolulu, took over management, while Tower Development became the owner. The transaction also involved the property's ground lease. Unlike an independently owned freehold resort, the hotel and its golf course occupy land leased from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. At the time of the 2013 purchase, the lease reportedly had 58 years remaining and required annual payments of $500,000. The physical property is organized into three towers named after Big Island volcanoes: Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea. Its facilities include hotel rooms, a small swimming pool, waterfront areas, dining, and a nine-hole golf course described as the only golf course in Hilo. Although the hotel sits directly on Hilo Bay, guests must travel to other parts of the area to reach sandy beaches, meaning the property offers waterfront access without functioning as a conventional sand-beach resort. A major modern turning point came with Hilton Hotels & Resorts' renovation program. Hilton completed a three-year renovation in 2016, with the work reported at approximately $30 million. The hotel subsequently operated as a DoubleTree property, giving the historic Hilo establishment an affiliation with Hilton's global hospitality network while retaining its local name and cultural associations. Hula has become a central part of the hotel's public identity. Grand Naniloa Hotel hosts activity connected with Hilo's Merrie Monarch Festival, which began in 1963 and grew into a week-long celebration culminating in three days of hula competition. The hula school Hula Halau Ke 'Olu Makani 'O Mauna Loa regularly practices on the hotel grounds. The property has characterized itself as the home of hula, using photographs by Kim Taylor Reese, video of Merrie Monarch performances, and live cultural programming to emphasize the relationship between the hotel and Hawaiian performing traditions. Its Hula Hulas poolside restaurant is associated with locally sourced dishes, live music, and hula. The available reference material does not provide a complete chronology of later ownership, management, or operating-status changes. It does, however, establish the hotel as an active Hilo lodging property whose identity rests on three overlapping features: its long local history, its waterfront and leisure facilities, and its visible connection to hula and the Merrie Monarch Festival.

• 2016

  Renovation and DoubleTree affiliation

  [1]Grand Naniloa Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Hilton completes a three-year renovation reported at approximately $30 million, and the hotel begins operating as a Hilton DoubleTree property.

• 2013

  Management and ownership transition

  [1]Grand Naniloa Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Aqua-Aston Hotels and Resorts begins managing the property, while Tower Development becomes its owner.

• 1963

  Merrie Monarch Festival begins

  [1]Grand Naniloa Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Hilo's Merrie Monarch Festival begins, later becoming a major annual hula event with which the hotel is associated.

• 1946

  Hilo tsunami and subsequent recovery

  [1]Grand Naniloa Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Hilo is devastated by a tsunami associated with the 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake and related seismic activity; the town and hotel later recover.

• 1939

  Hotel opens on Waiakea Peninsula

  [1]Grand Naniloa Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Grand Naniloa Hotel opens on Hilo's Waiakea Peninsula along Banyan Drive.

A historic Hilo waterfront hotel combining locally rooted Hawaiian cultural programming, especially hula, with renovated full-service hospitality and the distribution and standards associated with Hilton's DoubleTree brand.

• Hotel lodging · 1939

  Guest accommodations

  The hotel's core offering is lodging in a waterfront Hilo property organized into three towers named for Big Island volcanoes: Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea. The accommodations form part of a full-service hotel operation that was renovated by Hilton and subsequently operated under the DoubleTree brand.

• Restaurant and entertainment

  Hula Hulas

  Hula Hulas is the hotel's poolside restaurant and cultural hospitality venue. Reference material associates it with locally sourced dishes, live music, and hula, reinforcing the property's positioning around Hawaiian culture and Hilo's performing-arts traditions.

• Leisure facility

  Nine-hole golf course

  The property includes a nine-hole golf course described in the reference material as the only golf course in Hilo. The course is part of the hotel's broader leisure offering and, like the hotel site, is situated on land leased from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.

• Cultural hospitality · 1963

  Hula and Merrie Monarch programming

  The hotel hosts activity connected with the Merrie Monarch Festival and accommodates regular practice by Hula Halau Ke 'Olu Makani 'O Mauna Loa. Hula imagery, performance video, live music, and cultural events are used to make Hawaiian performing traditions part of the guest experience.

• Home of Hula

  Hilo · Hawaii · United States

  The hotel has presented itself as the home of hula by linking its public spaces, restaurant experience, visual materials, and live programming with Hawaiian hula traditions and the Merrie Monarch Festival.

  Outcome. The positioning strengthens the hotel's connection with Hilo's cultural calendar and differentiates it from a purely standardized lodging property.

  Source

• 2016

  Completion of major renovation and DoubleTree operationGeneration change

  Background

  The historic Hilo property required modernization while retaining its local identity and cultural programming.

  Action taken

  Hilton Hotels & Resorts completed a three-year renovation and operated the property as a Hilton DoubleTree hotel.

  Aftermath

  The renovated hotel combined its established Hilo and hula associations with the standards and distribution of an international hospitality brand.

  Renovation cost. $30 million (Three-year renovation completed in 2016)

  Source

• 2013

  Transfer of ownership and managementM&A

  Background

  The hotel's ownership and management changed as the property continued operating under a ground lease from Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources.

  Action taken

  Tower Development became the owner, and Aqua-Aston Hotels and Resorts of Honolulu began managing the hotel.

  Aftermath

  The property continued as a locally situated Hilo hotel and later entered a Hilton renovation and branding program.

  Annual ground-lease payment. $500,000 per year (Reported at the time of the 2013 purchase; the lease reportedly had 58 years remaining)

  Source

1. 1Grand Naniloa Hotelen.wikipedia.org