WAIKOLOA BEACH — After nearly 15 months, the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort &Spa renovation is nearly completed.
Of the 555 original guestrooms, 295 have been renovated and 246 converted into 112 Marriott Vacation Club one- and two-bedroom suites. Another 10,000 square feet, previously meeting space, was converted into a sales gallery for the new product.
Guests first checked into the new Vacation Club suites May 5, and renovated guestrooms June 15.
“It’s a combined, mixed-use facility,” General Manager Steve Yannarell said. “It’s demand driven on what people want. We had too many hotel rooms on the coast, and a growing demand for our Vacation Club-type offerings.”
Other upgrades in the multi-million dollar renovation included Maui-built tiki panels added at the porte cochere for a new look and feel upon arrival, a lobby garden with native plants and lava rocks, upgrades to Paniolo Terrace and a new front desk that Vacation Club members and hotel guests share for check in.
Standard hotel guestrooms were completely overhauled.
Officials couldn’t confirm a final renovation cost by deadline.
“We renovated basically all of it — brand new carpet, drapes, artwork and lamps,” said John Dominguez, the resort’s director of sales and marketing. “Quite a bit of work was done on the bathrooms, with identical flooring added from the hallway to match the bathroom, new vanities and backlit mirrors. All king rooms now have walk-in showers with barn glass sliding doors. We also incorporated a barn door that’s dual purpose for the bathroom and closet.”
The remaining guestrooms at the 15.7-acre beachfront resort will be part of a renovated 20-unit, two-story Cabana Wing. With full ocean views from the top floors, they are still in the design stage and will be available to the public when completed, according to Yannarell. The opening date is still to be determined.
“They will be a hotel within a hotel,” he said.
Room rates fluctuate depending on the time of year, according to Dominguez. As of Thursday, the standard rate for the renovated guestrooms began at $237 for this Friday, as listed on the Marriott website.
Guestroom conversions appear to be a trend along the Kohala Coast. In addition to Waikoloa Beach Marriott, Hilton Waikoloa Village — the largest hotel on the Big Island with 1,243 rooms — announced last week they were closing one quarter of the guestrooms in the Ocean Tower for the first phase of a new Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare conversion project.
The Marriott Vacation Club, a points-based program, has more than 50 destinations around the world currently in the system. Because Hawaii is such a popular destination, the addition of the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort &Spa to the list could be a hit.
“Some of what we’ve done (in the renovation) was done to ensure we satisfy our new customer on the timeshare side,” Yannarell said.
A lobby level restaurant called Aka Ula Lanai — meaning Red Sunset — is expected to open in August, as the last component of the hotel renovation, with the exception of the Cabana Wing. It will serve specialty coffees, pastries and grab-and-go food during the day, and a farm-to-table menu at dinner.
“It revitalizes our lobby area,” Dominguez said. “We’ll have live music, start a torch-lighting ceremony and it gives an area for our guests to enjoy the beautiful sunsets we have here in Waikoloa.”
Overseen by longtime Executive Chef Jayson Kanekoa, the new menu will focus on smaller plates served pupu style, and ingredients such as locally farmed boutique lettuce and tomatoes, and locally made boutique ice cream.
“It will differ from our prior outlet,” Dominguez said. “They will be local dishes with our chef’s twist.”
“It’s a Big Island-to-table concept,” Yannarell added. “Every dish will have some component that will feature a Big Island product. We also have a custom cocktail menu that we’re currently working on and designing that will be featured here.”
Renovation of the resort’s three-meal restaurant, Hawaii Calls, is near completion with new flooring and furniture being added currently. The Paniolo Ballrooms are also being freshened up.
Looney &Associates, a Dallas-based interior design company, was hired for the current renovation. The last major renovation was in 2007.
As the first hotel built at Waikoloa Beach Resort, which opened in 1981, the then-Sheraton Royal Waikoloan was operated jointly with a local company, Royal Resorts. In June 1999, the hotel closed for a $25 million renovation and reopened in October of that year as the Outrigger Waikoloa Beach.
In 2002, Outrigger signed a franchise agreement with Marriott, rebranding the Outrigger Waikoloa Beach as the Waikoloa Beach Marriott. Four year later the Mandara Spa was added, and the property was renamed Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort &Spa.
Silverwest Hotel Partners acquired ownership of Waikoloa Beach Marriott in 2015 from an affiliate of Blackstone on behalf of SMG I Hotel Waikoloa LLC in a joint venture with Mariner Real Estate Management and an affiliate of Global Endowment Management (GEM).
