Travelbeat Inside Information Update: February 13, 2008 NOT JUST ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING (So has his hotel) by David Ellis Just as stage announcer Al Dvorin boomed for years into his microphone “ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building” to disperse the throngs hoping for one last encore, an Hawaii resort that The King made as equally famous as himself, has now itself “left the building.” And remarkably while its just as famous today as it was when Presley put it on the map 47-years ago, few can explain why - not a guest has stayed in the derelict joint since 1992. This seemingly paradoxical place is the Coco Palms Resort on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, a time-warp 1950s retreat that’s been slated for a $200-million-plus make-over for years. But after continually fragile relations with the bureaucracy and community-interest groups - and as the last straw, the U.S. subprime lending crisis - that make-over’s now off, and the resort’s up for sale. And heart-breakingly, the most-recent owners bought it for $12-million just a couple of years ago, and then poured a few more millions into plans for 200 luxury condominiums, a hundred or so hotel rooms, restaurants, shops and a spa, all in Polynesian-style reminiscent of how the resort originally looked - but all to no avail. Coco Palms opened in January 1953 with just 24 rooms, four employees, and two guests. But over the years it developed into a sprawling near-400 rooms amid a 2,000-tree coconut grove, that contrary to the publicity hype was not a one-time plaything of the Hawaiian royal family who ruled Kauai from the 13th-century to the mid-1800s. Rather, the grove was developed in 1896 by a planter who simply brought in a shipload of coconuts from Samoa; when the Coco Palms Resort opened 50-odd years later amid all these, its managers encouraged famous guests to plant additional coconuts that were marked with plaques sporting their names: The Von Trapp Family Singers, Bing Crosby, surfer Duke Kahanamoku and the Prince and Princess of Japan being amongst the earliest to take up the offer. The resort was also the first in Hawaii to have a doorman welcome new guests with a blast from a conch shell, and to summon diners with a flaming ceremonial 'Call to Feast' flare-lighting at 7:30 every evening – a ritual played-out nightly for 40-years until the place was trashed by Hurricane Iniki in September 1992 and closed. Both the conch-shell greeting and 'Call to Feast' featured in one of Elvis Presley’s most famous movies, Blue Hawaii in which he starred with Joan Blackman and Angela Lansbury, and which made the Coco Palms Resort a household name world-wide. Before that, Hollywood had used the resort to film parts of South Pacific, Pagan Love Song, TV’s Fantasy Island, and Miss Sadie Thompson with Rita Hayworth, afterwards donating the Wedding Chapel used in that movie to the resort… which dusted it off in 1961 for use again in Blue Hawaii. Presley and his co-stars had their own thatch bungalows at the Coco Palms Resort, and cast and crew dined well and inexpensively. Except for The King, who adopted his own bizarre meal rituals, eschewing such delights as Mandarin Duck Soup (in those days, just 40-cents), Char-roasted Prime Rib ($4) and Coconut Honey Sundae (a mere 50-cents) for daily breakfasts of toasted bacon and egg sandwiches, burgers and fries for both lunch and dinner – and in-between, fill-me-up peanut butter and banana sandwiches that he ordered be deep-fried. While Coco Palms Resort has been closed since Hurricane Iniki in 1992, it’s still possible to pay a visit – and even to get married there. A tour company on Kauai, Hawaii Movie Tours includes a look at the Resort’s coconut grove, the remains of Presley’s thatch cottage, and the so-called lagoon over which Presley and Blackman were transported by barge as he crooned The Hawaiian Wedding Song. A replica of the Wedding Barge is used today by popular Kauai entertainer Larry Rivera for Chapel in the Palms Weddings; couples can be transported on the barge to be married in the Chapel or amongst the palms, with Champers, cake, conch-blowers and of course, music from Blue Hawaii. (David Ellis Associates) (Photo: David Ellis) Back to Front Page