From Primedia Publications

Sheraton Moana Surfrider
Honolulu, Hawaii

By Sue Miller

From the banyan court of the Moana Hotel overlooking bee-you-tiful Waikiki Beach, it’s . . . HAWAII CALLS!” proclaimed radio announcer Webley Edwards, broadcasting the tropical island’s siren call to the U.S. mainland from 1935 to 1975.

When it opened in 1901, the Moana was the first hotel on Waikiki Beach, the tallest building in Honolulu and the first in the territory with up-to-the-minute amenities. The owners were the first to use radio to promote tourism to the islands. Known as “The First Lady of Waikiki,” the Sheraton Moana Surfrider is the only Hawaiian member of Historic Hotels of America.

In 1896 Waikiki was a quiet community with the homes of Hawaiian royalty and wealthy residents dotting its shoreline. The lack of suitable guest accommodations on the beach inspired businessman Walter C. Peacock and a group of investors to propose building a hotel. Designed in the Beaux Arts style by Minnesotan Oliver G. Traphagen, the four-story Moana Hotel (using the Hawaiian name for the balmy sea it fronted) opened March 11, 1901, at a cost of $150,000. The price for one of the hotel’s 75 rooms was an outrageous $1.50 a night—but the Moana set Hawaii’s tourism machine in motion.

Traphagen adapted the hotel’s architecture to the climate of the islands, inviting the trade winds into its open lobby, verandas, porches and courtyard. Built entirely of wood with an Ionic-columned porte-cochère, the Moana had a sweeping veranda overlooking the Pacific, a 300-foot wooden pier with a bandstand, a romantic dining room complete with dance floor extending over the ocean and on the top floor a roof garden with a panoramic view of Honolulu. Innovations included bathrooms and telephones in each room and the first electric elevator in the territory. Drawn to the hotel’s luxury, notable guests included humorist Will Rogers, aviatrix Amelia Earhart, president’s daughter Alice Roosevelt Longworth and, more recently, Britain’s Prince Charles.

Two wings added in 1918 increased the room count to 275 and formed a courtyard around a historic banyan tree planted in 1885. Today, the banyan towers to an impressive 75 feet while its branches spread out more than twice that distance.

Over the years the Moana changed hands and fell victim to renovations. A $50 million restoration in 1987 took the hotel back to its early glory, duplicating the 1901 architecture and replicating those features that could not be restored.

Today, owner Kyo-ya Company, Ltd. honors the history of the hotel and islands with entertaining displays in the second floor Historical Room and in cases made of koa (acacia) wood and glass in the hotel’s public spaces. You can examine a formal invitation to a dance at the Moana on September 22, 1941, hosted by the officers of the USS Arizona. The card’s owner, Mary Meyer of Honolulu, attended the dance and later donated the invitation to the Moana, noting that her dance partner was among those killed when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Other displays include an antique sofa from the summer palace of King Kalakaua, a silver cigarette case belonging to W.C. Peacock, rare copies of Hawaiian sheet music, hand-tinted postcards, wool bathing suits, steamer trunks, snapshots of famous guests and a christening gown worn by the first baby born in the hotel.

Guests of Sheraton hotels on Waikiki are also invited to a free walking tour of the area every Wednesday morning. Historically costumed interpreters re-create Hawaiian monarchs and sugar barons, taro farmers and beach boys, famous literary figures and notables who once walked the sands of this famous beach. Says Senior Vice President John Brogan, “This is not a history lesson but a memorable ‘living history’ experience. After they’ve walked through our past, they’ll see Waikiki with new eyes.”

With 793 guest rooms including 44 suites, valet service, 24-hour room service, valet parking, four restaurants and four lounges, “The First Lady of Waikiki” combines history, elegance and “bee-you-tiful Waikiki Beach.”

Sheraton Moana Surfrider
2365 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815
(808) 922-3111