New owner to begin renovating Coconut Beach Resort
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Boutique hotel operator Presidio Hotel Group LLC of California earlier this week completed its purchase of the Kaua'i Coconut Beach Resort from Pleasant Travel Service, and expects to begin renovation of the 312-room hotel next month.
Presidio paid about $8 million for the leasehold hotel, on 10.5 acres amid a coconut grove in Waipouli. As part of the deal, Presidio also paid landowner Niu Pia Farms $1.4 million for a restructured lease through 2044, according to property records.
Ned DeLorme, a Presidio partner, said the company expects to hire virtually all of the hotel's 185 employees, and anticipates spending just under $5 million to improve the property, which is generally considered in disrepair.
Upon completion of the work, done in phases while the hotel remains open, the property will be managed under the brand Courtyard by Marriott.
Scott Gomes, a partner and senior vice president with real-estate firm CB Richard Ellis Hawaii Inc., which represented Pleasant Travel and helped Presidio restructure the lease, said the Marriott affiliation and renovation should turn around declining business and help revitalize the area.
"Marriott, through their brands, attracts a much stronger economic base of guests than anything else around there," Gomes said. "The result of this should be more affluent customers that in general have more spendable dollars."
The Coconut Beach would be the first Courtyard-branded hotel in Hawai'i. Alexander & Baldwin Inc. plans to build a roughly 140-room hotel in Kahului, Maui, that would also be managed as a Courtyard — a moderate-priced brand aimed at business and leisure travelers.
The Coconut Beach was one of three hotels owned by California-based Pleasant Travel, parent company of the state's largest wholesale tour operator, Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays. Pleasant Travel still owns the Royal Lahaina Resort and the Royal Kona Resort.
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
