StarBulletin.com

Ramada brand returns to Hawaii tourism scene


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POSTED: Tuesday, February 02, 2010

The Holiday Inn Waikiki has been renamed the Ramada Plaza Waikiki, in a return of the Ramada brand to Hawaii and its visitor industry.

“;With the addition of the Ramada Plaza Waikiki to our portfolio, we're able to further strengthen our position in the North American market while providing Honolulu's more than 4 million annual visitors the opportunity to experience the modern comfort and value of the Ramada brand,”; said Mark Young, brand senior vice president, in a statement.

The newly renovated 198-room hotel, owned by China Airlines Ltd. subsidiary Cal-Dynasty International Inc., offers free high-speed wireless Internet access, business and fitness centers, the “;de rigueur”; swimming pool and an American and Chinese buffet restaurant.

Ramada has an opportunity this time 'round to make a longer-lasting impression on the islands.

Its circa-1994 presence at the Ramada Renaissance Ala Moana Hotel was ignored by most local people, who continued to call it the Ala Moana Hotel, as they still do.

Star-Bulletin colleagues vaguely remember a Ramada Inn somewhere around Honolulu Airport, but resident historian Ben Wood was not in the newsroom yesterday to validate the vagaries.

Online, one can find an excerpt of a 1989 article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch referring to the St. Louis University Billikens (athletic team) arriving at the Ramada Inn aboard the Blue Bird bus (no motor coach, apparently) that had been provided for team transportation.

It is probably fair to say two decades later the athletes' stay at the Ramada Inn is not the memory they recall most fondly. Then again, Hawaii's brand is stronger than just about anybody's.

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Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Reach her by e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).