Kona Surf opening
moved to next year

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Star-Bulletin

The reopening date for the former Kona Surf Resort on the Big Island has been pushed back to the first half of next year, now that a lease has finally been reached.

The property's buyer, Koa Hotel LLC, had announced plans in late 2001 to purchase the shuttered Kona Surf and spend $40 million in renovations, pending a lease agreement with landowner Kamehameha Schools. The hotel was previously expected to open by this year.

Once it does reopen, the hotel will be renamed the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort, and will be managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawaii as a four-diamond property. Koa Hotel bought the property out of foreclosure for $18 million from Japan-based Otaka Inc., which paid $20 million for it in 1986.

Otaka, facing heavy losses since 1991, closed the 530-room hotel in June 2000, and laid off 216 workers. The reopening of the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort will create 230 long-term jobs, Starwood said.