Waikiki's Pink Palace remodels ahead of its 100th birthday

The Royal Hawaiian, Waikiki's pink Spanish-Moorish landmark, is being remodelled ahead of its 100th birthday in February 2027. Work began while the hotel stayed open, with sections closing in stages rather than the whole property at once. The renovation is on track to finish in time for the centenary.

The pink stucco is staying. The hotel has confirmed there are no plans to drop the façade that gave it the nickname "Pink Palace of the Pacific." What is changing runs through the rooms, the lobby and the public areas, which are being lightened with new fabrics and furnishings.

The historic wing, the original six-storey building, holds 349 rooms and suites. When the work is done those rooms will carry custom-carved furniture, dining tables for two, and new bathrooms with glass shower doors and fresh vanities. The original wooden doors carved with the Hawaii state seal stay put.

According to the hotel, each guest room nods to the golden age of travel, with styling elements that recall vintage steamer trunks and furnishings whose curves echo the lines of the building itself. The Mailani Tower, which opened in 1969, is getting the fullest treatment.

All 179 rooms in the tower, including 11 suites, are being completely redone. Every one of them faces the ocean and opens onto a private lanai. The property as a whole is part of Marriott's Honolulu collection, which means the stays are bookable with Bonvoy points.

The hotel opened in 1927 and was among the earliest major resorts on Waikiki, following its older sister, the Moana Surfrider, which dates to 1901. It is on a prime stretch of the beach and has drawn guests for generations, first as a retreat and now as a Bonvoy redemption.

A Historic Gallery opened late last year in partnership with Matson Archives, filled with artefacts from the 1920s, including pieces from the original grand opening gala. The hotel now runs historic tours of that space twice a week.

The anniversary itself brings a series of commemorations. The hotel has announced a special Royal Hawaiian Ahaaina Luau, the opening of a time capsule, and a run of parties. Tickets for those events go on sale on 21 October, the first firm date travellers can act on.

A fourth female general manager

Nicole Okuna, the general manager, framed the centenary as more than a renovation. In a statement she described it as a once-in-a-generation milestone and an opportunity to celebrate the hotel's heritage while honouring the stories that shaped it and creating new memories for future generations.

Okuna is the fourth woman to lead the resort, a detail the hotel has highlighted as the property marks a century. Her tenure arrives as the Pink Palace moves from full property towards its birthday celebrations early next year.

The stage work means guests checking in now will find part of the hotel under wraps while another part is already finished. That is the price of keeping a landmark open through a rebuild, and it mirrors the approach we have seen at other storied properties.

When we reported on the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade in Lisbon, the remodelled rooms and suites were unveiled in the same incremental way, with the hotel trading disruption for continuity. The Royal Hawaiian is making the same bargain, though at a grander scale.

The difference here is the deadline. Few renovations carry a birthday as the fixed point, and fewer still can date themselves to a single year of construction in 1927.

What the anniversary includes

The centenary schedule announced so far centres on three things: the Ahaaina Luau, the time capsule, and the parties.

For anyone planning around the grand reopening, the completion window sits early next year, before the birthday itself. The hotel has said only that work will be done in time for the celebration, not precisely when the last section returns to service.

What remains unchanged is what made the Pink Palace a landmark in the first place: the pink stucco, the original carved doors, and the open, ocean-facing rooms that have been drawing guests for nearly a hundred years. The renovations modernise without erasing them.

The reopened property will greet its centenary with a refreshed historic wing, a full tower, and a gallery telling the story of its 1920s opening.

Support the content you love — it’s free 🎉

Add Luxa Terra as a preferred source on Google. Our stories will be more likely to appear in Google’s Top Stories. It’s free and supports our team. Thank you!

Add as preferred source

You can remove us any time in Google’s source preferences.

Sources

1. The Points Guy Waikiki's iconic 'Pink Palace' is getting a major makeover for its 100th birthday

This briefing is published daily using an AI-powered system crafted by Luxa Terra’s team and finely tuned to meet our editorial standards. While we continuously test and review the output, mistakes can sometimes happen. Tell us if you spot one.

Images: thepointsguy.com; The Points Guy