Great Book On The History Of The Coco Palms Hotel

Picked this up in Kauai on a recent trip.....370 pages loaded with photos. Have not had a chance to read it yet, except for the tidbit about the involvement of Lyle Wheeler (South Pacific art director and Aloha Jhoe's owner). He was one of the archetect-designers for the Island Holidays Plantation Hotel in Hanalei. I recommend it just for the pix.

That book was written by my Uncle David!!!!!! He was born and raised in Kauai... he's written a few books loosely based on his experiences growing up on the Islands, but The Story of the Coco Palms Hotel is his first published non-fiction work. Cool to see a TCer bought it!!!

Way to keep the legacy alive, Kahaka

Any ideas how to get it? It's unavailable on Amazon in the UK. I have a couple of close friends who got wed there ... it'd make a super gift for them.

[ Edited by: 54 house of bamboo 2008-02-28 05:02 ]

Very cool that your Uncle wrote that book Kahaka. What other books has he written? I got my copy at the Lihue museum gift shop and later saw it in another shop. It was printed in Hawaii. 54....he thanks Borders Books, so you might try their website otherwise this place has a lot of Hawaiian books including this one....

http://www.booklineshawaii.com/book/bhh/414799.html

Seeing that book and reading what Jeff Berry wrote about Grace Guslander in Sippin' Safari really makes one realize how much many of our favorite Polynesian Paradises were tied to the work and presence of unique individuals...almost to the degree that bringing them back might seem futile.

Just checked out the newly 'revised' edition at Borders the other day.
What a great book!

I recently read this book "cover to cover" and really enjoyed it. I honeymooned in Kauai in 1987 and could have stayed at the Coco Palms but chose the Sheridan Princeville instead. How foolish was I back then! Now that I'm into Poly Pop I really enjoyed turning the clock back a few decades and living the history of the Coco Palms, in great detail. After having read this book I feel like an old-timer who was there for every ceremonial palm tree planting! The stories of the antics of the staff and celebrities that stayed there was very entertaining. Grace had quite an imagination but I can see how it would make for a very engaging experience.

We had planned to stay here for part of our honeymoon way back when ... we have the book though, and it's a great read ... hopefully they can find new owners that will be respectful of the history of the hotel and the desires of the local community.

Aloha

I can't imagine why no investors have realized this opportunity?
It picturesque location and storied history seems like the sky's the limit on the investment return.

Excellent photos of Coco Palms:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=29331&forum=2&hilite=coco%20palms