This vintage postcard of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii shows it in its opening days in the early 1900s. Notice the mountains behind and the lack of sky scrapers that are seen behind the hotel today. This postcard shows the hotel with all that it offers in vacationing fun and relaxation.
The Royal Hawaiian Hotel first opened in 1927 as a glamorous vacation spot for the rich and famous with a black-tie gala opening event. It has been said that this hotel brought tourism to Hawaiian as it became known as “The Pink Palace of the Pacific.”
The Matson Navigation Company built the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in order to offer wealthy visitors to Hawaii transport on their ships and a luxurious stay in their hotels. This was one of several hotels owned by Matson on the Hawaiian islands.
The cost of building the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in 1926-27 was $4 million and it took a year and half to complete. It had 400 rooms and was designed in a Spanish/Moorish style also with an art deco style of the 1920s.
In 2008, the hotel was closed and completely renovated, opening again in 2009 as one of the Starwood Hotels. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel is listed as one of the Historic Hotels of America bye the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Today it is still a popular hotel for visitors to Hawaiian.