POIPU — The telephones were occupied at the front desk and the clerk had to wait to find the whereabouts of Ike Cockett, general manager of the Koloa Landing Resort and Spa in Poipu on Friday afternoon. It was a
POIPU — The telephones were occupied at the front desk and the clerk had to wait to find the whereabouts of Ike Cockett, general manager of the Koloa Landing Resort and Spa in Poipu on Friday afternoon. It was a busy day.
“We’re at 98 percent occupancy,” Cockett said. “This morning we just dedicated Building 7, which will get its first occupants within the hour.”
The dedication was a small one, but officially marked the addition of 52 studio and one-bedroom to the resort management firm. This brings the total offering to 306 rooms, consisting of studios and 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom units.
Cockett said there are more units coming online by the end of the year.
Building 8 with an additional 52 rooms is scheduled to be ready Aug. 15, and Buildings 10 and 11 with a combined 104 rooms are scheduled to be completed by the end of December.
December promises to be an exciting month for Koloa Landing because the resort also will be opening its 355,000-gallon swimming pool, a 130-seat restaurant, and a 12,000-square-foot banquet facility, which is capable of handling a wedding reception for up to 360 people.
“If people need a meeting hall, this banquet facility can handle up to 1,000 people for just meetings,” Cockett said. “At that time, Marriott will be taking over with the resort becoming one of its Autograph Series properties.”
“The restaurant will have Sam Choy as the consulting chef and should be ready as early as December,” Cockett added. “The pool will feature cabanas, a slide and a swim-through, walk-through grotto.”
Sally Halm, sales and marketing director, said the resort offers a new lifestyle for the contemporary traveler looking for accommodations with a touch of home.
Each of the units offers a washer and dryer, and the rooms are spacious. Studio units, many featuring connecting doors to one-bedroom units for families traveling with children, are 478-square-feet.
“These are what other resorts label ‘junior suites,’” Halm said. “They come with king-sized beds with a queen pull-out.”
One-bedroom units are 825-square-feet and feature a separate soaking tub in the bathroom side. Two-bedroom units are 1,600-square-feet, three-bedrooms are 2,200-square-feet, and four-bedroom penthouse suites are 3,600-square-feet.
“When completed, this property will be wholly self-contained,” Cockett said. “For those who want to be immersed in the experience, they don’t have to leave the place because we’ll have everything, including the restaurant, banquet facility and Marketplace. For those who want to explore the island, this is a great place to return to. This place has something for everyone.”
Cockett said all of the progress at the Koloa Landing is due to Bill Child of Salt Lake City, the property owner.
“Building started in 2007, just before the economic crash,” Cockett said. “In 2008, the economy crashed and a lot of the projects stopped. But Bill had the financial fortitude to keep moving forward, and now, while other projects are trying to get restarted, we’re finishing.”
“This is exciting,” Cockett added. “We currently have 55 employees, and by the end of the year, we’ll have a projected 275 employees. We’re growing, and the benefit to the community is having more people working.”
Info: www.koloalandingresort.com
