On the North Shore, many improvements are moving forward on schedule. The Princeville Hotel closed in September, planning to emerge in July ‘09 as the Princeville St. Regis. The new manager has arrived from Bora Bora and offered previews of this luxurious venture. There is no doubt that the St. Regis will be one of Hawaii’s top destinations. One interesting sidelight was the sell off of hotel inventory. Real shoppers searched through all the “steals” and bought everything from napkins to a grand piano. One buyer purchased the chandelier for his new home in Texas. I do not qualify as a real shopper. Ann and I made a curiosity tour and fled empty handed.

While the hotel is undergoing renovation, both the Ocean and Lakes nines of the Makai golf courses are closed for much needed improvements. The Makai course plans to reopen in late ’09 with a new clubhouse to follow. Meanwhile the Woods and the Prince are open for play.

Celebrity Resorts of Orlando has taken over management of Hanalei Bay Resort. The restaurants were purchased by Celebrity and should reopen early next year. The new Westin Princeville Ocean Resort located at the end of Wylie Road opened and is offering reduced promotional rates. The Westin has a very popular Wine Tasting each Tuesday. Locals and tourists attend, and many stay for dinner. Other new resort developments on the island (Ritz-Carlton at Kauai Lagoons, Koloa Landing, etc.) have temporarily suspended phases of their new building projects.

Kauai survived the loss of Aloha Airlines and ATA. Hawaiian Air put on more flights and Go! is still here and is in the process of acquiring the old Aloha name and emblem. The big news is that Mokulele Airlines formerly a small carrier has partnered with Republic and is flying 70 passenger jets on inter island flights at reduced rates.