Welcome to The Kahala's
50th Anniversary Home Site

The Kahala celebrates its Golden Jubilee on Wednesday, January 22nd 2014.

At 12 noon on the same day in 1964, the legend that has inspired so many, opened its doors and since that Wednesday 50 years ago, the resort has welcomed guests from all over the world seeking a special place of aloha. Some of these guests have been generous with their memories of The Kahala and we take this opportunity to thank them for sharing these with us and you. Please join us as we travel down Memory Lane and hopefully, you will share your special moment of The Kahala with us as well. Mahalo nui loa for your support as we continue the promise.

Kahala
Milestones

The 2010s
The 2000s
The 1990s
The 1980s
The 1970s
The 1960s
The 1950s
The 1940s
The 1900s
The 1880s
The 1860s

2010

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton holds important diplomatic meetings with the Japanese Foreign Minister at The Kahala.

2010

New hit TV series remake of Hawaii Five-0 debuts on national TV. The Kahala is again a location site for filming and frequent stays by guest stars of the show.

2012

The Very Right Reverend Desmond Tutu stays at The Kahala

2011

Kahala hosts attendees at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting coming from the Sultanate of Brunei and the countries of Vietnam and Russia. The Sultan of Brunei and the President of Vietnam stay at The Kahala. Secretary of State Clinton meets with the President of Vietnam at the hotel.

2012

The Kahala hosts first-ever James Beard Foundation Dinner establishing a scholarship for Kapiolani Community College’s Culinary Arts Program

2012

Sir Elton John is once again Kahala guest for his Honolulu concert.

2012

His Holiness The Dalai Lama stays at The Kahala during major peace Summit

2012

The Veranda remodeling is completed with sleek new Tommy Bahamas Royal Kahala furnishings and an updated menu.

2013

Sony Open returns to The Kahala with 144 of the world’s best professional golfers, since 1999 they have raised more than $11 million for local non-profits

2013

New Napoli-style Italian eatery, Arancino at The Kahala, opens.

2013

The Kahala launches its Golden Jubilee Celebrations program in the Fall. Stories about the hotel are included in the nightly turndown, 60s menus and cocktail lists are developed. Makana starts the anniversary countdown with Sunday shows featuring a Hawaiian music tribute to the 60s.

2014

The Kahala celebrates its 50th anniversary on Wednesday, January 22, 2014.

2009

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou

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Julius Shulman Photography

As part of its 50th Anniversary Golden Jubilee Celebrations, The Kahala Hotel & Resort has received the rights from the Getty Museum in Los Angeles to include in its commemorative publications a selection of photographs by famed photographer Julius Shulman shot in the year the legendary hotel opened - 1964.

Among Julius Shulman’s clients was the firm of Killingsworth, Brady, and Sutter of Long Beach, the principal architects of The Kahala. His 1964 images of the new luxury hotel are symbols of the allure of sleek, leisurely modern living and brave new architecture and design that swept the region after World War II. Shulman was the perfect choice to showcase The Kahala’s modernism and its ideals of structural purity and outdoor living bringing it to the attention of an international audience. He spread California Mid-century modern architecture around the world. He published and exhibited widely, which helped create a new appreciation for the movement beginning in the 1990s. His photographs turned modernist buildings into works of art.

Over his lifetime, Julius Shulman created a huge body of work, an archive of 260,000 images, which now resides at The Getty Museum in Los Angeles. In 2005-2006, Getty Research Institute premiered an exhibition of Shulman’s prints entitled, Julius Shulman, Modernity and the Metropolis. Shulman’s life and work was also the subject of documentaries. One of these was Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman directed by Eric Brinker and narrated by Kahala guest Dustin Hoffman.

Filename: gri_2004_r_10_b302_f01_012.tif Creator(s): Killingsworth, Brady and Associates and Shulman, Julius Title/Date: Killingsworth, Brady and Associates, Kahala Hilton (Honolulu, Hawaii), 1964 Collection Title: Julius Shulman Photography Archive Credit Line: © J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission. Julius Shulman Photography Archive, Research Library at the Getty Research Institute (2004.R.10) Copyright Notice: © J. Paul Getty Trust

Wall of Fame

Dignitaries & Heads of State

  • Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako
  • Prince Hitachi and Princess Hanako
  • Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko
  • King Leopold III and Princess Liliane
  • King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia
  • Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
  • The Sultan of Brunei
  • Indira Gandhi
  • The Dalai Lama
  • Prince Rainier and Princess Grace
  • Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
  • Prince Charles and Princess Diana
Emperor Akihito & Empress Michiko
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Princess & Prince of Wales

Actors & Directors

  • Adam Sandler
  • Alec Baldwin
  • Alexander Skarsgard
  • Anthony Hopkins
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger
  • Bill Maher
  • Cameron Diaz
  • Carol Burnett
  • Chong Tommy
  • Christian Slater
  • Christina Ricci
  • Dane Cook
  • Daniel Dae Kim
  • David Spade
  • Debbie Reynolds
  • Dick Wolf
  • Dominic Monaghan
  • Drew Barrymore
  • Elizabeth Taylor
  • Gary Marshall
  • George Clooney
  • George Eads
  • George Segal
  • George Takei
  • Ian Somerhalder
  • Jaclyn Smith
  • James Gandolfini
  • Jeff Bridges
  • Jeremy Piven
  • Jodie Foster
  • John Heder
  • John Travolta
  • Josh Holloway
  • Kate Beckinsale
  • Kelly Preston
  • Kevin James
  • Liam Neeson
  • Mario Cantone
  • Mathew Fox
  • Maya Rudolph
  • Mekhi Phifer
  • Michael Caine
  • Naveen Andrews
  • Paul Thomas Anderson
  • Pauly Shore
  • Peter Berg
  • Pierce Brosnan
  • Jeffery Katzenberg
  • RichardDreyfuss
  • Richard "Cheech" Marin
  • Rob Marshall
  • Rebecca De Mornay
  • RichardDreyfuss
  • Richard "Cheech" Marin
  • Rob Marshall
  • Rob Schneider
  • Robin Williams
  • Rosanne Barr
  • Sharon Stone
  • Steven Seagal
  • Tatum O'Neal
  • Valerie Bertinelli
  • Vanessa Hudgens
  • Wanda Sykes
  • William Shatner
  • Zac Efron

Business, Culinary, Fashion, Entertainers & Athletes

  • "Dick" Duncan Ebersol
  • Jeffery Katzenberg
  • Anthony "Tony" Bourdain
  • Emeril Lagasse
  • Bertelli Patrizio
  • Brooklyn Decker
  • Heidi Klum
  • Nicky Hilton
  • Loree Rodkin
  • Conan O'Brien
  • David Copperfield
  • Jennifer Hawkins
  • Montel Williams
  • Rush Limbaugh
  • Sidney Poitier
  • Ty Pennington
  • Andy Roddick
  • Derrick Rose
  • Dwight Howard
  • Hideki Okajima
  • Ichiro Suzuki
  • Lewis Hamilton
  • Pat Riley
  • Ray Lewis
  • Reggie Miller
  • Tara Lipinski
  • Tony Chi
Tom Selleck
Dan Aykroyd & Donna Dixon
Steve Martin
Alec Baldwin

Musicians

  • 50 Cent
  • Aerosmith
  • Ashley Simpson
  • Barry Manilow
  • Beyoncé
  • Billie Joe Armstrong
  • Bon Jovi
  • Brandon Flowers
  • Celine Dion
  • Chad Kroeger
  • Cher
  • Common
  • Danny Kaleikini
  • Dr. Dre
  • Elton John
  • Eminem
  • Faith Hill
  • Ghost Face Killah
  • Gloria Estefan
  • Godsmack
  • Goo Goo Dolls
  • Gwen Stefani
  • Herb Albert
  • James Bowen
  • James Taylor
  • Jay-Z
  • Jimmy Buffet
  • Julio Iglesias
  • Justin Timberlake
  • Kanye West
  • Kelly Rowland
  • Kenny G
  • Kirk Hammett
  • Lauren Hill
  • Lee-Ann Rimes
  • Mariah Carey
  • Maynard Keenan
  • Michelle Willams
  • Mick Jagger
  • My Chemical Romance
  • Neal Schon
  • Nicole Scherzinger
  • No Doubt 
  • Ozzy Osbourne
  • Pat Benetar
  • Phyllis McGuire
  • Phyllis McGuire
  • Rhianna
  • Seal
  • T.I.
  • Timbaland
  • Political
  • Dato’ Sri NAJIB RAZAK 
  • Feleti Sevele
  • Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
  • Hillary Clinton
  • John Key
  • Princess Nouf Soud
  • Rohy & First Lady Moo-hyun
  • Stephen Breyer
  • Ying-jeou Ma
Faith Hill
Rod Stewart
Dr. Dre
Dolly Parton

Down Memory Lane

 

The following publications are available to view online and feature stories on Kahala's fascinating history, legendary guests, and the hotel that could only happen once.

Neil & Leba Sedaka and Family

We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to The Kahala Hotel & Resort on their Golden Jubilee.

Neil & Leba Sedaka

See more memories and photos on The Kahala Blog

I send many clients to The Kahala. I always say to them it is close enough to the action or far enough...it is up to you.

Amit Holckner

See more memories and photos on The Kahala Blog

Amit Holckner
The Borick, Mizel and Pollak Families

The Borick, Mizel and Pollak Families spend their holidays at The Kahala.

See more memories and photos on The Kahala Blog

Sheldon & Helaine Wolk - Returning guests since 1966

Helaine Wolk 1966
Sheldon Wolk 1966

 See more memories and photos on The Kahala Blog

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By sharing your stories and photographs you grant The Kahala Hotel & Resort, a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to edit and publish and assert that you created the original images and understand information published on our websites and related social media is publicly visible. Complete form or email directly to kahala50th@kahalaresort.com