THE HILTON WAIKIKI PRINCE KUHIO
SHARING A ROYAL NAME

Sharing our links to Hawaii's royal past means a commitment to quality and standards in keeping with the high expectations that are also part of the Hilton tradition. At the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio that translates into service that blends the spirit of aloha with facilities suited to a royal pedigree.

More than just a name to proud of it, it is a promise of hospitality defined by a gracious and helpful staff, by guestrooms where decor elegantly integrates style and function, and a stay that combines the best of what is traditionally Hawaiian with 21st century standards of convenience and comfort.

From a location equally convenient to Waikiki Beach and its clear, sheltered waters, Kapi'olani Park's quiet, green expanse, Diamond head's iconic presence, and the exciting heart of Waikiki's dining and shopping district, the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio provides a royal welcome in a setting that was once the home to kings, queens, princes and princesses.

Just as we share the story of our links to Hawaii's royal past with you on these pages, we hope to share the promise that this past brings to the present, honoring both the Prince whose name we share the guests for whom we provide a home away from home.

From a check in where the greeting is warm and sincere to services designed to make you feel special, we aim to please, letting the Hilton name and name of Hawaii's last royal Prince inspire and define what the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio is all about.

PRINCE KUHIO
THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

His name was Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Piikooi. Born on March 26, 1871 in a grass hale (house) at Koloa, on the island of kaua'i, he was a newborn of exalted ancestry, one of the last in fact, to survive into the 20th century. The chants sung at his birthing revealed him as a grandson of Kaumuaili'i, last king of the island kingdom of Kauai. Looking a generation or two deeper in his mother's side, he was also descended of ruling chiefs on maui and the island of Hawaii. genealogy counted for everything in Polynesian Hawaii, where chiefly authority was usually determined by ancestry.

Through his mother's line he was also linked to Hawaii's last dynasty, the Kalakauas, with Queen Kapl'olani his mother's sister and Kalakaua his father's first cousin. But the bond would be made more intimate his mother, Princess Kekaulike Kino iki II, died in 1884 when Kuhio was only seven. He and his two brothers, all princes by descent as well as by King Kalakaua's royal decree, were taken in by the childless King and Queen to be trained for service in the Kingdom. In 1883, when King Kalakaua staged an elaborate coronation ceremony on the ninth anniversary of his reign, Prince Kuhio served as ring-bearer in the processional at 'Iolani Palace. In 1887, when Kalakaua set out on a round-the-world tour that would first take him to Japan, he proposed Kuhio as a mate for one of Japan's imperial princesses, an offer politely ignored by the Japanese Emperor.

In 1891, when Kalakaua's sister, Queen Lili' uokalani came to the throne as Hawaii's last monarch, only his brother David and his cousin, the lovely Princess Ka' iulani preceded them in the line of succession to the Hawaiian throne. In fact, all of his royal relative would proceed him in death, leaving him, in 1908 with the passing of his brother David, as the last surviving royal of his generation, the man who would have been Hawaii's king had the monarchy survived.

Ka' lulani was neighbor to her cousins, with Aimahau, her family's Waikiki estate, adjacent to Queen Kapi' olani's large Waikiki home, which she called Pualeilani, or Heavenly Garland of Flowers. Kuhio would inherit the home in 1899 when Kapi'olani died, making it home to his bride, the Kaua i chiefess Kahanu, after they married on Oct. 8, 1895. The Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio is located on what were the grounds of Pualeilani, providing more than superficial links to the property that bears his name. Lili'uokalani, then heir to the throne and also cousin to Kuhio also lived nearby.

childhood on he was well liked. Nick name Prince Cupid when he was just a boy, the name stuck with him throughout his life. He called himself Kuhio or Prince Kalanianaole, a family name he came to use in place of Piikoi. His brother David did the same, adopting Kawanannakoa, as a family name, as his own. Both preferred to identify with the maternal line of descent after the father died in 1880.

A sportsman of ability in everything from boxing to golf, bicycling to lua, the ancient Hawaiian sport of wrestling. After Punahou, the three brothers were sent to board at St. Matthew's Military School in San Mateo School in California. Kuhio and his brother David finished their schooling in England, returning to Hawaii with degrees in business that Kalakaua through most useful.

When Prince Kuhio returned to Hawaii in 1891, Hawaii was in the midst of political and economic turmoil, with mostly non native forces, some citizens of the Kingdom, some foreign born residents, aligning themselves against the monarchy, calling for annexation of the islands by the United States. and while the time was not yet ripe for revolution, that fateful event would occur in mid-January, 1893, when Queen lili'uokalani, on the throne since Kalakaua's death in 1891, was forcibly overthrown, in part with the unauthorized involvement of the United States naval forces. Kuhio, no longer a prince in title, had just turned 20, with prospect for the future very different than they had been

The following year, he would be arrested for involvement in the plot to restore Queen Lili'uokalani to the throne and reassert the primacy of Hawaii's Polynesian past. Filled with righteous indignation and the fervor of youth, Kuhio helped organize what he hoped would be a paramilitary force capable of overpowering the strong, well-equipped forces of the Republic, volunteers called Citizen Rifles who support the Republic's goal of annexation by the United States.

Working with others of like mind, he spearheaded a plan that involved smuggling guns and ammunition to O'ahu that would allow for a surprise attack and a subsequent coup against the newly formed Republic of Hawaii. For a number of reasons, including conflicted planning, failed communications, and advance warnings passes on to the government forces, the coup quickly failed, with Kuhio captured, arrested, and brought to trial along with Queen Lili'nokalani. Both were convicted, with the ex-Queen sent under supervised house arrest in a small suite of rooms on the second floor of Iolani Palace and Prince Kuhio sent to prison, serving two years of a five year term.

Released from prison he and Kahanu departed in 1899 for what proved to be a two year journey that took them from Niagara Falls to South Africa. It was a free-spirited vagabond's journey that gave Kuhio time to disconnect from times that harbored unhappy memories. And while he and Kahanu toyed with the idea of permanently settling overseas, they were ultimately drawn back to their island home, well aware of the world beyond Hawaii's shores.

The experience, form the failure to rally adequate forces to the time spent in prison, tamed Kuhio's revolutionary fervor. Accepting the end of the monarchy as a fait accompli, he would become a key figure in defining the relationship of the United States and it's new territory.
Blessed by a strong will and unwavering commitment to ideals, witty, open-hearted and charismatic, he put these assets into service to the Hawaiian people, taking on the responsibilities that his chiefly descent required of him. In 1902 he would serve the first of 10 elected terms as Hawaii's non voting representative in the United States Congress, serving as a founding member of Hawaii's Republican party, an interesting contrast to his brother David, who was a founder of the territory's Democratic party.

It was an affiliation suited to his perspective and to the times, with Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, a political ally who came to Kuhio's aid more than once to secure legislation he sought, setting the tone for political discourse and government action. Hand-jabbing the sky, with riding boots and hat that matched Roosevelt's Rough Rider persona, Kuhio evolved into a powerful speaker, able to inspire not only his own people, whom he addressed in Hawaiian, but the policy makers in the U.S. government who appreciated his polished English, passionate commitment, and powerful logic.

Kuhio's nineteen years of service representing Hawaii in Congress were more than a matter of cultivating new friendships, although kuhio proved very popular with his Congressional colleagues. Blessed with strong will, a commitment to the well being of the Hawaiian people, he proved invaluable, championing their needs and reconciling their right to cultural integrity with their newly found place as a territory of the United States of America. More often than not, he was able to secure what he was after, using political alliances that went all the way to the White house.

The Hawaiian Home Commission Act that he championed for years, finally secured in July 1921, setting aside nearly 200,000 acres to allow Native Hawaiians to return to the land as productive farmers or ranchers, an effort Kuhio considered crucial to the survival of his people, with land leased for 99 years at a rate of $1 per year, with loans also to be made available at modest interest rates.

"The Hawaiian race is passing," he noted. "And if conditions continue to exist as they do today, this splendid race of people, my people, will pass from the face of the earth."

"Do not leave it possible for any Hawaiian to say that either politically or economically, he was better off under the old monarchy, then he may be today under the American flag," he said, concluding an earlier request for funds from a reluctant Congress.

Kuhio also pursued forwarding funding for projects he considered important to the islands, with harbor improvements, lighthouses, and developing faculties at Pearl Harbor consistent with America's expansion as a world power, all early initiatives that helped modernize Hawaii's economic infrastructure. In 1911, he proposed a national park be created that would include vast expanses of volcanic lands. That effort proved successful in 1916, with Hawaii National park, later to become Hawaii Volcanoes National park on the island of Hawaii and Haleakala National Park on Maui.

Like the Prince, Princess Kahanu, was a popular and sophisticated in her own right, with a wide circle of friends, she and Kuhio maintained an active social life in Hawaii from Pualeilani, with Kapi'olani's original home replaced by a more contemporary residence. It was here that Kuhio, his health failing, returned to retire after completing the Congressional session for 1921.

he had accomplished much for the benefit of his people, as he would have done had he become Hawaii's king. From bitter opposition, he had come to appreciate the benefits American democracy brought to Hawaii, seeking to assure that the Native Hawaiians, whose extinction he greatly feared, would have a secure future in their island home.

With a few days of celebrating his return to Hawaii, the prince took ill. It soon became obvious that his time was at hand. At home at pualeilani, with princess Kahanu by his side, Prince Cupid died at 51, having dedicated half his life to the cause of his people. A grand funeral followed, with the Prince honored in a grand processional parade that included members of the native and non-native communities. It was to be the last royal funeral in the islands, a reminder of Kuhio's special role in Hawaii's history.

HAWAIIAN LEGACY
IN DAYS OF OLD

The setting alone defined Waikiki as a special place, or wahi pana as the Hawaiians called places possessed of unusual mana, or spiritual energy. Diamond Head, called leahi' by the Hawaiians who saw the brow (lae) of the tuna ('ahi) in it's summit ridgeline, provided an iconic backdrop to a crescent beach that faced tropic hued, reef-sheltered waters. It was only after British sailors saw the glitter of volcanic olivine on Leahi's beaches and slopes that the name Diamond head came into being, the Hawaiians transforming diamond into the Hawaiians word Kaimana.

Before the Hawaiians settled here about a thousand years ago, this stretch of coast had been a wetland fed by water draining the nearby Ko'olau Mountains. It was a place rich in sealife and birds that the Hawaiians reconfigured to suit their needs, making it a place of abundance.

To the west they built large, rock-walled fishponds called loko t'a, where preferred species were grown and harvested for the year-round benefit of the chiefs (ali'i) who came to claim Waikiki as their own, making it a gathering place not only for chiefs from O'ahu, but from other islands as well. To the cast, inland of what is today Kuhio Beach, were lo'i kalo, the elaborately irrigated, rock-walled fields that provided the royals with an abundance of taro, the nutritious staple of the Hawaiian diet.

In Hawaiian times, Waikiki consisted of several districts intercepted by streams, including Uluniu, so named for the large grove (ulu) of palms (niu) that added the rich abundance of coconuts to the chiefly diet. When Captain James Cook came ashore here in 1778, he marveled at the productivity of the land and the industriousness of the Native Hawaiians planted, maintained and harvested it.

Rising in aesthetic perfection over Waikiki and the flatlands inland of the coast, Leahi was a reminder of the gods, it's cratered walls evidence of the goddess Pele, she of the volcanic fires to whom chants were sung and sacred hula danced. in the shadow of Diamond head, these were sacred lands, home to temples dedicated to the gods, where prayers and offerings were made. Papa ena ena, on the lower slope of Diamond Head, overlooking Uluniu's tall palms, human sacrifice was part of the ritual. It was here, in 1795 that the last such ceremonial sacrifice took place, with king Kamehameha offering the defeated Maui chief Kalanikupule in the war-god Kukailimoku's honor

In addition to towering palms, it was at Uluniu that ceremonial makahiki games were held each year. Makahiki, which began in October, continued into January. It was the time when the peaceful god Lono reigned supreme and royal processionals circled the island, collecting taxes, celebrating with feasts, sporting competition, music and dance, and resorting the bond between chiefs and commoners. But times were not always peaceful, and when makahiki drew to an end and the more violent god Ku was restored to primacy, wars would again be fought. In 1795 the beach uluniu was host to war canoes bought to O'ahu by the Big Island chief Kamehameha in what proved a successful conquest of O'ahu.

When the communally owned lands of old Hawai'i were divided in 1848, Ulumiu's prime lands were claimed by royals, whose heirs would include Queen lili uokalani, Queen Kapi olani, and later, Prince Jonah kuhio Kalanianaole.

Rising from trop seas, Waikiki's sandy shoreline was sheltered by a barrier reef from the wave-tossed waters of the open sea. Fish were harvested from the reef-lined shallows as well as the deeper waters offshore, with the beach lined with both the small two-man outrigger canoes used by individual fisherman and the larger canoes used for inter-island travels and in times of war.