User:Prigsbee/Mauna Lani

Mauna Lani is a 3200 acre resort on the island of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. The resort currently includes two hotels, a number of condominium and home developments, a shopping center, two golf courses, and historic areas.

Location
Mauna Lani is located in South Kohala on the west side of the island of Hawaii, in the area commonly known as the Kohala Coast. The entrance to the resort is located approximately 23 miles north of Kona International Airport.

History
The Mauna Lani area rests on an ancient ‘ili, or land section, known through the centuries as Kalahuipua’a. It was a place where Kings would come for recreation and elders would gather for worship.

Subsequently the area was owned by the Woods family, descendants of John Palmer Parker. Parker founded the Parker Ranch.

In the 1930s Francis H. I'i Brown, a sportsman, golfer, and socialite with royal Hawaiian lineage, began acquiring the property, completing the acquisition in 1936. Brown refurbished the fishponds and the Eva Parker Woods cottage.

Brown sold the property in 1972 to the Mauna Lani Resort, Inc, a joint venture by the Japanese Tokyu Group and Mitsubishi Group. This group began development of the resort.

Development
Mauna Lani resort is primarily a tourist resort. Key facilities and developments include the following.

The Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows was the first hotel built on the resort, opening in 1983. The bungalows, a set of 5 ultra-luxurious units featuring private pools and butler service, were built in 19xx. The hotel has a number of salt water pools in and around the grounds, and starting in 1989 has been raising and releasing green sea turtles, currently an endangered species.

A second hotel, now the Fairmont Orchid at Mauna Lani, opened in 19xx. It was originally the xxx.

A variety of condominium and private home developments have opened over the years. The first was the Mauna Lani Terraces, located near the fishponds next to the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel. This was followed by Mauna Lani Point, the Islands at Mauna Lani, and a number of other developments. These units are privately owned, with many owners offering rentals to tourists and other visitors.

A small shopping center, the Shops at Mauna Lani, was opened in 200x.

Recreation facilities include two golf courses (called the North and South courses), the Mauna Lani Spa, a large tennis facility, and a number of walking and biking trails. Ocean activities of all sorts are available, with several swimming beaches accessible throughout the resort.

The resort prides itself on the maintenance of various historical parks in the resort. These include the fishpond reserve, consisting of 15 acres of ponds near the ocean that were historically used for what today is called aquaculture. Gates between the ponds and the ocean allowed small fish to enter the fishponds, where they found protection and food. Over time, the fish would grow too large to return to the ocean, allowing them to be caught and eaten by residents.

The Puako Petroglyph Preserve is accessible in the northern end of the development, with a small walking trail from the Holoholokai Beach Park. And walking trails allow visitors to see a prehistoric fishing village and caves used for protection from wind and rain.

A more recent historical landmark is the Eva Parker Woods cottage.

Golf Courses
The Mauna Lani resort currently has two 18-hole golf courses - the North and the South. Originally the resort had a single 18-hole golf course, designed by Homer Flint and Raymond Cain and opened in 1981. When the additional 18 holes were built and completed in 1991, by the design firm of Nelson, Wright and Haworth, the original holes were split up and incorporated into the two courses. The "signature hole" is the 15th hole on the South course, played over the ocean.

Mauna Lani hosted the Senior Skins Game for 11 years, beginning in 1990, with Arnold Palmer winning the inaugural event.