Coco Palms Resort in Kauai, Hawaii

Although it is no longer open, the Coco Palms Resort, located in Kauai, Hawaii, was once the most popular and famous resort on the island of Kauai. Its downfall came on September 11, 1992, when Hurricane Iniki hit the island. The resort had been booked that day (the guests were safely evacuated), and although it was still a popular destination, it has been shuttered ever since. The Coco Palms is probably most famous for its role in the Elvis Presley movie "Blue Hawaii," where the famed wedding scene was filmed. Other stars, such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and the Japanese royalties, were attracted to this once-beautiful resort.
This area had been long appreciated before Hollywood found its shores. It was the ancestral home of Kauai's royalty since the 13th century. The area that the Coco Palms was situated on was the home of Queen Deborah Kapule, the dynasty's last reigning queen, until the mid-1800s.
The resort opened on January 25, 1953, with 24 rooms, four employees, and two guests. Under the watch of Grace Guslander, the operation grew to 416 rooms by the mid-1970s, but was cut back to 393 by 1984. The resort was then sold to Wailua Associates in 1985.
But it was Guslander who attracted guests with her fanciful stories about the folklore of this area, expanding on the notion of the Hawaiian practice of "akua," or replenishment. The likes of the Von Trapp Family Singers and Duke Kahanamoku (the Olympic swimming champion) came to the resort to plant coconut trees to "replenish" the grove. She also nurtured the story that the fish ponds were once the "royal" fish ponds. The "Call to Feast" torch lighting ceremony was a Coco Palms original, featured in "Blue Hawaii" and copied by other resorts in the area. And the fame that the wedding scene from "Blue Hawaii" brought the Coco Palms saw the resort hold more than 500 weddings annually until 1992.
There have been many recent attempts to refurbish or reuse the Coco Palms, but have failed due to strict zoning guidelines. The most recent attempt was a government-backed plan to turn the area into a park.