Hotels In Maui Hawaii - A History of the Lahaina Inn

The History of Lahaina Inn

The structure that houses Lahaina Inn was originally built in 1938 by Tomezo Masuda for his Maui Trading Company, Ltd., a general merchandise store. The store was a popular gathering place for Army men stationed on Maui during World War II, and became legendary for Masuda's black German Shepherd named "Dickie," who set out on his own each afternoon to the Lahaina Post Office to fetch the store's mail.

In 1949, Masuda sold his business to the Tabata family. When their business failed in the early 1960's, the building was bought at public auction by George Izaki. Mr. Izaki sub-divided the street level store into four separate business spaces, changed the second floor into a hotel, and added porches the length of the hotel, front and back on the second floor. Disaster struck in the mid 1960's with a fire that destroyed the business spaces and the upstairs rooms. Only the original "frontier storefront" facade escaped serious damage. Reconstruction yielded 19 new rooms and three baths on the second floor which ultimately became known as the Lahainaluna Hotel.

By the 1970's the Lahainaluna Hotel had decayed to an eyesore with a rowdy bar on the ground level. Then, in 1986, it was rescued by Rick Ralston who had a passion for collecting, restoring and refurbishing things from the past. Rather than demolish the old building and start over, Rick chose to retore it. He envisioned a turn-of-the-century inn filled with treasures from his extensive antique collection.

The restoration proved grueling. For more than 24 months the structure was closed while the complex details of a period restoration were determined through comprehensive research. The floors were reinforced; all electrical wiring and plumbing replaced; a balustrade taken from an old mansion was incorportated into the lobby stairs. The original 19 rooms became 12 rooms, individually decorated in period styles, with private baths, more windows and private lanais. Modern conveniences were added including central air conditioning and telephones. Ralston renamed his newly restored "labor of love" the Lahaina Hotel which was completed in December of 1989. Finally, in 1994 the Lahaina Hotel became Lahaina Inn - historic and romantic hotel.

Home History of the Inn Rooms at the Inn Cottages & Condos Room Rates Specials! Book Now! Email Us Maui Links "Best Value Hotel On Maui" - Travel & Leisure "One of the Best Country Inns" - Glamour Magazine "One of the Worlds Best Places to Stay" - Conde Nast Traveler "One of the Most Romantic Country Inns" - American Historic Inns	The History of Lahaina Inn The structure that houses Lahaina Inn was originally built in 1938 by Tomezo Masuda for his Maui Trading Company, Ltd., a general merchandise store. The store was a popular gathering place for Army men stationed on Maui during World War II, and became legendary for Masuda's black German Shepherd named "Dickie," who set out on his own each afternoon to the Lahaina Post Office to fetch the store's mail. In 1949, Masuda sold his business to the Tabata family. When their business failed in the early 1960's, the building was bought at public auction by George Izaki. Mr. Izaki sub-divided the street level store into four separate business spaces, changed the second floor into a hotel, and added porches the length of the hotel, front and back on the second floor. Disaster struck in the mid 1960's with a fire that destroyed the business spaces and the upstairs rooms. Only the original "frontier storefront" facade escaped serious damage. Reconstruction yielded 19 new rooms and three baths on the second floor which ultimately became known as the Lahainaluna Hotel. By the 1970's the Lahainaluna Hotel had decayed to an eyesore with a rowdy bar on the ground level. Then, in 1986, it was rescued by Rick Ralston who had a passion for collecting, restoring and refurbishing things from the past. Rather than demolish the old building and start over, Rick chose to retore it. He envisioned a turn-of-the-century inn filled with treasures from his extensive antique collection. The restoration proved grueling. For more than 24 months the structure was closed while the complex details of a period restoration were determined through comprehensive research. The floors were reinforced; all electrical wiring and plumbing replaced; a balustrade taken from an old mansion was incorportated into the lobby stairs. The original 19 rooms became 12 rooms, individually decorated in period styles, with private baths, more windows and private lanais. Modern conveniences were added including central air conditioning and telephones. Ralston renamed his newly restored "labor of love" the Lahaina Hotel which was completed in December of 1989. Finally, in 1994 the Lahaina Hotel became Lahaina Inn - historic and romantic hotel.	Single-click the image to enlarge it; double-click to make it small again.