Coco Palms Tours

For an urban explorer photographer this place is phenomenal. I cant believe how big it is. Every year I hear how some hotel chain is going to tear it down and start over. The location has so much history with tons of movie stars staying here.
Coco Palms Resort was a resort hotel in Wailuā, Kauai, Hawaii. The resort was visited by numerous movie stars and was also the scene of Elvis Presley’s film Blue Hawaii. The resort has been closed since being hit by Hurricane Iniki in 1992. It is scheduled to be restored and reopened as a Hyatt resort in 2017. (we will see) When I first visited in 2013 they were saying that was the year it was going to start renovations, still nothing.
On January 25, 1953, the resort opened with only twenty-​four rooms. However, the resort would expand greatly in the 1970s to around 400 rooms. This made Coco Palms the premier resort hotel on Kauai. The secluded island of Kauai and its ripeness in film making brought famous people like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, royalty of Japan, and countless other celebrated personalities to the resort.

I enjoyed listening to Bob’s history on the Coco Palms, but when we went into the back area with bungalows we were overwhelmed by mosquitoes. Bob seem immune to their bite and was oblivious to everybody’s jumping around and swatting them selves. Finally my wife and I couldn’t take it any more. We fled the tour. We found a hole in the fence and used it to made our way back to the car. If you go on the tour be sure to bring bug spray, wear long selves shirts, long pants, regular shoes, and hat. Also get some «neembalm» for the bites you are still going to get.

Its been a while since Coco Palms but I cannot recommend this tour highly enough. Bob is a knowledgeable tour guide and to hear the history of Coco Palms is just amazing. Not to mention the movies that were made here, the celebrities and movie stars who stayed here, the characters around the hotel, the owners. Kauai Island history.

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Bob Kauai Jasper today. It is as if time has stood still since Iniki struck. $ 20 and 2 hours later we’d been treated to personal stories from Bob, movie trivia and more. We look forward to seeing how the new owners following through with their vision to bring the property back to its original state, and hope to visit some day. I would come prepared to do some standing as Bob tells his stories, bring water too! There are no facilities so sip sparingly. The premises are in a sad state of disrepair, but there is a lot of history here.

Coco Palms has always been a dream of mine. To visit, to stay, to enjoy. So when we visited in May 2013, we had to take a tour of the infamous hotel to get a taste of what it was like in its glory days. It is absolutely beautiful! The grounds are what you’d imagine from a tropical local, lush flora and fauna. The tour with Bob Jasper was wonderful. Tons of information on the history of the hotel, on its famous guests, and owners. You are taken throughout the grounds to visit Elvis’ bungalow and various filming spots. And if your lucky, you may get to see those clam shell sinks. The price is just right for this tour done by a man the whole heartedly loves the place. Go. Enjoy. And imagine the glory days.

I did this tour on Elvis’ birthday, which was pretty special for me! But Bob, the tour guide, made this one of my favorite vacation tours ever. His true love of the place was more than evident, and I loved hearing the tales of its past glory and what is hopefully in store in the future. I can’t wait for the place to be restored, but in the meantime, Bob has so much knowledge not only of the hotel, but of the land you are standing on and the history of Hawaii, as this place is much more than just a ruined hotel waiting for its second life, but also hallowed ground of Kauai. And yes, bring bug spray!

I LOVE this tour and Bob Jasper is an incredible host! I have been on the tour twice with different friends and we all loved it. Bob’s knowledge of the history of the place is immense and I have yet to ask him a question he doesn’t know the answer to.
There is so much history on Kauai and Bob does such a good job of making it come alive. I felt like I was going to turn around and see Elvis at any minute. Take this tour! You will not be disappointed!

I wish I could give this tour a good review but it was the worst 40 bucks we spent on the island. I will say Bob had a bottle of mosquito repellent which saved the whole group from severe blood loss. The grounds are basically an overgrown jungle and the lagoon is a dirty pond full of debris from the burned out building. Some of the things Bob said: «Look at those twisted up pieces of fiberglass in the pond, those used to be part of a conch shell on the wall of the building.» «Over there in the jungle used to be this and used to be that.». «Elvis got tossed in a pool that used to be over there, but there is not even a hole there now.». Anyway, bring your imagination you will need it. To top it off the gate is locked behind you after you go in so you are a captive audience. Fortunately for us some of the workers clearing out the burned out buildings were leaving so we got out before the end of the tour. Before the fire and while they were still clearing the jungle it was a good tour. Now I think it better to skip it and buy yourself some suds! Lastly, watch out for the asbestos hanging down from the ceilings. On Oahu you would never be able to get a permit to take tourists into such a hazard. And yes, you do have to sign a release of liability when you pay your cash which goes straight into the pocket.

Best $ 20 ever spent. If you love history or buildings then check this 2 hour tour out. It was on a whim, so glad we met BOB and learned so many facts. Thanks for the time and education. Hope everything works and it’s restored/​rebuilt!!! Fyi. Bring bug spray and wear long pants and sleeves. We did get eaten alive from mosquitos.

After years of visiting Kauai and driving by this ghost-​town like hotel which apparently was «THE» resort on Kauai in it’s heyday (50’s-70’s), I finally got to venture beyond the locked gates. Tours of the grounds and many of the buildings are now being given. I feel fortunate that I got to take an up close peak into history and enjoyed 2 hours of wonderful stories not only about what the resort was like at it’s peak, but about the many movies filmed there. The guide, Bob Jasper is a fount of knowledge on this beautiful old resort and shares his experiences of being a guest at the resort as well as lots of history and trivia about the place. The property (which is amazingly large) felt as if 20 years ago, someone put up a fence and walked away. There are blackboards with menus still written on them, wooden chairs scattered in the wedding chapel, postings at the main entrance of «today’s activities». It is looking likely that within the year, the resort will begin renovations which means that tours will cease. If, like me you have been curious about this old place, I highly recommend that you don’t put off taking the tour. I’m glad I got to do it before it’s too late.

This was a last minute event for us before we caught our flight out to return home from our vacation. So glad we did this — get there a little before two to sign the waiver and pay your 20.00 (cash only) for the tour. As others have said, bring your bug spray (although our guide did bring some with him and people were desperate for it as we ventured further onto the property). So informative, lots of great historical information about the island itself as well as the resort. Loved every minute of the two-​hour tour!