For the Time Capsule series, we spotlight a cherished restaurant, hotel or landmark that’s changed remarkably little over the years. This week, we visit the Manago Hotel in Hawaii.

THEN

In 1917, Kinzo Manago and his wife, Osame, immigrants from Fukuoka, Japan, borrowed $100 to buy a small, roadside house in South Kona on Hawaii Island. They divided it into two rooms: one for sleeping and the other for making and selling udon, bread, jam and coffee to stable workers and coffee pickers from nearby farms. The cafe and building expanded as the Managos’ business and family grew—soon, salesmen shuttling between Hilo and Kona asked to spend the night. Thus Manago Hotel was born, charging up to $1 a night for cots behind the restaurant and futons on the floor. By 1929, a building with 22 guest rooms had replaced the original home. And in the 1960s, a second, three-story wing behind the property was built. Eventually, travelers began traversing a lush courtyard garden and passing under red-corrugated awnings to the newer rooms, which take advantage of the hotel’s perch on the slopes of Mauna Loa with views down to Kealakekua Bay.

The Manago Hotel on Hawaii’s Kona Coast dates back to 1917, when Kinzo Manago and his picture bride, Osame Nagata, bought a small roadside house and turned it into a small market, then cafe, then a hotel.

The Manago Hotel on Hawaii’s Kona Coast dates back to 1917, when Kinzo Manago and his picture bride, Osame Nagata, bought a small roadside house and turned it into a small market, then cafe, then a hotel.

Photo: Manago Hotel

NOW

In 1983, grandson Dwight Manago walked away from a job at the ritzy Mauna Lani Bay Hotel to continue the family’s business and—at one point—tried to install TVs in each of the rooms. Regulars “fought back—they didn’t want change,” said his daughter Britney Manago, who now runs the hotel with her sister Taryn. “Hotel Manago reminds them of childhood and old Hawaii.” Heeding their father’s lesson, the sisters keep everything the same: You’ll find no TVs in the simple rooms and the most expensive (at $100 a night), built in honor of Kinzo and Osame, is furnished with tatami mats, shoji screens and an ofuro tub. The hotel’s restaurant, which Gourmet magazine deemed a legendary “must-visit,” is among the state’s oldest; apart from the prices, the letterboard menu tacked on the wall hasn’t changed for decades (everything’s still under $15). Locals return for the fried fish such as akule and opelu, and famous pork chops, cooked in a square cast-iron pan that’s rumored to be as old as the restaurant.

The Managos’ original building was replaced in 1929 and another wing was added in the 1960s, but even now, the simply furnished guest rooms don’t have TVs and most cost under $100 a night.

The Managos’ original building was replaced in 1929 and another wing was added in the 1960s, but even now, the simply furnished guest rooms don’t have TVs and most cost under $100 a night.

Photo: Manago Hotel

Small and Stalwart

Three other old-guard Hawaiian hotels

In Lahaina on Maui, the Best Western Pioneer Inn is one of Hawaii’s oldest hotels, dating back to 1901 when whaling ships still docked at the harbor in front.

In Lahaina on Maui, the Best Western Pioneer Inn is one of Hawaii’s oldest hotels, dating back to 1901 when whaling ships still docked at the harbor in front.

Photo: Alamy

On Maui, Lahaina’s Pioneer Inn—where Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy filmed “The Devil at 4 O’Clock”—dates to 1901. The Hawaiian Plantation exterior remains, while the rooms have been updated and Top Chef alum Lee Anne Wong recently rehauled the restaurant menu from about $200 a night, pioneerinnmaui.com).

The Old Wailuku Inn—built as a private home in 1924 by Charles D. Lufkin, who founded some of Maui’s first banks—is now a bed-and-breakfast tucked away in the residential neighborhood of Wailuku. The rooms deliver a tropical ’20s vibe (from about $220 a night, mauiinn.com).

On Oahu, high-rises dwarf the two-story Breakers Hotel in the middle of bustling Waikiki. It opened in 1954, and added a few more buildings throughout the 50s, all in the same style: kitchenettes in every room, sliding shoji doors in most, and wood jalousies to let in the tropical air (from about $150 a night, breakers-hawaii.com).

The Big Island’s Big Draw: Volcanoes
When Kīlauea, one of the two active volcanoes inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, erupted in 2018, it was the volcano’s largest eruption in centuries.

When Kīlauea, one of the two active volcanoes inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, erupted in 2018, it was the volcano’s largest eruption in centuries.

Photo: Getty Images

1865: 400 people visit Kilauea volcano

1915: Members of the 25th Infantry, African-American soldiers known colloquially as the Buffalo Soldiers, are stationed near Kilauea volcano and help construct a 30-mile trail, parts of which still exist today.

1916: Kilauea and nearby Mauna Loa volcano become a national park, the 11th in the U.S.

1925: Three-day tours to the Big Island via steamship from Oahu, including an overnight at the park, cost $50.50

1979: An 11-day and three-island tour offered by Pan Am and Hawaiian Air, including an excursion to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, costs $245.

2017: More than 2 million visitors pass through the park entrance, the busiest year on record.

2018: Kilauea erupts, the volcano’s largest eruption in centuries. It destroys over 700 nearby homes.

2020: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park closes for two months under the state’s Stay at Home order to combat Covid. The majority of the park reopens in June and reports 589,775 visitors by the end of the year.

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