HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Beachfront Hotel on King Kamehameha's Final Residence
75-5660 Palani Rd, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Beachfront resort rates typically run $250-450 per night depending on season and view category.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Resort grounds are largely paved with accessible elevators and beach access.
Equipment
Photos OK
Kamehameha I · Ahu'ena Heiau National Historic Landmark · Hawaiian Royal Residence · Kamakahonu Bay
King Kamehameha I unified the Hawaiian Islands into a single kingdom by 1810 and chose the village of Kamakahonu, on the leeward coast of Hawai'i Island, as his royal residence. He moved his court there in 1812 and rebuilt Ahu'ena Heiau, the local luakini temple, to function as a personal religious center and the seat of his government. He died at Kamakahonu in May 1819. According to traditional Hawaiian custom, his remains were prepared and hidden by his attendants; the precise burial location has never been publicly disclosed and remains, by intention, known only to his closest kin.
In the 20th century the bay was developed for tourism. The Kona Inn opened in 1929 and was succeeded by the King Kamehameha Hotel, built in stages and most recently expanded in the 1970s. The Ahu'ena Heiau was reconstructed under the supervision of historians and Hawaiian cultural practitioners and is now listed as a National Historic Landmark, accessible by walking path on the hotel grounds. The hotel was renovated and rebranded under Marriott's Courtyard collection as the Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel and is currently managed under the Kona Beach Resort umbrella.
A ground-floor corridor in the hotel hosts a curated gallery of oil portraits of Hawaiian monarchs and Hawaiian artifacts. The corridor terminates in a portrait of Queen Lili'uokalani, the last reigning Hawaiian monarch.
Sources
The legend most often associated with the Courtyard King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel begins with the king's burial. Hawaiian tradition holds that the bones of high-ranking ali'i carry mana - spiritual power - and that their final resting places are deliberately concealed to protect that power. Kamehameha I's specific burial site has never been disclosed, but it is widely understood to lie somewhere on or beneath the Kamakahonu grounds.
Guest reports cluster on the upper floors of the hotel. The most commonly described phenomena are sounds: footsteps along the corridors after lights-out, distant chanting, and what witnesses describe as the cries of warriors. A smaller subset of reports describes an apparition of a tall figure in traditional Hawaiian dress moving slowly through the halls and disappearing at corner turns.
The ground-floor portrait corridor that culminates in the painting of Queen Lili'uokalani is the most consistently described element of the hotel's lore. Visitors describe the portrait, which depicts the queen unsmiling, as appearing to inhale and exhale slightly when watched directly. The effect has been the subject of repeated guest accounts and has been folded into staff orientation lore.
We present these reports as folklore consistent with the cultural significance of the site. Visitors are reminded that the Ahu'ena Heiau is a sacred Hawaiian cultural site; respectful behavior on the grounds is expected.
Notable Entities
An overnight stay at the only beachfront hotel in downtown Kailua-Kona, on the grounds where King Kamehameha I lived out his final years. The reconstructed Ahu'ena Heiau temple, a National Historic Landmark, sits at the edge of the property.
Walk the grounds to view the reconstructed Ahu'ena Heiau, the temple Kamehameha I rebuilt during his final residence in Kona. A ground-floor gallery in the hotel displays Hawaiian artifacts and a series of oil portraits of the Hawaiian royal line, ending with Queen Lili'uokalani.
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