The sale of The Modern Honolulu has closed, and now The Modern Honolulu will become a timeshare.
Back in February 2018, we found out that Las Vegas’ Diamond Resorts is purchasing The Modern Honolulu. It was thought the transaction would close in May. However, it appears as if the transaction has closed early. And the property’s new owners aren’t wasting time making changes.
A Tumultuous History
The Modern Honolulu’s history is anything but smooth. Founded as The Waikiki EDITION, it was supposed to be part of Marriott’s boutique brand. However, the property owners weren’t happy with the initial performance. As a result, they hostilely overthrew the property’s management.
More recently, the property’s signature restaurant, Morimoto Waikiki closed. After which, the Ravish Honolulu took its place. Only, the Ravish is no more too.
New Owners
The Modern Honolulu’s new owners, Diamond Resorts, is a timeshare operator. And, as a result, it comes as no surprise that they’d transform The Modern Honolulu into one too. Thus far, Diamond says they’ll transform existing rooms into suites. Then, those suites will be offered for sale as timeshare units. However, that’s about all we know so far. Diamond has not said how many units the project will have. Nor is there a completion date. But a sales center is set to open soon too.
As for Ravish, Diamond closed the restaurant on Thursday, April 19. It was open for only a year before its closure. And what will replace the Ravish concept, though, remains to be seen. In fact, they’re working with CBRE to find a new restaurant operator. And that will be a tall order, in my opinion. Honolulu already has many excellent restaurants and many restaurants with famous names behind them. In fact, as you may recall, Iron Chef Morimoto just opened a new restaurant at the newly renovated Alohilani Resort.
The Modern Honolulu Will Become a Timeshare, Final Thoughts
I’m not a fan of timeshare conversions. It takes hotel rooms out of inventory, which can make it harder for some to visit the islands. But, such conversions also result in job losses, thanks to reduced staffing needs. However, it doesn’t surprise me that it has come to this. For now, though, the hotel will continue to operate in its current capacity. And changes will occur slowly over time. But what ultimately happens, who knows? We’ll have to wait and see.