Formerly: The Moana Hotel · The Moana Bungalows · The Surfrider Hotel
Honolulu, Hawaii · Founded 1901 · Building: 1901
Waikīkī's first hotel opened in 1901 and survives as a Westin resort centered on its historic Moana building.
The Moana Hotel opened on March 11, 1901 as the first hotel in Waikīkī, developed by Walter Chamberlain Peacock and designed by Oliver G. Traphagen. Its original 75-room building offered telephones and Hawaiʻi's first electric-powered elevator. Now operating as Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa, Waikiki Beach, the historic property remains a working beachfront hotel under the Marriott/Westin brand.
The Moana Hotel opens as Waikīkī's first hotel, with 75 rooms, telephones, and Hawaiʻi's first electric-powered elevator.
Source: Marriott, Moana Surfrider property page; Hawaiʻi Magazine, "Waikīkī's First Hotel Celebrates its 120th Anniversary"
Jane Stanford dies at the Moana Hotel after strychnine poisoning. A Honolulu coroner's jury later concludes that the poison was administered by an unknown person.
Source: Stanford Magazine, "Who Killed Jane Stanford?"; historical summaries of the Honolulu inquest
The original Moana building remains central to Waikīkī tourism as the area develops into a major resort district.
Source: Hawaiʻi Magazine, "Waikīkī's First Hotel Celebrates its 120th Anniversary"
Accounts place the launch of the Hawaii Calls radio program from the Moana courtyard in the mid-1930s; sources conflict on whether its start year was 1934 or 1935.
Source: Historic Hotels of America, "History of Moana Surfrider"; Hawaiʻi Magazine, "Waikīkī's First Hotel Celebrates its 120th Anniversary"
The historic Moana Hotel building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, reference no. 72000417.
Source: National Register of Historic Places data
Moana Surfrider completes a resort transformation ahead of its 125th anniversary.
Source: Marriott, Moana Surfrider renovation page
Moana Surfrider marks the 125th anniversary of the 1901 Moana Hotel opening.
Source: Marriott, Moana Surfrider property page
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Marriott, Historic Hotels of America, and Hawaiʻi Magazine identify the Moana Hotel, opened in 1901, as Waikīkī's first hotel. This is the appropriate, supportable superlative; this audit did not independently establish it as Honolulu's oldest operating hotel.
Jane Stanford died at the Moana Hotel on February 28, 1905. Stanford historical reporting says subsequent investigations confirmed strychnine poisoning, and the Honolulu coroner's jury concluded that an unknown person administered the poison. No perpetrator was identified, and the case remains unsolved.
The cause of death was investigated as strychnine poisoning, but the responsible person was never identified. Later scholarship has offered theories, not a solved case.
The hotel is strongly documented as Waikīkī's first hotel, opened in 1901. This audit did not complete a citywide comparison of hotel operation, closures, and business continuity needed to support the broader Honolulu-wide superlative.
Marriott's current property page identifies the operating hotel as Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa, Waikiki Beach. The present real-estate owner was not established in this audit.
The Royal Hawaiian was Waikīkī's first hotel.
The Moana Hotel opened on March 11, 1901 as Waikīkī's first hotel. The Royal Hawaiian opened in 1927, 26 years later.
Source: Marriott, Moana Surfrider property page; Hawaiʻi Magazine, "Waikīkī's First Hotel Celebrates its 120th Anniversary"
The Moana's documented status as Waikīkī's first hotel proves it is Honolulu's oldest operating hotel.
The Moana's status as Waikīkī's first hotel is well documented. A separate citywide review of founding dates, closures, and continuity would be required to establish an oldest-operating-hotel claim for all of Honolulu.
Source: Marriott, Moana Surfrider property page; Historic Hotels of America, "History of Moana Surfrider"
Jane Stanford's death proves that Moana Surfrider is haunted.
Stanford's 1905 death and the strychnine-poisoning finding are historical facts. Claims that she haunts the hotel are separate paranormal assertions that were not independently verified in this audit.
Source: Stanford Magazine, "Who Killed Jane Stanford?"
The Moana Surfrider survived because it retained a place in Waikīkī's tourism identity while adapting from a small 1901 beach hotel into a larger modern resort complex. Its historic original building, later preservation recognition, and continued use of the "First Lady of Waikīkī" identity give the property a distinct role among high-rise resort development. Marriott's active Westin operation and the 2026 renovation and anniversary programming show continued investment, although the current real-estate owner was not established in this audit.
The Moana Surfrider traces its history to the Moana Hotel, which opened on March 11, 1901 as Waikīkī's first hotel. It is commonly called the "First Lady of Waikīkī" and still operates as a Westin resort.
Yes. Jane Stanford died at the Moana Hotel on February 28, 1905. Investigators determined that she had been poisoned with strychnine, but no one was identified as responsible and the case remains unsolved.
Architect Oliver G. Traphagen designed the Moana Hotel for Walter Chamberlain Peacock. The hotel opened in 1901 as Waikīkī's first hotel and included Hawaiʻi's first electric-powered elevator.
Moana Surfrider operates under Marriott International's Westin brand. This audit did not establish the current real-estate owner through a Hawaiʻi property record, corporate filing, or current ownership disclosure, so ownership should be treated as unresolved.
2365 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 922-3111
Confirm current access to historic public spaces, dining, the courtyard, beach facilities, and events with the resort before visiting.