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The family friendly Helumoa Playground — this resort pool is 7,284 square feet in size
and holds 196,143 gallons of water.

“The aina (land), the kai (ocean) and the aloha (breath of life) are the cornerstones of what makes the new Sheraton Waikiki so special and we ask that you join us on this amazing journey as we welcome our guests to our island home to experience the ‘New Breath of Aloha.’” This is the invitation extended by the hotel upon the completion of its master plan.

Capital Components

The second, final phase of the $187 million transformation of the Sheraton Waikiki was completed by Nordic PCL Construction LLC, working with owner Kyo-ya Hotels and Resorts LP, architect WCIT Architecture and construction manager Rider Levett Bucknall. (The first phase was done by Swinerton Builders.)
Primarily targeting the common areas of the property, Nordic’s scope of work included:

• renovation/construction of the resort pool, now called the Helumoa Playground
• renovation/construction of the infinity edge pool
• demolition of the existing exterior grand staircase and construction of two replacement stairs
• construction of three new lanai for RumFire
• construction of the new Edge bar
• construction of the new “Link@Sheraton” lounge
• complete renovation of Kai Market
• complete renovation of the reception desk and the entire first floor lobby retail area
• renovation to the porte cochere

“The renovation of the Sheraton Waikiki is part of Kyo-ya Hotels and Resorts’ overall Waikiki revitalization effort that commenced with the renovation and rebranding of the Moana Surfrider resort and the restoration of The Royal Hawaiian,” says Greg Dickhens, executive vice president of Kyo-ya, which also owns the Princess Kaiulani Hotel. “Kyo-ya plans to continue the revitalization of Waikiki with the proposed renovation and redevelopment of the Princess Kaiulani and the Diamond Head Tower of the Moana. Kyo-ya’s total reinvestment in Waikiki would reach nearly $1 billion.”

Left: The Link@SheratonWaikiki is a multimedia communications and social networking hub located in the lobby. Center: The 3,505-square-foot, 94,830 gallon infinity edge pool is open to guests 16 years and older.
Right: Kai Market is a new farm-to-table eatery that opened on Aug. 7. All photos except for porte cochere courtesy of Kyo-ya Hotels and Resorts LP

Key Aesthetics

Sharing a few more details about specific areas, Mariano Ponsiano Jr., Nordic PCL’s project engineer for the Sheraton revitalization, adds, regarding the staircase portion, “We basically eliminated the (grand) staircase that blocked all the views. The new setup opens up the view corridor from the retail lobby to the resort pool, Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head. Before, you couldn’t see anything on that side.”

As for the lobby area and porte cochere, Ponsiano says, “We reconfigured the reception and first floor lobby retail area and updated the finishes to give it a more modern look, primarily wood finishes, different storefronts, and new flooring and ceilings. The porte cochere renovation also was purely a material and color change. We redid the flooring, repaved the driveway, and redid the center island and added a water feature. We gave it some millwork to give it a more contemporary look.”
While the interior of RumFire was done by Swinerton, Nordic PCL expanded the exterior deck of the restaurant. “We did the ewa lanai, Diamond Head lanai and the lanai for the upper kitchen area,” says Ponsiano.

“The construction of the Helumoa Playground introduced a superpool to Waikiki,” continues Ponsiano. Shared by guests of both the Sheraton and neighboring Royal Hawaiian, the hotel amenity features two freshwater swimming pools, a 23-foot high slide, a 70-foot long water slide, two 20-person Jacuzzis and an interactive fountain, a staging area for outdoor functions, 10 cabanas and chaise water sunning benches. It opened in December 2008.

The resort pool also adds a more family-friendly character to the property, explained Dickhens during a 2009 interview and tour.

And while families enjoy the superpool, guests who desire a less boisterous setting can relax at the recently completed infinity edge pool, which is open only to guests 16 years and older. Known as the first such pool in Waikiki, according to Ponsiano, “The adult-only pool (also) is being referred to as the world’s longest infinity pool due to the fact that it appears to cascade off into the Pacific Ocean.”
Collaborative Effort
“The key challenge during the renovation of the Sheraton Waikiki is that the hotel remained fully operational during construction,” explains Ponsiano. “Through coordination with the owner and hotel operations, Nordic PCL was able to divide the project into multiple phases (an estimated 24 total) to ensure minimal impact to the operating hotel. Barricades had to be installed to ensure access was available to operating areas of the hotel and public safety was maintained during construction.”
Adds Dickhens, “Nordic PCL provided instrumental in finding solutions to design and scheduling challenges and did a tremendous job.”

Ponsiano says, “Nordic PCL is proud to be a part of the successful partnership with Kyo-ya on the Sheraton Waikiki renovation and looks forward to continued successful endeavors involving the beautification and renovation of Waikiki.”

“Kyo-ya is very pleased with the outcome of the renovation and we believe the hotel is very well positioned for the recovery in the tourism industry,” concludes Dickhens.