Here now.. a few thoughts!

[nkereina]

If they do build it, they had better design some new roads or expand them. Traffic is bad enough already, adding a huge Atlantis resort will be horrible.

Maybe we were lucky but we didn't experience any traffic in the Ko Olina area at all. In fact, it was probably the least congested area of all the places we visited. Yes we did run into traffic on the H1 not far from Aulani which may be made worse by another resort, but the immediate area of Ko Olina, IMO, is not bad today as far as traffic/congestion goes.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

https://www.hawaii-aloha.com/blog/2...t-in-hawaii-confirmed-and-coming-to-ko-olina/
how they're going to do that, I don't know. I'm just reporting the news;

Developers say the resort will mimic the existing resort called Atlantis The Palm, Dubai, which has an Aquaventure Waterpark, The Lost Chambers Aquarium, Dolphin Bay and Sea Lion Park. It also has more than 20 restaurants, a nightclub, spas, salons and a fitness center. The resort could also feature hotel rooms with a front row seat into a giant aquarium.

This page has some possible site drawings that were a few years old. But similar, doesn't necessarily mean exactly like. And it's being built, so there is no speculation. It's happening. http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2016/01/why-atlantis-resort-next-door-to.html

I remain skeptical that an Atlantis gets built.

I wrote the following back in February when these rumors were in the news:

In a few other forums, I've been following the Atlantis rumor. Here are my thoughts:
I'm a bit skeptical of this ever materializing, and there's some red-flags in the reporting that make me think this whole thing was a planted rumor.

First, Atlantis is a brand owned by *Kerzner*. The fact that little of the press about this mentions that fact makes me think that many reporters ate a contrived story fed to them by a developer without doing appropriate research.

Second, I'm not sure *Kerzner* currently has the standing in the world real estate markets to get the financing for the 'world's most expensive resort' after he defaulted on Atlantis in the Bahamas just a few years ago. Plus, Kerzner's attention is focused on building the next Atlantis in China, and is rumored to be in the running to take over and complete the Bahamar resort in Nassau.

My money is on the owner of the Ko Olina land putting this rumor out there for negotiating purposes. If he threatened to put something like an Atlantis in, when he offers a concession, the hotel that will be built will be twice the size of what had been previously authorized, and will look good by comparison to an Atlantis scale development.​

The fact that these rumors keep popping up gives some credibility to the story, but there's still no mention of Kerzner in any of the stories, nor on Kerzner's website.

 

[buffettgirl]

actually, the property closed in September.
http://www.colonyinc.com/pdfs/oceanwideresortrelease.pdf

and here https://www.hotel-online.com/press_...esort-planned-for-chinese-firms-ko-olina-land

It's no rumor.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

" "awe-inspiring discovery ... unparalleled excitement, larger than life experiences, revolutionary water play in Aquaventure Waterpark (and) exotic marine exhibits" Cue the horror cetacean show. Guess, I'll have to use Aunties for my kids while I go protest. Or go to Disneyland instead. I hope it takes a loooooong time to get off the ground.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

actually, the property closed in September.
http://www.colonyinc.com/pdfs/oceanwideresortrelease.pdf

and here https://www.hotel-online.com/press_...esort-planned-for-chinese-firms-ko-olina-land

It's no rumor.

These are credible.

The land area still seems small for an Atlantis. Does this actually involve more than one plot of land?

 

[kdonnel]

These are credible.

The land area still seems small for an Atlantis. Does this actually involve more than one plot of land?

The articles mention that this company now controls the remaining four buildable lots. I don't see four ocean front lots. Perhaps they will build part of it on the lot beside Aulani and part across the street and fairway? Or maybe they tunnel under the Ko Olina Beach Villas and build the rest over there?

There is certainly not enough room on the lot next to Aulani to build anything similar to what has previously been built for the Atlantis brand.

 

[blondietink]

I remain skeptical that an Atlantis gets built.

I wrote the following back in February when these rumors were in the news:

In a few other forums, I've been following the Atlantis rumor. Here are my thoughts:
I'm a bit skeptical of this ever materializing, and there's some red-flags in the reporting that make me think this whole thing was a planted rumor.

First, Atlantis is a brand owned by *Kerzner*. The fact that little of the press about this mentions that fact makes me think that many reporters ate a contrived story fed to them by a developer without doing appropriate research.

Second, I'm not sure *Kerzner* currently has the standing in the world real estate markets to get the financing for the 'world's most expensive resort' after he defaulted on Atlantis in the Bahamas just a few years ago. Plus, Kerzner's attention is focused on building the next Atlantis in China, and is rumored to be in the running to take over and complete the Bahamar resort in Nassau.

My money is on the owner of the Ko Olina land putting this rumor out there for negotiating purposes. If he threatened to put something like an Atlantis in, when he offers a concession, the hotel that will be built will be twice the size of what had been previously authorized, and will look good by comparison to an Atlantis scale development.​

The fact that these rumors keep popping up gives some credibility to the story, but there's still no mention of Kerzner in any of the stories, nor on Kerzner's website.

We were in Nassau 3 weeks ago and the Bahamar resort is still all fenced in. There was an article in the Nassau paper about a settlement with the company to pay off the employees and companies who are owed money from working on the maintenance and building of the yet unopened resort.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

We were in Nassau 3 weeks ago and the Bahamar resort is still all fenced in. There was an article in the Nassau paper about a settlement with the company to pay off the employees and companies who are owed money from working on the maintenance and building of the yet unopened resort.

I've been somewhat closely following the Bahamar quagmire. It's tangentially related to this story, as they both have Chinese investors as key partners in the development. That hasn't worked out well at Bahamar because the Chinese-government-owned investment fund has been a horrible participant - they've moved excruciatingly slow in resolving the situation. Bahamar was due to open March 2015. They gave many people who had booked vacations 48 hours notice that the hotel would not open as scheduled, and its still sitting there vacant more than 18 months later.

So that's another dimension to the Hawaii Atlantis development that bears watching. The Chinese players in the Bahamas acted like they were in China, having no regard for how much they were harming the local economy.