The Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa has unveiled a refreshed cultural center with a new name: Uluniu, which is in honor of the area's place name when it was home to Hawaii's King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani.
Uluniu is located on the second floor and provides guests with daily programming, such as lei making and lauhala weaving, as well as ukulele and hula lessons.
"A Hawaiian proverb, 'O ke kahua ma mua, ma hope ke kukulu,' states: 'Before building, one must first have a solid foundation,'" said Iwalani Kahoohanohano, the resort's head of Hawaiian culture and community relations.
"Here at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa, we have a strong foundation because of those who have paved the way before us. We have the kuleana (responsibility and privilege) to continue to breathe life into the stories and names of this place so that they may live on beyond us too," she continued.
"Uluniu will be a space for us to do exactly that, and I have so much mahalo for all those who have come together to support these efforts at Hyatt Regency Waikiki, including our extended ohana."