Hulihe'e Palace
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
| Admission fee | ✓ | Photography | |
| Docent | ✓ | Gardens | |
| Audio tour | Furnishings | ✓ | |
| Tour brochure | ✓ | Rebuilt | |
| Museum shop | ✓ | Primary focus | residents |
Toured August 2012
Hulihe’e Palace was built as the residence of the royal governor and as such is not on the grand scale of Iolani Palace. It is a two-story, six-room house built in 1838 that served as the vacation home of many of the royal family once it passed into royal hands in 1844. When King Kalakaua bought the palace in 1884, he extensively remodeled the house, covering the original native lava rack of the exterior with stucco, plastering the interior walls, and adding crown molding and redwood pillars in the entry. The royal family held the palace until 1916.
Features. Although the palace is not fully furnished, most of the furnishings were used in the house by the previous royal owners or were owned by one of the royals. The wood furniture features beautiful pieces in koa, including a 70-inch diameter dining room table made from a single piece of koa. The palace is also a museum containing photographs of the royal family and an extensive collection of ancient to 19th century Hawaiian artifacts including ancient tools and jewelry and even spears belonging to King Kamehameha I. I particularly enjoyed seeing antique kukui nut necklaces, because it was nice to see how authentic the ones sold in tourist shops are.
Guided tours are provided but, as I was short on time, I used the brochure and walked through alone. As in Iolani Palace, the woodwork gleams and the wood furnishings are gorgeous with various inlays and carvings. The artifacts are interesting and the placards informative and concise. I took about 20 minutes to go through, but I would like to have taken twice that to read more of the placards and visit the museum shop.
Grounds. I was disappointed that the lanais and rear grounds were not accessible. There also isn’t a kitchen; however, there are photos of the original cookhouse. In addition, there is a photo that shows the original appearance of the palace. My final assessment is that the house is of moderate interest, but the artifacts and other furnishings are worth the price of admission.
