which opened in August 1968. The hotel famously operated without guestroom televisions until 1995. In 1978, Rockefeller sold the hotel to United Airlines. United placed the hotel in their Western International Hotels division, which was renamed Westin Hotels in 1981. The hotel itself was renamed The Westin Mauna Kea for much of the early 1980s. The hotel was purchased in 1990 by Yoshiaki Tsutsumi of Seibu Railway and has since been managed by one of his companies, Prince Hotels. The hotel closed in 1994 for a two-year renovation. In August of that year, a sister hotel was opened on the property, the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, also designed by Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo. The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel reopened in January 1996. From 1996-2001 the Prince Hotels in Hawaii and Alaska were all franchised to Westin Hotels, and the hotel rejoined the chain for five years as The Westin Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel closed due to structural damage caused by the 2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake. After a $150 million renovation, the hotel reopened in March 2009, with a soft reopening on December 20, 2008. The hotel joined Marriott's Autograph Collection Hotels division in 2015. It was also inducted into Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in 2016. The golf course is featured as part of the course lineup in the Links golf game for PC. References External links Official website Official Autograph Collection chain website Buildings and structures in Hawaii County, Hawaii Skidmore, Owings & Merrill buildings 1965 establishments in Hawaii Hotel buildings completed in 1965 Hotels established in 1965 Prince Hotels Autograph Collection Hotels Hotels in Hawaii (island) Historic Hotels of America