Valley House Hotel, once located off Hau‘a‘ala Road in Keapana Valley, Kealia, was in operation from its opening day on Dec. 1, 1946, until Oct. 1, 1950, when it was destroyed by fire.
The hotel’s main building had been built by Makee Sugar Co. owner Col. Zephaniah Spalding in the early 1880s, and had remained his residence until 1922, the year he relocated to California.
Thereafter, Spalding’s Valley House was intermittently occupied by his family and their guests until World War II, when Army personnel were quartered there.
Then in 1946, Spalding’s heirs sold Valley House to Dr. W. J. Holmes of Honolulu.
Holmes, by renovating and modernizing it, transformed Valley House into a comfortable hotel capable of accommodating 50 people.
At the time of his purchase Holmes said, “I hope, of course, to get the patronage of tourists, but primarily, I want our Valley House to appeal to island people who wish to get away from their own familiar surroundings and spend a few days, weeks or even months in this beautiful park of one of the territory’s most-attractive islands.”
His hotel was situated on a 90-acre estate comprised of planted grounds that most-notably encompassed a grove of evergreen camphor trees brought to the islands from Taiwan circa 1850s by Capt. James Makee.
Other features of the estate included an artificial swimming pool, a natural pool, a lily pond, a waterfall, a tennis court, a stable with 14 horses, and numerous bridle and footpaths.
Hotel rooms were furnished with baths and showers supplied with pure mountain water warmed by electric heat.
Mr. and Mrs. A.C. Holmes, Dr. Holmes’ parents, both experienced hoteliers, operated the hotel.
In July 1948, Dr. Holmes sold the Valley House Hotel to Mrs. Edna M. Lusher.
And, at around 1 p.m. on Oct, 1, 1950, Eva Ebalarosa, a waitress, noticed smoke in its kitchen and gave the alarm.
Gardener Nisaburo Nishizawa also turned in an alarm, but firefighters who arrived shortly thereafter could not control a raging blaze and the Valley House Hotel burnt to the ground.
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Hank Soboleski has been a resident of Kauai since the 1960s. Hank’s love of the island and its history has inspired him, in conjunction with The Garden Island Newspaper, to share the island’s history weekly. The collection of these articles can be found here: https://bit.ly/2IfbxL9 and here https://bit.ly/2STw9gi Hank can be reached at hssgms@gmail.com
