Maui
MAKEOVER
Photo Credit: www.grandwailea.com
By RANDY REID WITH KATIE SMITH
A visit to the island of Maui must include a stop at the Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort. This getaway is an oceanfront paradise offering posh accommodations, award-winning restaurants, Hawaii's largest art collection and much more. Kelly Hannon of Focus Lighting recently completed and commissioned its spectacular lighting design.
Waldorf properties, such as the ongoing NYC renovations, and quickly jumped on board to redesign these spaces.
Working from my temporary remote office a few miles away, I met Kelly at the site for a tour. (OK, I was really on vacation, but I did answer some emails.)
The tourism industry in Hawaii was completely shut down, therefore construction and other projects were pushed forward quickly. Issued in 2020, Kelly received seven scopes for the property, and they are being completed one-by-one. As of this writing, the two most recent are the lounge and the breakfast dining area. A grab-and-go snack area is in the works.
As the Waldorf began the considerable remodeling job, they hired Tihany Design for interior design. Focus Lighting, founded by Paul Gregory, has closely collaborated with Tihany for 20+ years and has done much design work on the islands, including the nearby Andaz Maui. In addition, Kelly had been involved in other
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designing lighting
For the Grand Wailea, Kelly began in late 2019--right before COVID-19 hit. In most cases the pandemic slowed down projects, however this was unique in that COVID accelerated the project.
The most stunning design is the Botero Lounge. Kelly said, “They wanted to modernize the space so they