Hawaiian Hotels and Resorts promotes George Gomes Jr. to regional executive chef
By Staff | Feb 26, 2021
Industry veteran George Gomes Jr. will oversee culinary vision for the Royal Kona Resort and Royal Lahaina Resort.
KAANAPALI Hawaiian Hotels and Resorts last week announced the promotion of George Gomes Jr. as its regional executive chef for the Royal Kona Resort on Hawaii Island and Royal Lahaina Resort on Maui. The two iconic resorts reopened after expansive renovations encompassing guest room enhancements and upgrades to common areas and restaurant outlets. Appointed the executive chef for Royal Kona Resort in 2019, Chef Gomes successfully elevated the Kona dining experience for hotel guests and local residents, featuring locally sourced and seasonal ingredients on his menu.
The Royal Lahaina s beachside cottages now feature new furniture, flooring and decor.
After closing in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the seven months until the Royal Lahaina Resort s Oct. 15 reopening were filled with various projects to refresh and update the 27-acre property in West Maui.
The resort improved its sustainability infrastructure while also revamping the lobby, lounge, pool area, restaurant, and guestrooms. Once we officially shut down in March, right away we started looking at opportunities to refresh the resort and invest in the product, said Gary Hogan, CEO of Royal Lahaina s parent company, Hogan Hospitality. I know we re going to come out of this OK. And we were so successful recently, with occupancy running in the low 90s in 2019, when you have occupancy that high it s tough to get into rooms and shut things down when cylinders are firing.