Deteriorated conditions prompt earlier closure of Pagoda hotel

The former Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel is closing sooner than expected after Hawaii County inspectors recommended that the building “be vacated immediately,” state officials said Saturday.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a news release that it is working with the hotel manager “to take steps now to find alternate accommodations for any occupants over the weekend and close the hotel.”

Time and neglect have caught up with the old Hilo hotel. Developer Peter Savio took over the property and renamed it the Pagoda Hilo Bay Hotel last year. It was slated to close by July 14 because of its deteriorated condition.

Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim “wrote a letter and said he’d appreciate it if we’d close it sooner because they had concerns, life safety concerns, so we said, ‘Yeah, no problem,’” Savio said Saturday.

The DLNR, which owns the land under the hotel fronting Hilo Bay on Banyan Drive, previously contemplated giving Savio a three-year lease to keep the site from being abandoned until a master redevelopment plan could be crafted.

Savio previously said that parts of the hotel, including one wing, the lobby and restaurant, were in bad shape, but he did not believe guests or employees were in danger. He agreed that the hotel should be closed, however.

William J. “Uncle Billy” Kimi Jr. opened the hotel in 1966. “It’s a historic property, but it’s kind of at the end of its life,” Savio said Saturday. The roof leaks, there’s concern about the electrical system and there’s termite damage, he said.

The hotel had 40 guests on Friday. They are being moved to other hotels through the weekend.

“DLNR appreciates permittee Peter Savio for his commitment to the hotel, its employees and guests,” the agency said.

“Uncle Billy’s will probably be torn down and then I think there will probably be interest in buying it, both from the (Grand Naniloa or the Hilo Hawaiian hotels),” Savio said. “It would make sense for one of them to buy it because they could use it for expansion.”