Hulihe'e Palace

Lonely Planet review

Hawai'i's second governor, 'John Adams' Kuakini, commissioned Hulihe'e Palace, a simple, elegant two-story house, in 1838 as his private residence. Used as a vacation getaway for Hawaiian monarchs, the house, built with lava rock in 1885, was plastered over inside and out by King Kalakaua, who preferred a more polished style after his travels abroad.

The palace was closed due to damage suffered in the 2006 earthquake. Check with the Kona Historical Society for reopening dates.

After reopening, the museum will again display Western antiques, collected on royal jaunts to Europe, and Hawaiian artifacts, such as a table inlaid with 25 kinds of native Hawaiian wood, and several of Kamehameha the Great's war spears. The pleasant, oceanfront grounds of the palace remain open. A fishpond behind the palace is no longer stocked but holds a few colorful tropical fish. Curiously, it also once served as a queen's bath and a canoe landing.

Prince Kuhio, who inherited the palace from his uncle Kalakaua, found himself short of cash and auctioned off the furnishings and artifacts. Luckily, his wife and other female royalty meticulously numbered each piece and recorded the name of the bidder. Eventually the Daughters of Hawai'i, a group founded in 1903 by daughters of missionaries, tracked down the owners and persuaded many to donate the pieces for display in the museum they established at the palace.