Poipu resort recovery: Major resort, vacation rentals face extensive damage from Hurricane Lowell

POʻIPŪ, Kauaʻi (HawaiiNewsNow) – Nearly a month after Hurricane Lowell pounded Kauaʻi’s south shore, popular resort beaches normally packed with sunbathers remain desolate as recovery efforts get underway.

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At the Sheraton Kauaʻi Resort in Poʻipū, the landscape has been completely altered. An empty swimming pool sits filled with ocean sand, surrounded by heavy machinery, orange construction fencing, and stacked banquet chairs.

Dramatic footage captured during the storm by a visiting CBS News crew showed powerful waves invading the property. Storm surge rushed into the resort, flooding the fitness center, interior courtyard, and lobby areas.

“We are inside the lobby of a hotel right now and we just had a huge wave wash ashore,” CBS correspondent Carter Evans reported as seawater swept into the building.

Extensive damage across South Kauaʻi properties

Local residents and business operators are grappling with the scale of destruction left in Lowell’s wake.

“It is kind of shocking. I’m used to it being very pristine,” said Shari Olson, who manages vacation and long-term rental properties on the island. “It’s encouraging to see that there are a lot of hands that are trying to put the island back together, especially the harder-hit areas like the south shore.”

Olson expressed concern regarding the island’s recovery.

“My heart hurts a little bit,” Olson said. “Not because it’s my industry. It’s because my heart is here with Kauaʻi.”

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Just adjacent to the Sheraton, a row of oceanfront vacation rentals suffered catastrophic impacts. Inside one battered unit, floodwaters pushed kitchen fixtures entirely across the room, leaving living spaces packed with sand, mud, and splintered furniture.

“I can’t imagine if I was the owner of this property. It’s pretty overwhelming,” Olson said. “It’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of money to restore the property.”

The Kiahuna Plantation management reported damage to 17 units, including 10 oceanfront condos. Officials there aim to reopen non-oceanfront backside bungalows by Oct. 1.

The Sheraton Kauaʻi Resort’s booking portal currently shows no reservations available until early December.

Mixed reactions from island residents

While the drop in tourism strains local businesses, some residents note an unexpected sense of quiet across the south shore.

“To be honest, this is the second best thing that happened since COVID,” said Joshua Smazik of ʻŌmaʻo. “It got everybody away and the island time to breathe.”

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