Rainmaker Hotel

Rainmaker Hotel was a 250-room luxury hotel in Utulei, Pago Pago, American Samoa.[1] It was the only proper hotel in American Samoa and was operated by the government. The hotel was at its peak in the 1960s and 1970s, when it was known as the Pacific's Intercontinental Hotel.[2] The hotel was once refurbished by Drabbles at a cost of about $2.5 million.[2]

Rainmaker Hotel
In 2007
General information
LocationUtule'i, Pago Pago, American Samoa.
Opening1960s
Other information
Number of rooms250

In 1980, an air disaster occurred when a US Navy plane hit the cables of the Mt. Alava aerial tramway and crashed into the hotel, killing the six servicemen aboard and two tourists who were staying at the hotel.[3] The hotel manager reportedly refused for a memorial to be erected inside the hotel grounds.[3]

The hotel was dedicated in November 1965. The four-day hotel opening celebrations began with a flag-raising at the Governor's Office on Flag Day, followed by a royal ‘ava ceremony conducted at the Fagatogo malae by Taumafaalofi and Aumaga of Nu'uuli. The parade that followed was the longest in history. Several members of the U.S. Congress attended and the Air Force Band played music. Senator Alan Bible was the featured Flag Day speaker and the Department of the Interior sent its top officials. Governor John A. Burns came from Hawai'i with General Harris of the Air Force and Admiral Fabik of the Coast Guard. Prime Minister Mata'afa headed the Western Samoan delegation.[4]

The hotel hosted most of the Miss Island Queen Pageant competitions between 1987 and 2001.

In 2014 it was announced that the derelict hotel would be demolished.[5] It was demolished in 2015 after sitting deserted for over a decade.[6]

History

On February 21, 1964, it was reported in the Wall Street Journal that the Area Redevelopment Administration (ARA) had announced a million-dollar loan toward constructing a hotel in Pago Pago. The ARA stated in the article that “only tourism… offers a sound basis on which to restructure the economy.” It was anticipated that tourists would be arriving in increased numbers due to new scheduled flights. The paper notes that “if Samoa were independent… it would doubtless be getting a far costlier restructuring.”[7]

References
  1. The New Pacific magazine. New Pacific Pub. 1 January 1981. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  2. Pacific magazine. PacificBasin Communications. 2007. p. 126. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  3. Stanley, David (6 October 1999). Tonga-Samoa Handbook. David Stanley. p. 175. ISBN 978-1-56691-174-0. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  4. Sunia, Fofo I.F. (2009). A History of American Samoa. Amerika Samoa Humanities Council. Page 282. ISBN 9781573062992.
  5. "Rainmaker Hotel will soon be completely demolished". Samoa News. 10 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-11-22. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  6. "American Samoa hotel project gets two offers". radionz.co.nz. 28 May 2016.
  7. ”Restructuring in Pago Pago." Wall Street Journal (Feb. 21, 1964). Page 8.


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