HONOLULU, Hawaii - The closure of the 401 room Ihilani Resort and Spa at Ko Olina on the island of Oahu in Hawaii has been delayed again.

The luxury resort established in 1993 was originally run as Ihiliani Resort, owned and managed by Ihilani Resort, Inc., a Japan Airlines JAL subsidiary. In January 1998 the hotel was rebranded a Hotel Nikko. In January 2000 the hotel was sold to Ko Olina Company, LLC which signed Marriott to a 15-year management contract to operate the resort as a JW Marriott. The property was slated to close on January 10 when its management contract with Marriott ran out.

The new owners who paid $250 million for the property then delayed the closing date for a month. It has since been decided to keep the hotel operating until March 9th 2015.

The hotel will then be redeveloped into 200 hotel rooms, 200 hotel-condos and 150 apartments which will be sold for prices of between $5 million $10 million. It will also include a wedding chapel, two new main pools, seven private pools, a coconut grove, a remodelled resort entry, a lobby atrium with a ceiling-to-floor 3-D art piece, a new grand staircase and water promenade.

The hotel business at the beachfront property has been wound down with many facilities non-operational or operating on a reduced basis. The main hotel bar, the Hokulea Lounge is closed, the main restaurant the Naupaka Terrace is only open for breakfast. The Japanese restaurant Ushio-Tel is closed. The poolside bar is open and manned throughout the day and into the night, the only hotel outlet serving food and drinks outside of breakfast, although there is a fully functioning Starbucks in the lobby, A separately run Italian outlet, Azul Ristorante, remains operational however guests have to pay cash or credit card, there is no room charge facility in place.

The pool is said to be operational from 8am however was not manned and there were no towels available to guests frequenting the beach or pool on Thursday until some time after 9am. The fitness center is fully operational and so is the spa.

The Ihilani's occupancy has fallen to rock bottom mainly because when the Marriott management contract ended their reservations system was removed from the hotel. The chain had stopped taking bookings for the period beyond their departure date, at which time the hotel was originally to be closed. Even today, rather than diverting users looking for the hotel on their site to the new Ihilani website, the chain says the hotel is closed and directs users to other Marriott properties on Oahu. Only walk-ins and people phoning the hotel direct have been able to book in. Now the hotel's website is taking bookings and third-party websites such as those operated by Expedia are also taking reservations, but only up to March 9.

While the hotel may be quiet there is plenty of action. Hawaii Five-O is filming an episode at the hotel, and guests have been told not to be alarmed if they hear gunfire in the foyer.

The new owner of the luxury resort is a former owner, Hawaii real estate developer Jeff Stone, who has done a deal with Canadian company Westbank to redevelop the property which will be rebranded a Four Seasons on completion. The cost of the redevelopment is expected to be $250 million, which will make the end result a half-billion dollar investment.

"This is the fulfilment of a long-held dream for Ko Olina," Stone said recently. "The economic impact of the project, the return to the state and county, is over $1 billion. This is a real hotel with real residences that are part of the hotel. No brand has ever come and done this."

The resort hotel is expected to be closed for at least a year, following which construction of the residential tower will commence.

Consultants on the project include Group 70 International, James K.M. Cheng Architects, Philpotts Interiors and SWA Group.

$5 million has been put aside for redundancies for the hotel's existing 500 staff, who will have the option of applying for positions at the new resort when it opens. Some employees will be placed at Ko Olina's other resorts including one operated by Marriott. The new hotel when it opens will employ up to 850 people.

For Four Seasons it will be a first for Oahu. "The addition of this world-renowned hotel brand will enhance Oahu's tourism base and support economic growth on the leeward coast, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said when the rebranding was announced. "The city looks forward to working with Four Seasons on their expansion plans and the growth opportunities they bring to Ko Olina."