New Management Announces Improvements at Waimea Country Lodge

Waimea Country Lodge sign. Courtesy photo.

​The owner of the Waimea Country Lodge has announced significant improvements at the 21-room lodge after parting ways with the previous management company.

The lodge, located at the base of scenic Mauna Kea on Hawai‘i Island, is now family owned and operated.

The farm-style lodge on the historic Parker Ranch was purchased in 2015 by real estate developer, rare coin expert and former sports agent Dwight Manley of Brea, California, who recently made international headlines with his acquisition of $50 million of recovered California Gold Rush sunken treasure from the fabled “Ship of Gold,” the SS Central America, which sank in 1857.

Waimea Country Lodge. Courtesy photo.

Manley said since the change in management at Waimea Country Lodge, five suites at the property have been upgraded. Free high-speed internet service is now available to all guests. New bedding and window coverings are being installed.

“With new on-site, family-owned management, we have better control over day-to-day operations of the property and cleanliness is the top priority for our guests,” Manley stated.

Keri McQueen, general manager of Waimea Country Lodge. Courtesy photo.

Manley’s cousin, Keri McQueen, an experienced property manager from Orange County, California, is now the resident general manager.

“I’ve instilled a high sense of family, a sense of pride with my staff, and that is reflected now in the care and concern we have for our guests and the upkeep of the accommodations for their comfort,” explained McQueen.

Opening in 1975, the Waimea Country Lodge was managed for decades by Castle Resorts & Hotels on behalf of the Bank of Hawai‘i, which administered the Parker Trust. Manley now has ended that arrangement and appointed new management.

The land now known as the historic Parker Ranch was acquired directly from King Kamehameha I beginning in 1816 by John Palmer Parker and his wife, Chiefess Kipikane, a granddaughter of the legendary king.

Over time, they acquired additional land from Kamehameha’s descendants. Through his purchase of the lodge property in 2015, Manley became the first person not related to the Hawaiian royal family since Kamehameha I to own a portion of the now 500,000-acre ranch.

The lodge is located at 65-1210 Lindsey Road in Waimea.

For additional information and reservations, contact the Waimea Country Lodge at (808) 885-4100 or info@WaimeaCountryLodge.com, or go online.