A Post-Rainmaker Era

American Samoa, with its tropical rain forests, national park and intact Samoan culture, has been the setting for a number of books and short stories, but alas, even the Territorial Planning Commission and the Department of Commerce of the American Samoa Government acknowledge that the tourism industry hasn't exactly taken off.

It has never been a first-tier travel destination and perhaps that's part and parcel a result of the reputation of the Rainmaker Hotel, which up until about 12 years ago was the territory's only hotel. Built in the early 1960s by Pan American World Airways, and now owned by the American Samoa Development Corporation, the Rainmaker was once the flagship of Pan American's Intercontinental Hotels, according to Aliimau H. Scanlan, Jr., director of the American Samoa Department of Commerce. The Rainmaker was the "upper scale of the upscale hotels," Scanlan says.

When Pan American World Airways folded, management of the hotel went to American Airline's Americana Hotels, a company that continued to uphold the hotel's quality reputation. However, when Americana Hotels went under, management of the Rainmaker went to the American Samoa Government and, subsequently, the once-glowing reputation of the territory's hotel slowly went by the by.

"When you check in at reception, your immediate predilection is to re-glue the wallpaper," read one recent review of the Rainmaker that had been posted at www.epinions.com.

And while an October ASDC shareholders' meeting addressed the possible change in management and ownership of the Rainmaker, experts agree that even if management and ownership of the hotel does change hands, it will take some time for anyone to see the fruits of a new ownership's labor.

Slowly but surely, however, the tourism infrastructure in American Samoa is taking shape. One commercial hotel, the Quality Inn Tradewinds, and a number of smaller lodges and bed and breakfasts have opened up in the territory over the past seven years, drawing a growing number of tourists there each year.

Isabel Hudson, secretary of the recently-reorganized Pago Pago Visitors Bureau, is excited about the changes that have taken place.

"People used to squeeze everything into two days and go," Hudson says. "There was no place decent here to stay." Now, she says, there are many different places for tourists and business travelers alike to choose from, including her own Falepule Lodge, which also features fine dining.

Open for just under two years, Falepule has five rooms that can accommodate up to 10 people. The rooms feature ceramic tile, air conditioning, and each has its own bathroom. Travelers will also enjoy hearing the sound of the waves of the Pacific crashing into the rocks far below the lodge, which can be heard from virtually every angle at Falepule. Room rates range from $85 to $135 per night. Guests of Falepule get access to the lodge's hot tub, courtyard, and get to experience a real Samoan breakfast of sua fai (hot banana porridge), or supo esi (hot papaya porridge). Guests may also have dinner at Falepule.

"We wanted to promote American Samoa and help with the tourism industry," Hudson says of her reasoning behind the opening the lodge, which she owns with her husband, Dean. "Businesspeople and federal government people come through here by the hundreds. The longer they stay the better businesses do. That's what I wanted-to offer a place that's like home when they're away from home."

Southeast of Pago Pago and close to the airport, is the recently-opened Tradewinds Quality Inn hotel, an up-to-date, 104-room full-service property with cable TV and AC in the rooms, a pool, airport shuttle service, major conference facilities and a business center. At this writing, a full-service restaurant is also under construction. It currently has a 40 percent occupancy rate.

Also close to the airport, but a little further along in the Leone direction, is the Taalolo Lodge and Golf Resort run by owner Chandé Lutu-Drabble. The large outdoor pool and bar area and the Taalolo's easy access to Tutuila's golf course make the Taalolo very attractive for the business traveler. "It's hard for me to remember how many actual tourists we've had. Not many. Most people who come to the territory are doing business or visiting relatives," she says.

Nearby, the Tessarea Vaitogi Inn in the village of Vaitogi opened June 1, 1999, and is owned by Paramount Chief Mauga Tasi Asuega and Lagi Asuega. The name Tessarea comes from the couple's oldest granddaughter, who shares the same name.

Tessarea Vaitogi has eight hotel rooms on the lower level and five self-contained apartments on the upper level.

Fiatunase Asuega Mauga, general manager of the Tessarea Vaitogi, admits there's "not really tourism now in the territory." But, she said, "maybe there is a small percentage of tourists here."

The art deco Floridian-style stucco Turtle and Shark Lodge, owned by local attorney Roy Hall, is another great place to stay in American Samoa on the island of Tutuila. Turtle and Shark is named for the Samoan legend of the turtle and shark.

"I've always had the idea of having a lodge," Hall says. So three years ago Hall and his wife, Juanita, decided the time was right and opened Turtle and Shark.

Located in the village of Vaitogi, Turtle and Shark, with 10 rooms ranging in price from $55 to $75 per night, overlooks Fagalua Bay, part of the National Marine Sanctuary.

The Sadie Thompson Inn in Pago Pago, named for the character in Somerset Maugham's short story, Rain, opened in November 2002 to complement the already flourishing 18-year-old Sadie's Restaurant, which is known for its great meals and Saturday night fiafias.

The newly-renovated Sadie Thompson Inn has averaged more than 70 percent occupancy since it opened a little more than a year ago. It offers six standard suites, six deluxe suites and two luxury suites with a spectacular view of Pago Pago Harbor.

Tom Drabble, the owner of Sadie's Restaurant and the Sadie Thompson Inn, is excited to see all the changes that have taken place in American Samoa's tourism industry over the past seven years.

"I just see good things for this industry," Drabble says. "I just see it growing by leaps and bounds. I'm absolutely positive we will see more hotels in the future. I can see more and more good reports coming for American Samoa."