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Staycations weren’t really a thing when I was a kid. But I do have memories of staying at Turtle Bay Hilton, what the now-luxe resort was called in the ’80s.

Rooms back then started at $120 (according to a Los Angeles Times story I found from 1988), which was still a splurge for my middle-class family. But it was attainable, and we loved playing in the pool and riding big-wheeled water tricycles in Kuilima Cove.

Today, 36 years later, rooms start at $979 a night — this was the lowest rate I was quoted for this weekend — with upgrade options for better views and nearly $230 in taxes and fees (including a $58.99 resort service fee). It’s definitely more than a splurge now.

In May, Maryland-based Host Hotels & Resorts, which owns almost 80 hotels, to acquire the 450-room resort and nearby land for $725 million from Blackstone Real Estate. The deal is expected to close in late July, at which time it will transition management to Marriott and rebrand as a Ritz-Carlton.

The deal includes a 49-acre parcel “entitled for development,” the company said in a news release.

In a separate deal, the Utah-based developer Arete Collective is buying 65 acres of land at Turtle Bay from Blackstone for another $43 million.

It doesn’t take a real estate genius to see the potential for big changes to the neighborhood.

Right now there are only two hotels on the coastline: Turtle Bay Resort and the more affordable Courtyard by Marriot in Laie. A luxury brand like the Ritz-Carlton could mean higher hotel rates that aren’t attainable for the everyday traveler (or local family).

But this purchase could mean more development along this rugged coastline.

It brings back different memories: In 2006 protesters fought the proposed expansion of Turtle Bay Resort, arguing that the developer, Kuilima Resort Co., needed to update its environmental impact statement that was 25 years old.

Opponents argued that in the 25 years since the original EIS was approved, the area had changed. Changes to traffic patterns, nesting of endangered species such Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles, possibly the discovery of iwi (ancestral bones).

At the time, protesters said they didn’t need any more hotels. In April 2010 the Hawai Supreme Court ruled in their favor, setting the precedent that landowners can be required to get new approvals if the surrounding area has changed.

It was a victory for opponents. But here we are, 24 years later, and the coastline may see two more hotels — and decidedly more impact on the neighborhood.

But there has been progress, too.

For example, in 2016 the Trust for Public Land, along with many partners including the North Shore Community Land Trust, secured the protection of 468 acres of productive farmland mauka along Kamehameha Highway.

The land, which is owned by Turtle Bay Resort and managed by Honolulu-based natural resource conservation company Pono Pacific, continues to be farmed.

The hotel’s Kuilima Farm grows vegetables, herbs, fruits and edible flowers for its restaurants, and another 11 private farmers — the ones who had been here farming prior to 2016 — still operate, supplying the hotel with produce, too. There are also 34 garden plots for North Shore residents who want to grow their own food.

These 468 acres — along with another 628 along the coastline — are now under a conservation easement. Meaning it can’t be altered and housing can’t be built, even if the resort sells it. Which it did this year.

According to TPL’s Hawaii director, Lea Hong, these 1,200 acres of North Shore land are permanently protected. That’s a huge win for the community.

But there have also been other wins.

Blackstone bought the 1,180-acre oceanfront hotel in 2018 for $332 million and spent millions of dollars transforming the property. The result goes far beyond the upgraded guest rooms and suites.

The lobby features large-scale works of art by Hawaii-based artists including Nick Kuchar and Native Hawaiian printmaker Abigail Romanchak.

The hotel’s restaurants, in particular Alaia, source locally, including from the hotel’s own farm less than a mile away. And the hotel hosts a variety of cultural experiences, from workshops that teach you how to weave coconut fronds or string a simple lei to nighttime stargazing to learn about the ancient art of Hawaiian navigation. The hotel offers bird-watching tours, horsemanship classes and guided night snorkeling.

Not to mention Turtle Bay, like the other hotel and various restaurants and attractions in the area, employ a lot of North Shore residents.

And, as of now, the hotel allows the general public to walk its grounds and park in its lot to access the beaches.

According to the hotel, there are no immediate changes expected to the guest experience, including cultural activities. And no additional construction is planned at this time. Hotel rates, though, are determined by market conditions and could go up with the Ritz-Carlton brand. That’s TBD.

So we’ll have to wait and see what happens. Letʻs just hope the new owners learn from the past and move forward as part of the community.