Why cross the Atlantic to see authentic Beatles memorabilia when you can cross the Pacific instead? Believe it or not, the Hawaiian Islands, floating like a strand of pearls in the Pacific Ocean, is home to an incredible display of the legendary British quartet’s personal items. Specifically, the Kauai Country Inn. That’s right. A Beatles Museum inside of a country inn.
The museum is the brainchild of Mike Hough, a native of Birmingham, England, and resident Beatles aficionado. He has set aside a modest 350-square-foot room at the Kauai Country Inn to display the Beatles memorabilia he’s collected over two decades. Hough conducts museum tours (the museum is only open to guests of the inn) twice a week—Monday afternoons, Friday mornings, and by special appointment.
The square footage may be modest but Hough’s collection is expansive. On display are hundreds of Beatles items, everything from pins and posters, mugs and music boxes, caps and clocks, phones and photos, ties and toys to Beatles badges, pendants, rings, radios, and every album the Beatles released on vinyl, eight-track, cassette tape, and CD. In addition, the museum has every movie the Beatles appeared in on DVD.
But, by far the most photographed (and among Hough’s most prized) possessions is a shiny black Mini Cooper S formerly owned by the group’s manager, Brian Epstein. It has just 17,000 miles on it, and according to Epstein, all four Beatles had identical cars with minor cosmetic differences. The car, which is in mint-condition car, boasts special features, including a sunroof, wooden dashboard, twin gas tanks, leather bucket seats, electric windows and a specially designed engine.
The Kauai Country Inn is located in Wailua, Kauai. The property includes four suites, which range in price from $95 to $155 per night. A four-night minimum stay is required, and $20 per night is added for each additional guest (suites sleep two to five). There is also an adjacent three-bedroom, two-bath Country Cottage, which sleeps up to eight guests. Nightly rates for the cottage begin at $225, and there is a five-night minimum stay required. Prices include a gift of coffee, tea, chocolates, cookies and postcards, and use of boogie boards, golf clubs and snorkeling equipment.