After $85 million in renovations, the iconic Royal Hawaiian hotel is a shade pinker on the outside and a lot more modern on the inside.

The rooms have amenities that well-heeled travelers now expect: granite-and-glass bathrooms, flat-screen TVs and iPod docking stations.

The makeover closed the historic Waikiki Beach hotel for seven months and put at least 400 employees out of work, though most are returning now.

The changes are part of owner Kyo-Ya's estimated $750 million renovation of the Pink Palace, the neighboring Sheraton Waikiki Hotel and the nearby Moana Surfrider and Princess Kaiulani hotels.

The Royal has welcomed about 50 guests since Dec. 31 to ease it through a "soft opening" while doing finishing touches.

The next official opening date is Jan. 20 for a ball to celebrate the presidential inauguration of Hawai'i-born Barack Obama.

That will be followed by the "grand opening" on March 7, when the hotel opens all rooms.

Project manager James Francisco said the Surf Room was remade as an open-air Surf Lanai restaurant with a fine-dining indoor restaurant called Azure.

The Monarch Room remains a banquet room with new decor and a stage.

The most obvious change in the lobby is that the old archways have been reopened to the breezes after being closed for years with offices and stores.

(An earlier plan to move the entrance and porte cochere area was scrapped because of structural concerns.)

The guest rooms' bathrooms are now full of granite and new fixtures. The sheets aren't pink anymore but there are touches of pink in the wallpaper and furniture, and the bathrobes in the closets are still pink.

Jim and Lynette Busby, of Walnut Creek, Calif., usually stay two or three times a year. They extended this vacation twice because they weren't ready to go home.

While they're fond of the nostalgic feel of the hotel, the Busbys said the renovations have improved the overall experience.

"They're still maintaining that old Royal Hawaiian glamour and image," he said.

Jim Busby, 79, first saw the Royal as a young Navy man in 1948. The Busbys like to bring their granddaughters, who are now 9 and 13. This month, the girls' parents joined them for a multigenerational vacation.

"It's one of a kind," said Lynette, 59. "Everyone remodels their house now and then."

Jim works in investment. Lynette is in transportation, getting more people into environmentally friendly alternatives like smart cars and Segways.

"You work hard and you want to come here to relax," she said.

Why are they loyal to an 82-year-old hotel on Waikiki Beach? They credit the people — the welcoming employees and the friendship of other regulars — and the beach.

"It's a moving picture show every day," Jim said.

They hope they've started a family tradition shared by other guests bringing generations back for special vacations and memories.

THE LUXURY COLLECTION

Guest relations director Taeko Busk glides around the hotel, greeting the returning visitors. She beams as guests check out the changes.

"We have now the fourth generation coming," as she nods at people bringing great-grandchildren.

The Royal has been upgraded a tier in the Starwood Hotels chain to become part of The Luxury Collection, which caters to educated, professional visitors who are frequent guests and have an average household income of $350,000.

The hotel's new general manager is Kelly Hoen, the first woman to hold the top job.

Hoen, a Kailua native, moved from Kaua'i, where she worked in the hotel industry for 20 years, the last seven at Princeville.

Last week, she was happy to welcome back the second wave of returning workers, now known within the resort as "ambassadors."

She said 100 workers came back Dec. 31 and another 350 started last week.

WORKING WAY TO TOP

Kyo-Ya's Ernest Nishizaki serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer but has additional credibility at the Royal. He was a busboy in 1965 as a college student and the first Hawai'i-born general manager in 1993.

Nishizaki walks the hotel, noting the construction details but focusing more on the employees. Outside, amid a tour for 350 returning workers, Nishizaki chatted, shook hands and got hugged.

After they admired the updates together, he turned back to them and pointedly reminded: "You guys — you're going to make the difference."

DESIGN CHALLENGES

Architect and project manager James Francisco said that because the Royal was built in the 1920s, "every room is different."

Among the challenges was preserving the historic property without a mass-produced template. "Every room had to be modified in the field," he said.

Banquet manager Coronado Aquino has been with the hotel for 45 years, starting in 1963 as bus help in the Surf Room. He worked with Nishizaki when the future boss was a busboy while attending travel industry management classes at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

Aquino has welcomed celebrities such as comedian Jerry Lewis, singers Tony Bennett and Wayne Newton and flamboyant attorney F. Lee Bailey, who landed a helicopter on the ocean lawn.

"I remember when Duke Kahanamoku used to eat at the Surf Room," Aquino said.

He said he likes the people — guests and co-workers — the work and that "there's always something new."