At a 35-story Waikiki high-rise, daily life has turned into an unintended stair-climbing marathon. Residents at The Diamond Head Vista have spent several days hauling groceries, lugging bags and climbing flight after flight after a recent storm knocked out elevator service, left some tenants without hot water and set alarms blaring. For older residents and neighbors with mobility limitations, every trip up or down has become a grueling calculation, while volunteers and building staff scramble to shuttle supplies and check on people on the upper floors.
According to Hawaii News Now, residents at The Diamond Head Vista on Pualani Way have been without elevator service for four days after heavy rain and high winds damaged an elevator room and rooftop gas heaters. The outlet reports that at least four buildings within a two-block radius suffered similar failures, stretching local elevator technicians thin and complicating already uncertain repair timelines.
“Try getting to the 20th floor when you are gasping for air,” resident Carle Groome told reporters, summing up the daily ordeal of climbing to and from his unit. Nancy Montana, who lives on the 34th floor, told Hawaii News Now that she and her son have been volunteering to help neighbors who cannot manage the stairs. Other residents said people with disabilities have been forced to pause and rest on stair landings because they simply cannot keep going in one push.
Building details and official listing
A Honolulu Fire Department listing shows Diamond Head Vista is located at 2600 Pualani Way and is recorded as a 35-floor building with 173 units. That official record, last updated in 2021, matches residents’ descriptions of the building’s height and underscores just how daunting it is to move people up and down entirely by stairs.
Repairs could take time
Resident manager Terrill Butler told reporters that crews have been working since the storm, but elevator companies are stretched thin because multiple neighboring buildings were hit at the same time and replacement parts often have to come from the mainland. Butler also described repeatedly climbing the stairwells himself to check on tenants, reporting double-digit round trips during the worst of the outage.
Neighbors step up
Several tenants said they are pooling resources and helping neighbors who cannot manage the stairs, carrying groceries, running errands and checking on medication needs. Building staff and volunteers say they are prioritizing residents with mobility issues and keeping a close watch until the elevators are finally back in service.
