The Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California, was named the No. 1 Eco-Friendly Hotel by USA Today in August 2025—another in an impressive list of international accolades achieved under the leadership of general manager and Kapiʻolani CC alumnus Tim Lee.
Since 2021, Lee has guided the iconic cliffside resort to worldwide recognition for its luxury service, design and sustainability. In 2024, Post Ranch Inn became one of just 11 hotels in the U.S. to receive the inaugural MICHELIN Guide 3 Keys distinction for outstanding hospitality, and repeated in 2025. The resort was also named the No. 1 Best Hotel in the World (under 50 rooms) in 2024 by the Andrew Harper Members Choice Awards, and has been recognized among the Greatest Luxury Hotels on Earth by Robb Report and featured on the cover of Condé Nast Traveler.
It is heady stuff for the Kapiʻolani CC and McKinley High School alumnus. Lee credits the foundation he built studying hotel management at Kapiʻolani CC with launching his path to global success.
“It made a big difference because it made me realize what I want, what career I wanted to pursue,” Lee said. “I think it had to do with my instructors, how they were so personable, how they would answer so many of my questions.”
Starting from the bottom
Lee’s career spans more than four decades at some of the world’s most celebrated properties, including the Hotel Bel-Air, The Beverly Hills Hotel, Halekulani, The Kahala Resort & Spa and the Grand Hotel Tremezzo on Lake Como, Italy. However, he chooses to pass on the lessons he learned at Kapiʻolani CC to students and young professionals today.
“I say the money will come with experience, just gain the experience,” Lee said. “I started as a dishwasher, then bellman. I was a room attendant. I didn’t care about the position—I just wanted to get the experience. So start from the bottom, work your way up, and it will just do so much more for your career.”
He worked as a bellman at a Waikīkī hotel while attending Kapiʻolani CC in the 1970s. Among his coworkers was a desk clerk named Dave Evans, who is now the chair of Kapiʻolani CC’s Hospitality and Tourism Management Department.
“Immediately upon meeting Tim, you are impressed with his graciousness, poise and professionalism—he embodies all the genuine qualities of a true hotelier,” Evans said. “Tim was fortunate that these many traits were recognized and developed by the best hospitality pioneers in Hawaiʻi‘s tourism industry.”
Iconic celebrities
Lee’s resume documents an incredible professional ascent. Spanning multimillion-dollar renovations, hotel pre-openings, and staff training for international brands, he has elevated guest experiences to Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five-Diamond standards. Along the way, he also befriended many iconic celebrities.
“Here’s Elizabeth Taylor,” Lee said, pointing to her signed picture hanging on the wall of his Waikīkī apartment. (He tries to come home to Hawaiʻi when he can.) “The first time I met her was at the Dorchester in London—beautiful woman, piercing blue eyes, just the nicest person—and then she stayed at the Kahala another time, so it was a reunion when I saw her again.”
For a period of several years, he had lunch every Friday with Nancy Reagan Hotel Bel Air. He first met Reagan when he managed the Regent Beverly Wilshire (where Pretty Woman was filmed and where he also met Julia Roberts and Richard Gere). He lists the late Robert Redford among his top three “nicest celebrities,” noting how he treated every staff member with kindness and would call to thank staff from the operator up. Their connection carried over to the Post Ranch Inn, where Redford would fly in on his private helicopter.
The wow factor
From Honolulu to Hollywood, Italy to Malaysia, and now the rugged cliffs of Big Sur, Lee’s journey reflects the impact of his Kapiʻolani CC education carried to the world stage. His continued excellence attracts the spotlight of global hospitality achievement, and he shares his wealth of knowledge generously, including with Evans’ students.
“When he is back home in Hawaiʻi, he is a regular guest speaker in my classes, mesmerizing the students with numerous tales of the eccentricities of his rich and famous guests,” Evans said. “We are most proud to include Tim as one of our many successful graduates of our hospitality and tourism program.”
Lee said, “I always like to help the younger generations—the future hoteliers of the world. They call me internationally, and I thrive on that.”
However, he is also looking forward to moving back home someday, not to retire, but to possibly consult.
“I want to find a property I can call ‘home’ and give back to Hawaiʻi all that I have learned. Where our people are very happy and proud. A company that believes if you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your business. That’s when the real magic begins!” Lee said. “That’s my dream—to come back to a property and just make it a wow factor.”
—By Kelli Abe Trifonovitch
