Visiting Lanai and Four Seasons Resort

This post is a part of my #LetHawaiiHappen series and represents experiences that Danté and I had as guests of Hawaii Tourism United States, visiting Lānaʻi and Four Seasons Resort. Our experience was complimentary but all opinions are my own.

As a fan of Four Seasons going back to my earliest days in travel, when I found out that Danté and I would be visiting Lānaʻi and staying at Four Seasons Resort during our recent trip to Hawaii, I couldn’t wait to get to that part of our journey! This was before I knew we’d also be guests at Four Seasons Maui just before. So in blogging about this most recent visit to the USA’s 50th state, instead of starting at the beginning, I wanted to start at the end. Our last stop….

Our room blew me away the second I entered with its luxurious details, technological features that made it both modern and comfortable and a balcony that was perfect for watching the sunrise every morning followed by gazing at the deer that would come so close to the room. We even had a super sweet welcome of customized chocolates, a special poundcake and refreshing fizzy drinks in glass bottles that we took on a little picnic later on.

But I was also eager to explore the resort itself since even the walk to our room in the first hour of our arrival showed me there was much to discover!

We enjoyed the food at the resort and found that from the Malibu Farms to the Nobu to the buffet every morning, no meal we had was ever disappointing. In fact, I loved the Mustard Breaded Chicken with Fennel and Arugula salad at the poolside Malibu Farms so much that I had that meal multiple times during our stay!!

I think it was the resort’s rescue birds that secretly pleased Danté the most. No matter what time of day it was, whenever we passed them, he had to say hello. And the female that was rescued from Australia named Ola was his favorite. She said hello to him and always came over to him whenever we passed by! Sadly, I don’t have a good photo of her because she didn’t like me as much as she liked him! With me, she was always elusive and stayed far away. We joked and laughed about this a lot!

There are a lot of activities to do at Four Seasons Lānaʻi and on the island of Lānaʻi. From heading to the nearby beach for sunset, to seeing a movie in town to hiking to Sweetheart Rock to enjoying the resort’s spa or gym….

We chose to start our visit to Lānaʻi by renting a Jeep for the day from Four Seasons. It’s a great program that differs from traditionally renting a car but some of the procedure is the same. It all takes place right off the lobby in the hotel and it couldn’t be easier. We used our brand new white Jeep to visit Shipwreck Beach and the town of Lānaʻi City.

Of course there’s no reason to be off resort the entire time you stay at Four Seasons when the resort itself is so stunning and so relaxing! There are plenty of places you can scope out as your own if pools or hot tubs aren’t your thing. (Though why wouldn’t they be?!) The design details make every corner welcoming. And the gardens that fill every space on the property, not taken up by a structure, are like Eden. Or as close to what I can imagine when I think of what that legendary garden must have been like.

You can also go horseback riding with the Stables at Koele. We loved this! Our guide Joel (who leads the program at the stables) and the stable assistant Mary, were awesome. And we loved our horses Red and Cash! The views as we rode around the island were stunning and the weather cooperated, allowing us to see both Maui and Moloka’i during our excursion. I was so impressed by the overall service when Joel himself drove us back to the hotel following the ride. He had some great insight into the history of Lānaʻi and the time passed too quickly!

Another day at the resort we learned traditional Hawaiian hand crafts using coconut palm leaves from Aunty Irene Davis and listened to live music by Dale Kapua in the lower level lobby as it rained outside. It was the perfect way to pass the time since we couldn’t be in the water. If those options don’t suit you, we also discovered there’s a pool table just off the bar (which offers a cocktail mixing class in the afternoon).

A last lunch at VIEWS before we had to catch the ferry to leave Lānaʻi, cemented our love for this particular Four Seasons for all eternity. The name of this Four Seasons golf course restaurant is obvious once you see the view of the resort itself and Sweetheart Rock. And if weather doesn’t cooperate making you have to dine indoors, it’s a stunning dining room with design details that I, again, loved. (Sensing a theme yet?) We had a delicious burger that I completely forgot to take photos of because I was so hungry! And with the heat our refreshing, fruity cocktail was divine comfort.

Even the best things must end and eventually we did board our ferry to head back to Maui in order to fly home to NYC. Heavy hearted and sad to leave, but so grateful we were able to Visit Lānaʻi….

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