A Week of Bliss on Lanai

We just returned from 7 days of bliss on the island of Lanai Hawaii. This was our third trip to the island in the past 10 years and Lanai seems improved over our last sojourn there 3 years ago. The roads are clean and well maintained, the harbor is pretty, the main town of Lanai City seems fresher and cleaner and there are more businesses operating than the last time we visited. We came away with a very favorable impression of our time on this quaint little Hawaiian outpost.

On our last trip to Lanai we stayed at the only real hotel in the town of Lanai City, the Hotel Lanai. While there was nothing overtly wrong or problematic with our stay, our memory of that trip seemed to be that the hotel was a bit unkempt, a bit dirty, and definitely showing its age with the structure and the plumbing. So, I wanted to stay at either of the two Four Seasons hotels on the island for this last trip. And hubby agreed even though the rates at these Lanai hotels are outrageous (but… you are paying for secluded paradise, right?)

I selected the Four Seasons Resort at Manele Bay instead of the other hotel up at the top of the island and we both could not have been happier with our choice. Not that we don’t want to try the other hotel on some future trip, we do, but we wanted the full beach experience this last time and that is what you get at the Manele Bay.

The hotel is gorgeous, just gorgeous, with interesting art decorating the walls of the entire resort. The room was very comfortable and we had a nice view of the ocean (the Bay to be precise) as well as the beach. And I don’t think that I have ever been treated better by the hotel staff than the treatment we received at this hotel, it was truly above and beyond what we expected. Maybe that is the way it is at every Four Seasons hotel, but since we had never stayed at one before this trip, I can’t say. The staff went out of their way at every occasion to make sure that we were comfortable, that we had everything that we needed, that we were happy with our stay at the hotel. And, they remembered our name which was a very nice touch.

We spent every day snorkeling in the bay and relaxing on the beach or around the pool at the Manele Bay hotel and ate most all of our meals at one of the three restaurants at the hotel. All of the restaurants at the hotel are excellent, especially the finer Italian restaurant. A couple of days we went into town for lunch which was okay, but not great and once we went to the Lodge at Koele for dinner in the Dining Room which was excellent.

The last trip we made to the island we rented a jeep to go around and see the different beaches and other sites (Garden of the Gods, etc), but this time we decided we would not do that since we were all about the rest and relaxation after a very tough year at home. All in all this was an excellent trip and we will surely go back to the secluded little island of Lanai.