Paradise P I N E A P P L E
A view of Lana’i from the ferry.
land, as it offers economic rooms and a newly opened restaurant Lana’i City Grille under the stewardship of Mike Charles from Arizona who bought the business with his aunt in 2007. But it’s the two shining-gems, Manele Bay and Lodge at Ko’ele, built in the early 1990s that attract the discerning international and mainland travelers. Here visitors discover a posh tropical paradise with all creature comforts one could demand from an island simultaneously blanketed with otherworld exoticism, and the benefits of the U.S. Constitution. The Four Seasons Resort Lana’i at Manele Bay is the larger of the two with only 236 rooms (most more than 600 square feet in size including marble bathrooms). A beach resort steps from Hulopoe Bay, the Manele is about indulgences such as a health spa, TRAVELWORLD MAGAZINE / 09.4 SEPT.OCT
ocean view swimming pool lined with umbrellas and private beach cabanas, a poolside terrace restaurant called Ocean Grill and two world-class golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman. This hotel, with a distinct Asian sensibility in both ornate design and personal service, is complemented by layers of Chinese gardens, koi ponds and Hawaiian foliage that make the walk from elevator to room feel like a stroll through a quiet Ming retreat. By contrast, The Lodge at Ko’ele is seven miles inland, usually ten degrees cooler and draws on the charm of a Grand English Manor to create a stately hunting lodge folded into the mountain wilderness. With 102 rooms, it’s small by Hawaiian hotel standards, yet big on amenities such as spa, fitness centre, golf course (whose 17th
hole is on a cliff with fairway fifteen stories below), acres of Asian-inspired gardens and reflecting pool that mirrors dinner tables in the adjacent Great Room restaurant. Add to that stables with riding trails on the property and a sporting clay facility to test marksmanship and you’ve got a place you haven’t just travelled to, you’ve arrived. And arriving is the best thing about Lana’i. Sherri Telenko has been an editor and writer for 15 years after graduating from the University of Guelph with a Masters degree in English Literature. Currently, she teaches at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario, while writing travel articles, lifestyle pieces and personality interviews. Her travel articles focus primarily on urban adventure, arts, culture, cuisine and nightlife, and upscale resorts, spas, inns and family travel.