Our Stay At Four Seasons Lanai

Last weekend Dane and I hopped over to Lanai for the weekend and it was the respite I didn’t know I needed. We have visited Lanai twice before, but it’s been more than 5 years since our last visit. You can read about our first trip to Lanai and our second trip to Lanai, but since then, Larry Ellison has purchased the island and made some serious renovations at the Four Seasons Lanai resort. One short flight from Oahu and we arrived in paradise! Today I’m sharing all about our weekend in Lanai and what we thought of the new and improved Four Seasons Lanai.

Our Stay At Four Seasons Lanai

The Four Seasons Lodge at Koele (where we formerly stayed) is actually still undergoing renovations, so we booked at their new and improved main property. The Lodge is no more and will actually be a wellness retreat when it re-opens later this year. We decided to take the earliest flight out of Honolulu so we could maximize pool time, but not before hanging out in the Four Seasons lounge at Honolulu airport. It’s a nice treat for guests who book their stay at the FS Lanai property and I didn’t mind a little AM champagne 😉

One thing that is nice about traveling inter-island is that after flying around the world, it seems like you have arrived at your destination in no time! A 25-minute (maybe less) flight and quick van ride and we we were there!

We had a Garden Room, but it wasn’t ready yet, so we quickly changed out of our flying clothes and directly into our resort clothes. We snagged two seats by the pool, ate some delicious fish tacos for lunch (do lunch views get better) and relaxed in the sun. Our sunscreen was in our bag, so we loved that FS had COOLA on hand free for guests to use. 

We got a text saying our room was ready, so we booked it for the lobby to pick up our keys. Kind of like our stay at Outrigger Waikiki, the room keys were waterproof wrist bands. I loved that! Makes it so easy to just wear it without worrying about forgetting your room key and locking yourself outside of your room (I have a history of this…shame!). Folks, the Four Seasons does rooms right…I’m pretty sure our garden view room was nicer than our house, HA! They also had the most delicious chilled pineapple with lemongrass and mint waiting for us. So delicious! 

We checked in on The Masters leaderboard before changing our clothes to hit the gym and take a tour around the property. I love the design aesthetic they’ve done. Formerly, the resort had a very Asian-inspired decor scheme, but now it’s really modern-meets-traditional with lots of Hawaiian touches and tons (AND TONS) of lush greenery. We are those people who love to check out the gym when we travel, so we were both super excited to see that not only is the gym spacious, it’s got terrific views which makes working off those pool drinks slightly less painful 😉

On Saturday we woke up bright and early for a deep sea fishing charter that was incredible. It’s been years since I’ve been deep sea fishing and it felt really good to be back. We caught one 50-pound wahoo (or Ono in Hawaii) before heading back to shore. The water was pretty choppy since the winds were blowing like crazy, but it was such a great way to start the day!

The rest of our stay was filled with pool time, food, cocktails, a few more workouts, and lots of relaxation. We knew that because we had adventured around Lanai during previous trips that this one was going to be a vacation where we just relaxed. We read our books, chatted and just enjoyed the amazing cliffside views. Honestly — this was probably one of the best hotel experiences we’ve had here in Hawaii. Top to bottom, the level of service is just out of this world.

 

A few details that made our stay at Four Seasons Lanai so special:

–I mentioned it before, but it bears repeating — the poolside sunscreen for free is phenomenal. Not only is it a hassle to pack sunscreen in a carry-on (particularly if you’re hauling it from further than a neighbor island), but figuring out what is reef safe and isn’t always the easiest. Four Seasons Lanai takes away the guess work by keeping COOLA fully stocked poolside in giant containers!

–FS paper straw initiative made me happy since single use plastics are a big issue for our oceans!

–The food. We didn’t have a single bad meal during our stay! Breakfast each morning (with a beautiful view) was the best way to start the day and having a bevy of options all within the resort grounds for lunch and dinner was a nice bonus. We are at ONE FORTY and the Sports Bar and could not have been happier (or more full)! There are also lots of gluten free options, which I loved. 

— The resort is home to several rescue birds with an on-site aviarist, Bruno, who is able to share so much information about the birds with guests. We spent an entire afternoon sitting and chatting with him, learning about some of the birds and their idiosyncrasies. While we were chatting, he wove this hat for Dane — talk about awesome!

— Every day at 5:30ish in the Sports Bar, Eric, the resident mixologist puts on a free cocktail class. Every night is different, but for 1 hour you can learn all about how to make a cool cocktail and then try to make your own. It’s awesome and the best type of happy hour!

If a luxurious retreat is on your agenda, definitely move Four Seasons Lanai to the top of your radar. It’s such a beautiful place and we are already considering heading back for our anniversary this summer! It is 100% the best kind of place to kick back and just enjoy the sunshine. 

Some questions I got while we were there included:

Is Four Seasons Lanai family-friendly? Yes, we saw lots of families with children. That said, there isn’t a ton to do on the island so it might be best-suited for families with children who really just like to hang at the pool or beach. 

What is the beach like? The beaches on Lanai are what I think about when I envision “untouched Hawaii”. Soft white sand and clear turquoise water. 

What can you do on Lanai outside the resort? Lanai is a very “outdoorsy” island, which means that many go there to enjoy being outside. It’s also a big spot for hunting wild deer here in Hawaii. On previous trips we enjoyed getting up at sunrise to see Shipwreck Beach, hiking around Garden of the Gods, shooting clays, venturing into Lanai City, and checking out the Lanai City Hotel. 

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy Best Free Activities In Hawaii or How To Book Cheap Flights To Hawaii!