Four Seasons Resort Lanai, The Lodge at Koele

100   Recommended
Deluxe Garden Room
September 8, 2014 by EXPERT

 Map | 2 Reviews | 50% Recommended
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Four Seasons Resort Lanai, The Lodge at Koele
 Map | 2 Reviews | 50% Recommended

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Deluxe Garden Room

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
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Room
Deluxe Garden Room

I flew Island Air from HNL to Lanai City, a short 40 minute flight on twin propeller ATR aircraft. Fares are reasonable at about $70 one way and one can accumulate mileage into UA Mileage Plus (unsure if these are EQM though).

I was confirmed into a Deluxe Garden room on a room only basis. There is a one time charge, for the duration of your stay on Lanai, of $47.50 for use of the shuttle service to and from the port or airport to both resorts and between the two resorts and Lanai City.

The Lodge at Koele is situated about 1700 feet above sea level so that it is markedly cooler at this elevation (up to 10F between the Lodge and down at Manele Bay). There is a little more variation in weather and there can be occasional squalls which last less than an hour. The result, though, is lush and verdant upcountry terrain.

Check In

Upon arrival at Lanai City Airport, Four Seasons representatives are waiting to assist you with luggage and to take you on the resort shuttle to the resort you are staying at. It is about a 10 minute ride from the airport to the Lodge at Koele.

Upon arrival at The Lodge, guests are welcomed with the traditional lei greeting (fresh orchids for the ladies and wooden beads for the men) while another staffer is blowing into a conch shell announcing arriving guests. Upon entry in the main Lodge you are welcomed with an oshibori towel and a refreshing fresh juice.

Check-in formalities for me were taken care of in the main seating area of the Lodge. Some other guests were checked in the main seating area while others were checked in at the Front Desk.

After a short tour to orient myself I declined the room escort to the room. The Main Building is two stories tall and has rooms on both floors. There are two wings on either side of the Main Building which are also two stories. The hotel is thus a shallow U shape. I was in one of the wings closest to the fitness centre pavilion and pool.

Room

I was allocated a ground floor Deluxe Garden room. All rooms have lanais, though not all lanais are created equally. I will talk about this later. From my room I had direct access to the hotel grounds though unfortunately i was located next to the elevator and ice machine. Not recommended for light sleepers. Granted, the hotel was about 98% occupancy.

The room is of a good size with a British country house decor. The bathrooms feature unique tiling and a tub/shower combination with separate WC.

Toiletries are L'Occitane and standard internet is a bit slow. I found the premium internet adequate but necessary when working especially if you need to use Skype. Premium internet is $15 per day. Bed was very comfortable. Housekeeping was top notch with turndown.

Dining

The Lodge at Koele has 3 main dining venues -- the Terrace which is the all day dining restaurant; the Grill, which serves multi-course tasting menu's for dinner only; and the Bar.

The Bar:

The Bar has a great self-serve popcorn machine with do-it-yourself-toppings such as parmesan cheese, truffle butter oil, and the oh-so Hawaiian Japanese furikake. I personally like the furikake and thought it worked extremely well but was not a particularly popular choice with guests. The Bar has a limited menu of food offerings but suffices should you miss the lunch service at the Terrace like I did. The Terrace: I am sorry but my photo of the Terrace did not turn out. It is on the far side of the Great Hall of the Main building closest to the rear of the building leading out to the grounds. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu features many ingredients sourced within the Hawaiian islands and everything was prepared excellently. The fish was particularly wonderful and cooked perfectly. There is music nightly from 7pm to 9pm and adds a very homey touch. Here is a photo looking into the Great Hall from the Terrace:

There is 24 hour In Room Dining and while there is the obligatory Hawaii state tax and 18% gratuity thankfully there is no additional delivery/handling fee.

For me, I thought the Dining options were a little limited at the Lodge as there is not much variation between the dining venues. There are a couple options in Lanai City (Blue Ginger Cafe or the Lanai Ohana Poke Market) but you are then also tied to the shuttle service.

Activities

There is an abundance of activities at The Lodge, some you can pay for through the Concierge Desk like clay shooting, renting a Land Rover for off-road excursions, etc. However, there are many complimentary activities at the Resort. On the far right of the grounds is an Executive 18 hole putting course which is a family favourite. Putters and golf balls can be borrowed from the Front Desk. You can also play croquet and lawn bowling -- equipment for these can be borrowed from the Front Desk.

There is a small swimming pool right by the 24 hour fitness centre.

There are hammocks scattered around the property for utter relaxation. There is a big koi pond filled with many large hungry koi -- you can get food to feed them from the, you guessed it, Front Desk.

Koi pond in the background:

Feeding the fishies:

There is a pagoda for quiet reflection:

And beside that a tranquil waterfall and a copse of bamboo trees:

For lovers of orchids there is a small conservatory filled with an amazing array of orchids. For special occasions, the hotel will serve dinner for couples/small groups here for a very intimate affair:

Suffice to say there is plenty to do here at The Lodge but a large part of the Resort is to really relax. Swaying gently on a hammock, listening to birds chirping, is an amazingly relaxing activity that I wished I had more time to enjoy.

Service

Service is good throughout the property, ranging from courteous yet efficient to very affable and genuinely warm and friendly. Many of the staff are genuinely concerned about your stay -- the shuttle drivers and bellmen are, on the whole, particularly friendly and engaging. Once they know your name, the staff try their best to address you by name at every encounter. There were no misses from Housekeeping.

Some Observations

One thing I noticed, and this is a recurring theme at 3 of the 4 Four Seasons Resorts Hawaii, is that there is significant variation within the room categories. For example, here at Lodge at Koele, I was assigned a ground floor Deluxe Garden room which faced the main building but had direct access to the grounds. I was shown a 2nd floor Garden Deluxe room with sweeping views of the resort grounds. While each room and suite has a lanai or balcony some have significantly larger balconies. Some of the Great Hall Premier rooms (I believe specifically 202 and 209) have massive terraces which are likely larger than the room itself. I think it is important to relay to your Travel Advisor precisely what you are looking for and are expecting -- this way your Advisor can guide you and make the appropriate requests to the hotel.

While Manele Bay guest rooms and suites will be renovated next year there are preliminary discussions to remodel the Lodge once Manele Bay is complete. Thus, any renos to the Lodge will likely not take place until 2015 at the earliest. This also means that rates, and the great promotions, will likely remain steady until then.

I think the most important aspect of this resort, and photos just don't and can't convey this is the serenity of this place. It is immediately relaxing and rejuvenating -- within a half hour of arriving I noticed that my shoulders started to drop and I felt very relaxed. After a few hours I was feeling energized and rejuvenated. There is something special about Lanai and the Lodge especially. I highly recommend a visit to Lanai and to the Lodge.

For additional photos:http://gallery.flyertalk.com/gallery...Koele-Dec-2013

Amenities

Four Seasons Preferred Partner amenities: Daily american breakfast for 2 per bedroom, Upgrade of one category if available upon arrival (excluding Villas and Specialty suites) $100 USD Food and Beverage credit once per stay Complimentary standard internet for 2 devices ($15 for premium internet)

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