Trip Report: Four Seasons Hualalai (Hawaii)

100   Recommended
Room 101 , Oceanfront
July 3, 2019 by EXPERT

 Map | 5 Reviews | 100% Recommended
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Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at Historic Ka'upulehu
 Map | 5 Reviews | 100% Recommended

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Room 101

Oceanfront

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
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Room
Oceanfront

Intro

Last year, we reached out to this forum to plan a first snorkeling trip for our 7 year old. We received many great suggestions and ultimately decided on the Four Seasons Hualalai largely because of the resort’s King’s Pond. It worked well for us because I’d never been to Hawaii before and UA had many first class award options that were lay-flat and easy to book. We found the resort to be incredibly beautiful and loved the natural Hawaiian feel, dark woods, lava rock, lush landscaping, etc.

DavidO made our FS Preferred Partner reservation and helped us request a specific room.

Four Seasons Hualalai

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Flowers

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Oceanfront Room 101

We’ve been lucky enough to book suites for the last several years with our son. But this time, with ocean view Superior Suites going for $3000-$5000 per night, we opted for an Oceanfront Room instead. As soon as we walked in, our little boy asked ”Where’s my room?” and “Where do I sleep?”. It turned out fine though as we were able to remove the mattress from the rollaway bed and place it head first in the walk-in closet. It fit about 3/4 of the way and gave us all just enough privacy come bed time.

Oceanfront Room 101 is the most requested accommodation at Hualalai because of its proximity to the water, spectacular view and privacy. It sits at the tail end of the resort where the green sea turtles come ashore to nap. Room 101 is a ground floor unit with a lanai, a small manicured lawn and it’s own daybed just steps from the beach. The room itself is a respectable 635 square feet and decorated in dark island woods. There is a large granite bathroom with a separate tub and shower and best of all…a lava rock garden out the back complete with orchids, bamboo, and an additional romantic shower (which is fun for kids, too!) 

While the rooms are often discussed as being overdue for refurbishment, we didn’t see any signs of wear or tear and we were happy with the decor.

101 Bedroom

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101 Lava Rock Garden

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101 Lanai and Daybed

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101 Exterior

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Service

Like the rest of Hawaii, this was a very busy place and there seemed to always be some kind of event. There weren’t any conferences when we were there but there was a wedding every night! We didn’t expect the staff to know our names (and they generally didn’t) but service was excellent, kind and helpful. When there was a simple mistake on our room service order, the item was taken off our bill. A small mistake on our final invoice was similarly credited when all we asked them to do was change the amount. There were special child and adult amenities waiting for us when we checked in including treats, sparkling wine, toys, appropriately sized robes and slippers, etc. And we were glad to see there were always good lounge chairs available at the pools and the beach with none of the visible “holding” of seats that is common in Hawaii.

Unfortunately, service at the family pool and beach was lacking. It was very difficult to find help. We had to chase staff members down in order to get towels, drinks, food orders, etc. Service was good once we had someone’s attention but this area of the resort seemed understaffed.

Turtle Napping In Front of 101

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Our Little Snorkeler with his Gear

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Activities

Our favorite activity, and the main reason for our visit, was snorkeling at King’s Pond. King’s Pond is a salt water lagoon that houses 4000 fish representing over 90 different Hawaiian species including a spotted eagle ray. There’s no coral as the whole thing is carved out of lava rock, but the fish are beautiful and bring lots of color to the snorkeling experience. A few tips…go early (10am) for the best visibility and bring a shorty wetsuit since the water is pretty chilly. In our case, the wetsuit had the added benefit of helping our 7 year old with buoyancy. Also, at 10am every morning there is marine biologist that sets up a touch tank display with crabs, star fish, sea urchins and sea cucumbers.

Of course our family also enjoyed the various pools located along the oceanfront (some “loud”, some “quiet” and some “adult only”). The Ocean Pool was a part of the ocean cleared of all lava rock which was nice for swimming and a little bit of snorkeling. In addition, we were able to visit Hualalai’s cultural center for one of their daily complementary activities. And we had fabulous lomi lomi massages while our son enjoyed the Kids For All Seasons program. The spa was very pretty and featured a meandering jungle path dotted with private relaxation areas and massage huts. The Kids for All Seasons club didn’t have their own pool but they took the kids to the family pool every day at 2pm and they hosted a Lego building contest one day when our son was there.

King's Pond Fish

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King's Pond Fish

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Loud (Family) Pool

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Adult Pool

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Dining

One of the wonderful things about the Four Seasons Hualalai is that the major dining venues sit right on the ocean, offering spectacular views from just about every table. We ate at Ulu and Beach Tree, and we also grabbed a quick sandwich one day at their little coffee shop, the Hualalai Trading Company. 

Our favorite foods included the pastries (masadas, coconut scones, banana bread, sticky buns with macadamia nuts) and the passion/orange/guava juice at Ulu each morning. We also loved the table side poke, the english pea risotto, the big island grass fed beef burger, the coconut souffle and the lava flow cocktail. Be warned, prices are expensive….to the point where it feels a little ridiculous at times.

Tables with a View

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Lava Flow

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Summary

Overall, we had a very good experience at the Four Seasons Hualalai. And our little boy is an avid snorkeler now! 

FYI, we combined this stay with the Mauna Kea Beach Resort, which is a 30 minute car ride away. A trip report on that property will be coming soon. We also spent time on Kauai at the Koloa Landing Resort but we won’t be writing a trip report about that one. Feel free to reach out with any questions, though. Mahalo and Aloha!

Sunset View from 101 Daybed

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Myna

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