Just returned from a long weekend at the Four Seasons Hualalai to celebrate our anniversary. It was our 5th trip, and we booked using FSPP. I haven't posted a trip report here on FT before, but didn't see many recent reports so thought I'd share my observations.
Arrival & Checking In
After arriving at KOA, we stopped by the Four Seasons desk, where someone accompanied us over to the baggage claim area while we waited for our bags. They helped us grab our bags and transfer them into a waiting towncar that we'd pre-booked. Nice service! I had added on a lei greeting to our Hawaiian Airlines reservation without remembering that you get a really nice one upon arrival at the FS. Oops! So many leis
Once we arrived, our bags were whisked away and we were pointed toward a comfy couch to get our bearings. Check-in felt rushed compared to previous stays. The last few times we've visited, we had the same person check us in, but this time we had someone new. (New to us? New to FS?) We weren't given a map of the property or a refresher about where the different pools or restaurants are, or even where our room would be. It really felt like we were being hustled out of there, even though there were hardly any other people checking in at the time. Perhaps they were preparing for a large party to arrive after us and wanted to get ready? We didn't even have time to sip the admittedly tiny portion of faux mai tai that was served to us in a coconut shell. I'm all for getting to my room and not having to wait around the lobby for too long, but this was extreme. Plus, their lobby is so nice! Can't hurt to spend a few minutes there sipping a cool beverage and enjoying the scent of your fresh flower lei while you wait for all that behind-the-scenes checkin stuff to happen.
The Room
We were escorted to our room by a friendly bellman (they're always really nice!) who helped us with our bags. We ended up being "on the moon", as I put it - about as far away from the resort amenities/lobby/pools/food as you can get, almost the last building before the hotel bungalows end and the privately-owned condos next door begin. Quite the trek to get to/from anywhere we were going during the week compared to the rooms we've had previously (Right behind the Palm Grove pool with an AMAZING view last time, or overlooking the pond next to 'Ulu on another recent stay.) I figured we'd be there for less than a week and would be taking advantage of the beach or pools most of each day, but still.... Maybe they can give out bikes to the guests as well as the housekeepers.
I *was* legitimately bummed out by getting an upper floor room, though - I missed out on my favorite outdoor shower amenity.
There was a quite large wedding party on property during our trip (possibly other large groups, too) and almost every night involved some kind of raucous party that lasted pretty late into the night. Our lanai looked out over the golf course and clubhouse/Hualalai Grille, which one night had a noisy party of what must have been 50+ people celebrating late into the night. Unfortunately the soundproofing of the sliding glass doors wasn't enough to stand up to the noise level of all of the voices, music, clinking glasses and other sounds that echoed throughout that area and off the crescent of buildings that arc toward the ocean there. You'd think the hotel would have put more party guests in that area, assuming they'd all be on similar schedules for parties, outings, and activities that can break up the peacefulness of the resort at other times..
Our room was looking pretty tired in the furniture department - lots of scuffs and stains, and what looked like a greasy sunscreen handprint on one of the doors that I assume housekeeping couldn't clean off. A good amount of someone else's hair was plastered to the wall in the shower, and one of the two pocket doors that open into the bathroom wouldn't even open - it was somehow jammed into the track and wouldn't move at all. Not really an ideal situation to have with your bathroom door! It wasn't a great feeling having to call the front desk and tell them about such a major problem within 5 minutes of us settling into our room. They dispatched someone from maintenance over to our room ASAP, though. The guy poked around for a few minutes before asking us if we had any plans and if it was OK if he stayed in our room for a while to take care of it because he'd "have to take all the trim off" and basically take the door apart in order to fix it.
We were about to head over to dinner anyway, so we left him to it, and when we returned later it was fixed. But I didn't hear a peep from management about it. No apology or anything, which is very unusual.
The FSPP amenity usually gets us a really great welcome plate of dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts and local fruit. Typically we check in, go to our room, and soon after, someone stops by with a lovely tray of chocolate and a bottle of wine. The perfect way to get our vacation started! This time we received a small tray of generic fruit. 2 apples, an orange, and a banana could be provided at any hotel, anywhere in the world. What happened to the delicious locally-inspired option? It's the kind of little touches like this that I don't want to make a fuss about, but are obvious enough to make me wonder if all is well with the management of the property.
Pools
We spent some time at the various pools on property - we generally steer clear of the palm grove pool just because the loungers fill up very early in the day and crowd can be a bit "see and be seen", which isn't my thing. When we do stop by, it's usually in the early evening to watch the sunset from the pool after some of the crowd has cleared out. Most of our time was spent by the Beach Tree pool in a cabana, so we have some shade. We also spent a day at the "ocean pool"/beach, and at King's Pond to do some snorkeling. (Which requires you to sign a waver whether or not you check out snorkel gear, and is only open from 10-4.)
Beach Tree Pool
No cell phones allowed, lap swimming only allowed before 9am or after 6pm. I've definitely heard people yakking on their cellphones here in the past with multiple pool attendants walking by without intervening, though. (Not this trip, thankfully.) Children under 12 are allowed if accompanied by an adult, though I didn't see any while I was there.
We'd generally arrive around 9:30 or 10 AM and had no trouble getting one of the cabanas. Pool attendants here were a lot more responsive than at the beach/ocean pool or at King's Pond.
I was disappointed in all the drinks I tried here - they all tasted very, VERY sweet, and like they were using mixers and not fresh juices. Really unfortunate, especially when you're paying over $20 for a drink. I'm pretty passionate about well-made cocktails, so if you're the same, I'd avoid the cocktails here. Maybe get a glass of chilled rose or white wine, or a beer. I actually considered asking for a drink, with exact measurements and all!
Didn't want to be that demanding, though ... (P.S. A mai tai should not have pineapple juice ...)
I will give them this, though: their drinks ARE strong. Too bad they don't know they could save some money by cutting down on the booze and using real fruit juice instead of cheap, chemical-y tasting mixers.
Ocean Pool
The Ocean Pool is not a pool. It is the ocean
It's about the size of a swimming pool, though. There's a lava rock wall parallel to the shore that keeps things calm when it's low tide. When it's high tide, though, or windy, all bets are off - it can get pretty wild! I recommend going around 9 or 10 am when the water is more calm, unless there are high winds. The bottom is only sandy in a few spots - most of it is smooth rock, but with some sea urchins that may be lurking... So tread carefully. The nearby seashell pool has water shoes you can borrow, which they recommend. Apparently the concierge desk there also has something to help treat sea urchin injuries if you happen to get one, though. I feel like that would ruin a vacation pretty quickly
Ocean pool has the same food/beverage menu as the Seashell pool and it's seriously underwhelming. Service was slow, even though there was hardly anyone else in any of the beach cabanas. Occasionally someone did wander by with frozen grapes or popsicles, though.
Noise level is mixed here - it's right across the path from the seashell (children's) pool so it can get noisy at times. The sound of the water kind of drowns that out. If you're looking for more of a sanctuary/quiet experience, go for the Beach Tree pool.
King's Pond
King's Pond is really something! It's basically a huge aquarium that you can swim around in. There is an eagle ray that makes the rounds, and is really quite amazing to watch. You can borrow snorkel gear, and must sign a waver to swim in this "pool" whether or not you will be using snorkel gear. The water is slightly cooler than the pools, but not by much. It's only open from 10-4, and I recommend getting there at 10 not because it's crowded, but because the water is much more clear earlier in the day. By the afternoon it's downright murky and you can barely see anything.
There are private clusters of lounge chairs surrounding this pool, and it's quite something to see a ray float by in the water, or the other various colorful tropical fish swimming around. Very cool!
Service wasn't great here - there was only one person working the entire area, and they were focused almost exclusively on checking out snorkel gear. They really should have had at least one more person to come by so people could get water/drinks or order food. We didn't have anyone offer to make up our loungers and ended up grabbing a big stack of towels ourselves. The menu turned out to be the kid-focused one from the seashell pool, so we ended up getting going over to Beach Tree for lunch. Disappointing, since I explicitly remember spending a wonderful day by this pool a few years ago and having a really delicious lunch.
Pool menus
The pool menu at the Beach Tree pool is the best option if you're a foodie at all. (It's a subset of items from Beach Tree restaurant's lunch menu.) The seashell (kids) pool menu that's also shared with the ocean pool and King's Pond is mostly kid food like PB&J or chicken fingers. Maybe you can order off other menus than the one for the pool you're at? Not sure.
Food
As much as I hear people criticizing the predictability of the breakfast menu/buffet choices at 'Ulu, I quite enjoy it. I love that there's a traditional Japanese miso soup option every day, and always have a cup of that with some of the pickles that accompany it. The macadamia nut sticky buns are to die for, too, so I hope they never get rid of those. Most of the other pastries are 'meh', though the malasadas are great if you get them when they're piping hot. Mini pancakes are hit or miss depending on the flavor. Loads of really high quality fruit, including local papaya and lots of really fresh blackberries were a highlight. But the egg options disappointed: the fritatta option always seemed to have loads of bell peppers in it (ew) and the scrambled eggs were WAY undercooked. Yuck.. ��
Overall I'm a fan of the breakfast, though - there's enough there to keep me happy. I do miss the chemex (pour-over) option for morning coffee, as the French press sits and over-steeps our coffee into some sort of high-powered jet fuel as my partner and I don't chug it down but instead savor it while we enjoy the beautiful view over breakfast and a crossword puzzle
I love that local coffee producers are featured, and there are a few different ones to try so you're not stuck with the same thing every morning. I'm a serious coffee snob, so adding on $16 for a french press of 100% Kona coffee is perfectly OK for me. I like the featured mini bottles of big island hot sauce that are available, too - my favorite is the kona coffee one. (Shocking I know
Oh, and there's a great local kombucha that's included as part of the breakfast buffet. I highly recommend giving it a try.
Beach Tree
We did lunch at Beach Tree most days, since most other pools had disappointing food options. And honestly, I like their lunch menu a lot more than dinner. The dinner menu just seems stale to me, and hasn't changed much during our last few visits. I just don't crave heavy Italian food and pastas when I'm in a warm, tropical location. The nicoise salad with purple sweet potatoes was excellent, as was the poke.
We went for dinner once as well, but stuck to pupus - none of the entrees really grabbed us. Their take on an aperol spritz cocktail with candied hibiscus is highly recommended.
Residents' Beach House
We stopped in for a late lunch on our first day, and made a reservation for dinner during our stay as well. Lunch/early afternoon service was great and laid back (had some really tasty crab cake sliders and onion rings), but when we were there for dinner the waitstaff seemed irritated and not very welcoming. Dinner was not as good as lunch/limited afternoon menu we'd had earlier - I had a wedge salad that was WAY overdressed, and an ok curry with local fish. Strangely, the aromatic jasmine rice was the highlight of that dish. We tried their ribs as an appetizer and they were excellent. My advice would be to stick to appetizers and drinks here.
'Ulu
I wasn't wowed by the sushi options here - the sushi was definitely better when we visited about 6 months ago, so I'm not sure what exactly happened. We did try a tasting of 2 flights of sake to go with, and they were all very good. I think the sushi rice was seriously underseasoned. We had another meal here with more fresh fish options and really enjoyed our dishes. The bao (BBQ pork steamed buns) were extremely greasy the night we tried them. They provide a very nice purple sweet potato mini loaf of pullapart bread as a starter, which is really nice. And definitely try one of their souffles for dessert. (Although one night our souffle was "lost" and had to be remade - luckily we weren't in a hurry, because it takes about 20-30 minutes for those to cook, and we basically had to wait for 2. Luckily they were comped without us even having to ask.) The waitstaff at 'Ulu really does a great job!
Checking Out
We put in a request for late check out well in advance, although they can't lock it in for you until the day before checkout. I called early in the morning the day before we'd be leaving to ask about it, since we wouldn't be leaving until late in the evening for a red eye flight back home. I was told that we had to be out of our room at noon, though. I *was* given the option to move to another room that was available until 6PM, but would be charged a half day room rate. I declined. As we walked over to breakfast, though, I realized that we didn't necessarily need a checkout THAT late - even a few extra hours would be helpful so we didn't have to rush around on our last day when we wouldn't be leaving until after dinner. So we decided to stop by the front desk and ask if an earlier late check out was available. After some shuffling and a consultation with someone in the office, we were offered a mid-afternoon checkout. Kudos to the front desk staff for helping us work something out - it was nice to spend a few extra hours enjoying lunch by the pool instead of hurrying to check out when we didn't have anywhere to go for 10 hours.
When it was time to check out, a bellman stopped by with a golf cart to whisk us and our bags back to the lobby where we took a look at our final bill and asked about dinner reservations. Even the bellman who picked us up remarked on how early it was for us to be checking out (and this was at our new, "late checkout" time!) given how late our flight was.
Overall impression
Overall, I had a relatively pleasant stay, but wonder how much the "death by 1000 paper cuts" concept affected things. No major "I'm never coming back" problems, but enough little details gone wrong that I'm rethinking how soon I'll be back. Having our room be so far away from all of the pools, restaurants, and beach got old REALLY fast, and when we were checked in it felt like the fact that we'd booked with FSPP didn't really get us anything in the end. Service throughout the resort was glacial almost everywhere except the Beach Tree area, and our room looked extremely dated and worn. I hear there are some rooms that are being renovated here, but I have yet to see any in person, and they're badly in need of an update.
FS Hualalai is the kind of place where, during previous visits we were treated more like a house guest than a customer. If there was ever any issue with our room, or service at a restaurant, or anything, we'd receive profuse apologies. This time? Nothing. No mention of an FSPP upgrade when we checked in (Not even a "We're sorry no upgrades are available"), no apology about the fact that our room had a completely broken bathroom door. I don't know if this was a one-off slip in hospitality (maybe they diverted staff to help with large groups on property?), or if it's a trend. But in either event, it makes me think twice about coming back again, especially considering the price level.