PsiFighter37

My wife and I are thinking about a weeklong trip to the islands around the first week of July. Neither of us have been to Lanai before, but if we go, I think it'd make sense to do it big and stay at the Four Seasons, which seems like the luxury hotel to be at on the island. Does anyone have past experience / opinions about the hotel and if it is worth it? For reference, we would like compare against Kauai, as that is the other main island my wife has not been to (I was in the Hanalei Bay area, but that was almost 20 years ago...so I don't mentally count it )

DenverBrian

Um, the Four Seasons is "the luxury hotel to be at " on Lanai because it's virtually the ONLY hotel on Lanai. Lanai is 98% owned by Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle. Virtually all activities are controlled by or take place at the hotel.

There are only about 3,000 people on the island; almost no shops or stores. It's definitely isolated. That may be exactly what you're looking for, but just know that.

747FC

Hard to say whether it is worth it for you. It is a luxury product on a very small island that has few diversions. If relaxing at a resort pool or beach, golf, tennis, skeet shooting, visiting quaint local stores, etc. is a good way for you to spend your time, you may really like it. Alternatively, if you like action akin to Waikiki, you will be unhappy there.

If you do go there, you might want to read up on the history of the island and its transformation from an unsustatinable pineapple plantation run by Dole Company, to resort destination envisioned by billionaire David Murdoch. Murdoch was a much hated figure by many locals, but single-handedly saved the island from becoming a welfare state by his huge infrastructure investment. Larry Ellison is the most recent billionaire to have a go at making the island economically successful.

PsiFighter37

Given the nature of this particular vacation, I mostly care that the resort has everything we need, along with ample space to lie on the beach and not be too disturbed by a gratuitous number of kids.

CRAZ8

The hotel is not right on the beach, and the beach is public, so they don't serve alcohol there. People do day-trip from Maui, and this is the closest beach to the ferry dock, so there will be people around.

That said, there are 2 pools, one of which is for adults only. Hopefully they police this well if there are kids being kids

If you're comfortable spending $1,000 a night for a hotel room, and then more for the overpriced food and drinks, then go for it.

I'm heading there next week!

carsnoceans

I stayed at FS Lanai in 2017. Gorgeous property. Rooms are not worth $1000 but that's the one way to make it exclusive. The staff is amazing and plentiful. Except for the busiest times at breakfast buffet, the staff was very attentive and keeps checking on guests.

Beach is okay. Nothing great. Pools are little small and I didn't see kids get in the adult pool at all. FS offers a lot of activities on and off the property and they were a lot of fun. Food is okay but cocktails were decent. Property does offer some good spots to sit around and chill but IMO, pool and beach were not it.

PsiFighter37

Appreciate the color. Right now, my wife are leaning towards a return to Maui and checking out the Hotel Wailea - aside from Maui being our favorite of the islands, it is going to be babymoon, and not being surrounded by children is at an unusual premium.

KristenNix

Four Seasons Lanai is incredibly special. The massive ($450m) renovation by Larry Ellison spared no expense and it shows. The resort sits just above Hulopoe Beach which typically ranks among the best beaches in all of Hawaii. The snorkeling directly off the beach is fantastic and occasionally the spinner dolphins show up in the bay to rest. During our last visit there were never more than a few Four Seasons guests on the beach. It was uncrowded and beautiful. The two pools are great and have amazing views, and we never had trouble finding seats at prime times during the day. We love to combine Four Seasons Maui with Four Seasons Lanai and will be doing it again this summer. The ferry ride between the islands is 9 miles and super easy. Additionally, if you fly into or out of HNL, you get to experience the private Four Seasons Lounge at the airport. FS Lanai is one of my favorite resorts in all of Hawaii and I highly recommend it.

Here are a couple photos I took of the resort and our beach chairs during our last visit:

CRAZ8

We just returned from our trip, and this was certainly a trip that was worth it for us. This is the best Four Seasons resort we've stayed in. We booked through a FSPP agent - DavidO's company - and this got us an awesome upgrade to a "Studio Suite" from a regular room, both with an Ocean View. I don't think I'd pay the $2300/night that our suite was selling for, but for our $1100/night rate (including breakfast) it was really nice.

The pools were mostly quiet, and easy to get chairs. The staff was very friendly, and there were enough of them that you never had to look too far to find someone.

A whole week might be a bit long. We stayed 6 nights, but may cut that shorter next time. We relaxed, did some activities - the UTV tour was great, and the Sunset Cruise turned into a whale watching one as the humpbacks have just arrived in the area.

We did use the Lana`i Air flights to get private transfers from HNL that added to the cost a little. Even with the winter headwinds, door-to-door from our house in Seattle to our room took exactly 10 hours. Wake up alarm at 4am gave us a late lunch around the pool!

BESVISOR

@PsiFighter37 I think Hawaii, as a whole, is a bit lacking in luxury hotels or I should say, the luxury hotels in Hawaii feels dated. Many are still large developments or high rise buildings.

That said, FS Lanai is probably my favorite in Hawaii. It feels so much different/better than most options in Hawaii. I found the food to be fairly good as well. I really would only want to visit FS Lanai, FS Hualalai or Montage Maui. Otherwise, I'd just skip Hawaii as a whole. But obviously, this is a very subjective view.

Good news is that if you're interested in visiting Lanai then the decision is easy as FS is the only option (as pointed out above).

If you guys are active, then definitely take advantage of the FSPP Promotion of Lanai Explorer, which provides unlimited activities.
Otherwise, there's a FSPP 5th night free promotion as well. Definitely book your trip through a Four Seasons Preferred Partner Advisor to get the best promotion and upgrades. I'm a FSPP Advisor so obviously a bit bias But it really is the best route to go for FS stays. There are many great FSPP Advisors on FT, and all should be able to look after you well!

For connecting to Lanai, I'd highly recommend taking their chartered plane for only $500 per couple, each way. That's a great deal and experience!
Funny enough, I'm planning to take my wife back to FS Lanai, second week of July and I'm stoked about the chartered plane. Wasn't available yet 2 years ago when I visited. Makes the connecting flight from/to HNL/OGG so much better.

Anyway, I think you guys would have a great time here, enjoy!!

no1cub17

Very useful post - thanks! We're pondering splurging for a 4 night stay - it's a stretch for us so probably will book a base room (garden view), but I'm also planning on booking via a preferred partner. Just curious how much do they charge for the activities? The ATV tour and sunset cruise are also things we'd consider. If we do go through with it we'll probably book the "Explore Lanai" package that comes with activity credits.

CRAZ8

The Sunset Sail was $260 for 2 of us. The UTV tour was $312 for 2 (not private, but it was just us on that tour) - these are the after tax cost. We also did the 1 day Jeep rental for $150.

We picked the 5th night free package, which saved us more than the $200/night activity credit would have. Our actual rate (with 1 night free) was under $1000/night, but taxes pushed that back to $6,600 total for the 6 nights.

ginmqi

Wow that's truly a luxury experience. But that's quite a price tag, $1000/RT for a couple from HNL to LNY instead of the normal hawaiian airlines flight.

But indeed if one is staying at FS Lanai that can run $1000+/night, it certainly could be within the budget if one is able to afford to.

BESVISOR

That's actually one of the best deals out there, by a long shot.

If you're flying commercial in economy then it's about $300 roundtrip per couple. There's a $700 difference but guests would potentially save hours, flying private and met by the FS team at gate for a seamless experience.

To your point, many of the guests visiting FS Lanai are high income earners so their time is worth more than $350/hour to make up for the conservative delta.

But what really sets it apart is that for anyone who knows how insanely expensive it is to charter flights, even on small planes, $1000 roundtrip is a bargain.
I believe the private charter from PPT to Brando is about EU 16,000 roundtrip. Amanzoe, EU10,000 roundtrip.
Not 100% apples to apples as these charters would allow more than 2 people but it gives you an idea how expensive chartering a flight to luxury resorts can be.

I agree with you that it's certainly not for everyone, it's still a 3.3x mark up from commercial!
But for the demographic these properties are catering to, the FS Lanai charter is an insane value.

CRAZ8

It was better than that! We flew Alaska First from Seattle, and for the flights we took, adding the hop to Lana'i took the price from $2,124 to $2,882 - that's just over $750 for 2 people for HNL-LNY (I was shocked when I priced this out). There were more expensive flights with cheaper HNL-LNY legs available, but the total cost was similar.

The private car transfer from LNY to the hotel costs a bunch too.

Based on published prices, this private charter was cheaper than flying commercial and buying the private car transfer!