Inn-Escapable: Lanai
Visit Oahu, and you’ll have 90 hotels and inns to choose from. Head for tiny Lanai and the choices are limited, but lovely: the Four Seasons’ newly renovated oceanside resort and the historic Lanai Hotel, a charming inn that dates back to the flapper era. (The third option, the Four Seasons’ Lodge at Koele is closed for renovations.)
Hotel Lanai
A cream-colored wooden structure surrounded by lush grounds and tall Norfolk pines, this historic upcountry hotel offers a peaceful retreat after a long day of off-roading adventures or beachside pursuits. The plantation-style building was built in 1923 by James Dole — of pineapple fame — as lodging for Dole executives in Lanai City, a tiny town at the top of the island, 1,644 feet above sea level.
If you’re an indie traveler, who prefers historic inns and eclectic experiences to swanky resorts, the Hotel Lanai will delight you. You can’t manufacture this kind of place. History and authenticity seep from its pores. The wooden floors have just the right squeak. The quilts are Hawaiian and the furniture vintage. There’s no valet, no bell boy and no air conditioning — the rooms are cooled by ceiling fans and the rain-freshened air flowing through open windows, just as they were in the 1920s.
ZZZZ’S: The inn has 11 small, simple rooms, their wooden walls painted a glossy white and adorned with local artwork. A minifridge, perfect for stashing picnic supplies, is tucked in each closet. We slept deeply in our soft queen bed, cooled by breezes and lulled by the sound of rain.
SPLASHES: The small en-suite bathrooms have showers.
EXTRAS: Some of the best poke we had on the Hawaiian islands was right here at the hotel’s Lanai City Grille, which serves great craft cocktails and flatbreads ($16) loaded with artichokes, Portuguese sausage and fresh produce. The entrees all sounded terrific, too, but we were saving room for the Hawaiian pineapple bread pudding ($10), made with housemade Hawaiian bread and served with coconut ice cream.
DETAILS: Rooms are $174 and up, and include a simple continental breakfast. 828 Lanai Ave., Lanai City; www.hotellanai.com
Four Seasons Resort Lanai
This spectacular property on Hulopoe Beach reopened in February after a massive renovation project that took tech titan Larry Ellison’s luxury hotel, once ruled by marble expanses and constricted views, and opened it up into an airy, zenlike creation with views to eternity. The floors are mahogany, the walls teak, the rugs hand-woven and the art is museum quality. A school of fish, rendered in metal, swims across a teak wall. A 200-year-old koa wood outrigger canoe sits in the lobby. And the halls and public spaces exude an air of serenity, even when the hotel is at near-capacity, as it was when we toured.
ZZZZ’S: The hotel’s 213 guest rooms boast sleek lines, organic textures, warm wood accents and high tech touches that range from electronic panels to control the room’s temperature, lighting and privacy, to a giant flatscreen that delivers not only everything you’d expect from a TV, but some unexpectedly thoughtful additions, such as Istanbul news feeds for Turkish visitors and Sydney channels for Australians. And the mattresses are custommade for the hotel.
SPLASHES: You’ll find rainwater showers in the bathrooms, and Japanese soaking tubs in the suites. And the toilets are so high tech, the lid rises when you walk into the room, and the loo remembers how toasty you prefer your seat. (Or so we were told. We tried out the TVs on our tour, not the heated loos.) There are ponds and waterways throughout the property, with chaises for lounging, plus a lagoon-style swimming pool with two spas, and an adults-only retreat with waterfalls and lava rock grottos.
EXTRAS: The hotel’s dining options include Nobu Lanai, Malibu Farm and One Forty, a steakhouse whose name gives a nod both to the island’s square mileage and the temperature for a perfectly rare steak. There’s a wellness spa, an ocean-view golf course and upscale shops, in case you forgot your Jimmy Choos.
THE DETAILS: Rooms $1,075 and up. 1 Manele Bay Road, Lanai City; www. fourseasons.com/lanai.