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Our Four Seasons Lanai Review, Photos and Video revisits one of our two favorite Hawaii luxury resorts (the other is the Four Seasons Hualalai on the Big Island). We review a Prime Oceanfront Room, Penthouse Deluxe Oceanfront Suite, ziplining at the Lanai Adventure Park, pools, beach, tennis, and dining at Nobu Lanai and Views at the Manele Golf Course. Also see our separate One Forty Review covering breakfast and dinner.
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Four Seasons Lanai Location and Getting There
The Four Seasons Lanai, as its name implies, is located on the Hawaiian island of Lanai. The best way to get there from Honolulu is on Lanai Air, which offers more spacious seating than on Mokulele Airlines. While Lanai Air normally costs $350 per person each way, $700 roundtrip, TravelSort Clients who reserve Four Seasons Lanai by 12/31/22 for stays that arrive by 4/30/23 will enjoy complimentary Lanai Air for two guests per room.
Alternatively, if staying on Maui, it's possible to take the Expeditions ferry between Maui and Lanai. The ferry ride can be choppy, however, so I don't recommend it unless you're not prone to seasickness. However you decide to get there, be sure to let the resort know your flight or ferry arrival time.
Once you arrive at the airport (or dock, if taking the ferry), you'll be met by a Four Seasons representative and shuttled to the resort. The ride from the airport to the resort takes about 20 minutes, while the ride from the Manele Bay Harbor to the resort takes less than 5 minutes.
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Four Seasons Preferred Partner Benefits
The best way to reserve Four Seasons Lanai is with Four Seasons Preferred Partner benefits, because you'll receive top priority when it comes to an upgrade (ahead of AMEX FHR clients, Virtuoso, or booking the resort directly). Become a TravelSort Client if you're not one already to enjoy:
- Top priority for an upgrade at check-in, if available
- Complimentary daily breakfast for two guests per room at One Forty or via in-room dining
- A $100 resort credit per room or $200 resort credit per suite, once per stay
- Early check-in / late check-out based on availability
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Four Seasons Lanai Rooms and Suites
At Four Seasons Lanai, if an ocean view is important to you, we highly recommend reserving at least an Oceanfront Room, if not a Prime Oceanfront Room, because many of the rooms are set back, and there's also so much variation among rooms within a category. We particularly recommend the Prime Oceanfront Studio Suite, as this has an especially nice vantage point and ocean view. Or, for those who both want an ocean view and the convenience of being close to the lobby, spa, restaurants, and pools, we recommend the new Penthouse Deluxe Oceanfront Suite and Penthouse Prime Oceanfront Suite that are in the main resort building where the lobby is located, on the 4th floor.
The resort was kind enough to grant us a multi-category upgrade to a second floor Prime Oceanfront Room. While all rooms range from 663-734 sq. ft., the views vary greatly, as noted above. We recommend requesting the second floor, to avoid any potential noise and to enjoy a better ocean view.
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As always, we slept wonderfully on the Four Seasons king bed, which offers a choice of three mattress toppers; we always choose the Signature Plush topper.
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The resort recognized our wedding anniversary with a bottle of champagne, but as we don't enjoy champagne, they graciously swapped it out for a chilled French Chardonnay that we appreciated much more. We also savored some delicious chocolate cake with berries.
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The bathroom is my favorite in Hawaii, with double sinks, a large rain shower, soaking tub, and a Toto washlet. The bath products are also among my favorite in the world: the plumeria and awapuhi (wild ginger) scent makes me wish I was back at the resort.
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I especially love that fresh orchids adorn the room. Many resorts, even luxury resorts, have cut back in various ways, and fresh flowers are often a casualty of these cuts. But fortunately Four Seasons Lanai seems to realize that these details make a difference, lending a more elegant and residential touch to the rooms and suites.
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I also appreciated that there were two high quality Yeti reusable water bottles for us; they've become our go-to water bottles at home, and do a great job of insulating ice cold water. At the resort, it's easy to refill them at the Flowater stations.
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Penthouse Deluxe Oceanfront Suites are 1152 square feet and ideal for families, as they can accommodate either three adults (two on the king bed in the separate bedroom with a door that closes it off from the living area, and one on the sofa bed in the living room) or two adults and two children. These suites are also very convenient to the restaurants and pools, since an elevator in the lobby whisks you up to the fourth floor.
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Here's our Four Seasons Lanai Video Review:
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Ziplining at Lanai Adventure Park
New since our last visit is the Lanai Adventure Park, which offers mountain biking, an aerial obstacle course via an Aerial Tower, and zip lining, which is what my teen was interested in. A complimentary shuttle takes guests to the Lanai Adventure Park (similarly, guests can be taken by shuttle to the Stables at Koele for horseback riding, which we tried last time). After electronically signing a waiver, we met the team and were on our way via a jeep to the zip line. It can be cool and misty in this part of Lanai (something I'd forgotten) so don't make our mistake, and bring a fleece or windbreaker.
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Guests get two runs on the zip line; for the first run, my son chose the regular seated position, but on his second, he opted for the bird or “superhero” stance, which had him grinning.
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Tennis
The resort offers two Plexipave cushion courts, as well as a Har-Tru Green Clay court. There are one hour clinics available for $60 per person, and for the one my teen joined, there was only one other guest along with the instructor, so it was like a semi-private lesson.
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Nearby is the Kids for All Seasons complimentary kids' club for kids ages 5-12. Our teen has outgrown it, but nearby is another attraction that piques the interest of kids and adults alike: Ke'oke'o, a white cockatoo that likes to say “Aloha,” and apparently knows a number of other words as well.
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Four Seasons Lanai Pools and Beach
The resort has a free form main swimming pool and jacuzzi reached by descending the stairs from the lobby. There were always plenty of loungers available during our stay, including ones with a view of the ocean.
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To the left (when facing the ocean) is the resort's adult pool, with a mini waterfall and jacuzzi hot tub. It's rather small, and the pool is quite shallow, but here too we never had an issue finding a lounger.
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The resort is set on the bluffs overlooking the ocean and Hulopoe Bay, where the beach is. It only takes a few minutes to walk down to the beach. Note that all Hawaii beaches are public, so locals also frequent the beach, although the Four Seasons has several loungers and umbrellas set up on the part of the beach closest to the resort. Staff are also happy to lend out snorkeling equipment; the best snorkeling is around the left hand side of the bay when facing the ocean. Hulopoe Bay is also a favorite place for local spinner dolphins, which we were lucky enough to see. Beachgoers are asked to stay out of the water when dolphins are spotted, to avoid stressing the animals.
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Four Seasons Lanai Dining
TravelSort Clients enjoy complimentary daily breakfast for two at One Forty, or via in-room dining. We enjoyed everything we tasted, but particular favorites were the Ahi Eggs Benedict, French Toast, yogurt with berries and granola, and almond croissant.
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Both dinners we had at One Forty Lanai were also very good, particularly the appetizers: the Seared Diver Scallops and Burrata Caprese were perfect.
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One of our evenings we dined at Nobu Lanai. The miso soup and sushi were fine although unremarkable, but we particularly enjoyed the Black Cod Miso (although the portion is too small given the $45 cost), the Crispy Brussels Sprouts, and the off-menu Hamachi Kama.
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The Verdict
Having had an excellent stay pre-pandemic, and knowing the labor and supply chain challenges that Hawaii and other luxury resorts are grappling with, we were prepared to be a bit disappointed. Instead, our 2022 stay was even better than our prior one. The resort, grounds, and rooms have been meticulously maintained and still look very fresh. Service, which is critical for a luxury property, was superb, particularly at the front desk, One Forty Restaurant, the tennis facility, and the Lanai Adventure Park. The only place I found service a tad un-Four Seasons like was at Nobu Lanai, but it wasn't enough to adversely affect our stay. And there were magical, unscripted moments such as watching spinner dolphins leaping and frolicking in Hulopoe Bay, or talking at length with Bruno, who cares for the resort's parrots but is a former championship croquet player.
If you've recently stayed at Four Seasons Lanai, what was your experience?
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