SAVE AND SPLURGE Lanai. A Tale of Rags to Riches
Posted on 12/09/2015
For his nuptials in 1994, zillionaire Bill Gates vowed, “I do” on the signature twelfth hole of Manele Golf Course, a cliffside spectacle where the “fairway” is a surging surf 45 metres below. The camera-shy groom hired every helicopter and hotel room on Lanai in order to thwart peeping paparazzi. In 2014 he and Melinda returned to Lanai to celebrate their 20th anniversary.
I was also on Lanai recently (alas not invited to the Gates’ bash) to play the Manele course and check out the multi-million dollar renovation of the Four Seasons Resort Lanai.
Little Lanai (29 km long by 20 km wide) packs a fascinating history. It’s been home to Hawaiian chiefs and a just a handful of owners. In 1922, James Dole bought the entire island and turned it into a pineapple plantation. However, by the late 1980s the pineapple business had become economically unviable. Enter billionaire David Murdock, who purchased 98 percent of the island in 1985 and built two resorts, The Lodge at Koele and Manele Bay. He partnered with Four Seasons, who assumed management of both resorts in 2005.
In 2012, Murdock sold Lanai to Oracle C.E.O. Larry Ellison for an amount estimated at US $300 million, though one source said it was nearer $600 million.
Most discerning travellers would have opined that Koele and the Manele were just fine as they were, but Ellison decided to renovate. Koele and its Greg Norman-designed golf course are currently closed. Manele Golf Course remains open for play and the Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay is taking reservations effective March 2016.
Quite apart from the dazzling multi-million dollar renovations at the Four Seasons, the island’s only community, Lanai City, (population 3,200) is almost mythical for its lack of development and intriguing contrasts.
There are no traffic lights, no fast food franchises and only a handful of establishments built around Dole Park. Everything here looks pretty much as it did during the plantation days. You’ll find a couple of banks, a church, general store, casual eateries and a tiny movie theatre. It’s like stepping back in time.
Lanai is one of those quirky places where you can splurge at the posh Nobu in the Four Seasons one night and scrimp on a saimin (Hawaii’s answer to chicken noodle soup containing Spam and fishcakes) the next day at the Blue Ginger Café in Lanai City.
The “You Only Live Once” Splurge List
Getting There
You can fly via Island Air from Honolulu. The VIP treatment starts in the Four Seasons airport lounge where you’ll be checked in and given your bracelet room key that you can wear even in the ocean. It’s a brilliant concept; you’ll never lose it.
The other alternative is to take the 45-minute ferry from Lahaina on Maui’s west coast. During winter months, you’ll probably be escorted by spinner dolphins and the odd humpback whale.
Indulge at the Four Seasons Resort Lanai
Warning: the services and amenities here are so outstanding, you couldn’t be blamed for never leaving. The walk from the lobby to your room is like a stroll through botanical gardens. You might stop to wish “aloha” to the exotic parrots or toss some nibbles to the koi in the pond. Rooms have every possible convenience. Along with mahogany floors, teak paneling, high tech lighting, temperature and privacy controls, the state-of-the-art Toto toilets alone are worthy of mention. When you enter or leave the bathroom, a motion detector raises or lowers the toilet seat. A series of buttons on the wall remote panel control all sorts of flushers, washers and dryers. It’s a bit like a deluxe wash for your private parts!
You’ll be spoiled by the dining options.
Start the day on the terrace of One Forty overlooking a series of pools to Hulopoe Bay. Create you own juice from tropical fruits and try the Eggs Bennie with seared tuna instead of peameal bacon. Lunch might be fish tacos at Kailaini by the various pools. Dinner could be at Nobu for some inspired sushi and Wagyu beef seared on a lava rock.
Complete your Hawaiian spa ritual with an aromatherapy expert, who, after a scent analysis will blend a customized fragrance designed to interact with your body’s chemistry.
Snorkelling with complimentary prescription goggles is a must on what Yahoo and the Men’s Journal magazine rated the “best snorkeling beach in the US.” It is just steps down from the resort on Hulopoe Bay. www.fourseasons.com
Take a Swing where Bill Gates got Hitched
Built on lava outcroppings above the crashing surf of Hulopoe Bay, the Jack Nicklaus Signature Manele Course boasts views of the Pacific from every turn. Three fairways perch on cliffs, including the twelve where Mr. and Mrs. Gates were married. Later, enjoy a cold one at the aptly named Views clubhouse restaurant. The “Cheap Thrills” Save List
Getting Around
A complimentary island shuttle transports guests from Lanai City to the Four Seasons several times per day.
Golf for Free
Up the hill from Lanai City, the Cavendish Golf Course, built in 1947, is a free nine-hole tract set out among the Norfolk pines that takes neither cash, credit cards nor tee time reservations. Originally, it was built for the pineapple plantation workers. Just bring your clubs and wait your turn.
Stock up at Richard’s Market
This well-stock grocery story in Lanai City is a great resource should you want to buy picnic supplies and a bottle of wine.
Hotel Lanai
The Dole pineapple executives lodged here during the “pineapple years” in the 1920s. Eleven rooms are simply furnished plantation-style with Hawaiian quilts, ceiling fans and local artworks. www.hotellanai.com
History Lessons Visit the Lanai Culture & Heritage Center for a glimpse of the island’s fascinating history.