Lanai, the Pineapple Island - January 3-6, 2012

On Tuesday, we checked out of the Marriott Ko'Olina (the front desk clerk was shocked that we were leaving as we still had 3 more nights left in the condo) and made our way back to Honolulu International Airport to catch a commuter plane over to Lanai.  I had booked the tickets directly on the go!Mokulele website as I found this was the least expensive way to get to the Pineapple Island.  (Pineapple growing used to be the #1 income producer on Lanai; now it's tourism)

We returned the rental car at National and were to wait for the shuttle to take us to the Mokulele terminal, but we decided to walk there since the airport was "just across the street".  Turned out it was only the United terminal that was across the street; the commuter terminal was the furthest away from the car rental facility, and a shuttle would have been prudent, especially when rolling a heavy suitcase.  Take my advice and wait for the rental car shuttle if you are not flying United/American/Continental.  On a favorable note, I did get to learn the layout of the airport along the way!

When we made it to the Mokelule check-in counter, the agent asked us our weight.  I figured that we'd be boarding a puddle jumper since Lanai wasn't a major destination, but having to keep track of how much weight was on board was a bit worrisome.  There weren't many people waiting in the commuter terminal.  It was a bit strange that our flight's departure information was not listed on the monitors.  A fellow passenger approached us and asked if we were on the flight to Lanai City and we said yes...the lady also noticed the departure not on there and wondered if she was in the right place.  Perhaps we were flying a mystery flight that would disappear over the ocean {insert Twilight Zone theme here}.  When boarding time approached, an employee came out and directed us to the tarmac, where a 9-seat propeller plane awaited us. (only one propeller, at the nose)  I had never flown such a small aircraft before...scary and exciting at the same time.

little propeller plane

cockpit without reinforced flight doors

not much to the safety card

good to go

The pilot was the only employee on board.  No co-pilot...what if something happened to the pilot!?  He gave us the safety briefing and told us that it was okay to use a camera throughout the entire flight.  Yay, I was able to take photographs under 10,000 feet!  The plane didn't need much runway to lift off.  I wasn't even sure if we even got up to 10,000 feet.

I'm taking pictures of runways!

Waikiki and Diamond Head

approaching Lanai, with interesting land formation

only runway on the island

The Lanai airport consisted of one runway and a small terminal (the size of a big house back home).  Baggage claim was a metal roll-up door.  (I noticed that women were the ones who were loading and unloading luggage!)   Representatives from the Four Seasons were awaiting us.  There are only three major hotels on Lanai, and two of them are Four Seasons:  Lodge at Koele and Manele Bay, plus Hotel Lanai.  Almost everyone was staying at one of the Four Seasons.  We waited for a little bit as another commuter flight was coming in with more guests.  Once everyone was accounted for, we boarded a shuttle heading to the Lodge at Koele.

it's really busy here

"your bags can be collected at baggage claim 2"

airport parking lot (long term parking may be in the distance)

Since Lanai had only a few choices for hotels, I had no choice but to "splurge" and stay at a Four Seasons.  It actually wasn't as expensive as it sounds.  I selected Koele not only because the rates were lower than Manele Bay in general, but it was also offered a "3rd night free" promotion, making it cost one third the price of staying at the other resort, and guests can use the facilities at both properties.  Plus, I booked my stay through David Ourisman of Metaphor Travel (a Four Seasons Preferred Partner, or FSPP), who provided the following amenities:

• Room upgrade when available
• Daily breakfast for two at the sit-down Terrace Restaurant at Koele, or buffet breakfast at Hulopo'e Court at Manele Bay (excluding alcohol and gratuity)
• $85 lunch credit once per stay (excluding alcohol and gratuity)

The 3rd night free offer plus the amenities made the cost of this stay comparable to a nice hotel in Las Vegas without amenities. (granted, breakfast at the resort can cost over $30/pp!)  Even though I could have booked the hotel myself as a travel agent, as my travel agency was not part of FSPP and the amenities far outweighed the commissions, it was an obvious choice to use David's services.  I have to thank flyertalk.com for introducing me to FSPP and David.

The reason why Koele costs so much less than Manele Bay is because the property is situated up in the "mountains" of Lanai, like an English country lodge.  The weather is cooler up here, and there are no beaches nearby.  The surroundings are so non-Hawaiian that locals come here to "get away from it all".  (whereas we do the opposite and head to a beach!)  Kaleb and I appreciated the fact that it was not near the ocean...it was a real treat to be somewhere atypical.

etched into stone

the pineapple - a symbol of hospitality

As we stepped off the shuttle, we were greeted with orchid leis and directed to a sofa where we were checked in personally by the concierge, who led us to our room for the next three nights.  True to the amenity list, we were upgraded to a Garden Deluxe room, on the second floor overlooking the beautiful grounds.  The room was bright and airy, with a patio balcony.  Everything you needed was in the room, including iPod dock, coffee/tea service, wine glasses and corkscrew, an empty compact fridge, plush bathrobes, hair dryer, L'Occitane toiletries, and even an umbrella and hiking sticks!

comfy king bed

bay window, great for reading

balcony overlooking perfect landscaping

indulgent toiletries

Since Lanai is not known as a touristy destination, I didn't buy a guidebook, but I had done some food-related research online and found a poke market in town so we could save on dinner costs.  The Four Seasons had shuttles running every half hour between Koele, Lanai City, and Manele Bay, so we hopped on one to head into town, a few minutes' ride.  "Downtown" Lanai City consisted of a two block radius.  We easily found the poke market (which looked like a converted house) and picked up some shoyu and wasabi ahi poke, along with some sea salad.  We also stopped by the grocery store and got local beer, papaya and sweets.  Since town wasn't too far away from the resort, we walked back, about a 15 minute stroll.  We enjoyed poke for dinner that night, and it was seriously the best I had ever eaten.  The fish was super fresh and cut up into large chunks that had no stringiness whatsoever.

my mouth is salivating just looking at this spread

ensaymadas (I think it was pure butter on top)

We took a short tour of the property, going through the different public rooms in the building (library, trophy room, gift shop), and traversing the landscaped grounds, including walking through the orchid greenhouse and checking out the pagoda.

is this for real?

perfectly situated

The next day, we woke up to a slightly foggy and drizzly morning, as if we were indeed in the English countryside.  We decided to head over to Manele Bay in hopes for sunnier weather as well as enjoy a buffet breakfast and the beach.  The sun was more present at Manele, and the buffet was really good!  After breakfast, we headed over to the beach, which was a bit off to the side of the hotel.  An attendant set up two lounge chairs with towels and a beach umbrella for shade.  Kaleb and I lounged and read our Kindles...utter relaxation.  The attendants would come by every half hour to give us ice water, lemonade and snacks such as smoothies and fresh fruit.  The sky was cloudy off and on, so it wasn't until later in the afternoon when I realized that the umbrella had not been shading me the entire time and I had gotten sunburned! (if you see tan lines on me in pictures taken a month from this trip, you'll know why)

looking out the back of the lobby

lounge area

a sampling of the breakfast buffet offerings, including Nutella french toast

fresh fruit, even longans!

nice public bathroom

beach on the left

where's my Corona?

We had a late lunch at Fresco to take advantage of the $85 credit.  It was too easy to spend the entire amount plus a few dollars over (excluding tip) on a non-alcoholic beverage, an appetizer, two entrees, and two desserts.

a non-alcoholic mojito dubbed a "no-jito"

scallop and shrimp ceviche

chicken club sandwich

I had a craving for a burger

cheesecake with coconut sorbet

raspberry lychee jello with vanilla ice cream

Half of the chicken sandwich was left over so we asked for a box.  The server took the plate and came back with a huge Four Seasons plastic bag containing our small container, as well as a disposable place setting...what service!  We caught the shuttle back to Koele and walked around the grounds before sunset.  There was an envelope on our door containing an invitation to the manager's cocktail reception that evening in the library.  We took one peek inside and noticed everyone was wearing business casual clothing; we skipped it and played pool and shuffleboard in the trophy room.

room had pool tables, foosball, shuffleboard, chess/checkers, big screen TV

Thursday was our last full day on Lanai, and thankfully it was a perfectly sunny day up at the lodge.  We started the morning with a sit-down breakfast at the Terrace restaurant.

fresh fruit juice and delicious coffee

the restaurant even provided reading material

"paniolo" breakfast with kalua pork

"lodge" breakfast with Portuguese sausage

After breakfast, we got a map from the concierge for a couple mile hiking trail starting from the golf clubhouse that offered views of Molokai and Maui.  I couldn't consider it a hiking trail, as a third of it seemed to be on a paved road for golf carts and service vehicles, plus we passed by a water storage tank and chain link fences.  Eventually, we got further in the woods and found ourselves greeted with a breathtaking view of the ocean and of the two neighboring islands.

orchid greenhouse and pagoda in the distance

another view of the resort

pond with waterfall next to golf course

Molokai in the distance

striking landscape

When we returned to the lodge, we relaxed in the common room and enjoyed some refreshing fruit infused water.  Then we availed ourselves to a full 18-hole executive putting course.  It wasn't exactly miniature golf, as there were real sand bunkers and water hazards and no concrete barriers to prevent ill-hit balls from falling in, so we had to play carefully as not to have to run back to concierge for a new ball.  This was as close to real golf as I had ever been, so it was an experience.  There was only one type of club to worry about (putter).  There even was a ball cleaner available.  By the 10th hole, I was already tired of playing the game...I don't know if I could survive 9 holes of real golf.  As we made our way towards the 18th hole, I kept thinking to myself, "Are we done yet!?"  My score ended up +32 and Kaleb +16, so there's a lot of room for improvement.

the water flavor changed daily

18-hole executive putting course

such bad form

studying the slope

Golf was followed by afternoon tea as a very late lunch/early dinner.  There were many varieties of tea to choose from; Kaleb also ordered an elderberry liqueur cocktail since he hadn't tried it before.  The afternoon tea menu consisted of three selections - traditional afternoon tea, afternoon tea for kids, and afternoon tea for men.  The kid's offering was whimsical sweets and cookies; the men's offering was full of meat items like hot dogs and sliders, haha!  I suppose the menu was designed to delight all members of the family.  Kaleb and I stuck to the traditional tea offering.  The server gave us a box with tea samples to smell and select.  Then she steeped the tea in pots which were warmed with a tealight base.  The three-tier platter of goodies were delicious!

tea samples

my selection

the goodies arrive!

finger sandwiches

the apple crumble had gold leaf on it; the macaroons were heavenly

fresh scones

elderberry cocktail; scone toppings:  lemon curd, clotted cream, berry jam

The tea room was connected to the music room; there was a baby grand, so I played a couple of songs.  The rest of the afternoon was spent playing games in the trophy room.  Kaleb taught me how to play backgammon. (I know, I live under a rock)

making music

shuffleboard

To top the evening off, we snacked on the leftover chicken club sandwich from yesterday and the remainder of the food that we bought on arrival.  Then it was time to pack as we were to head out to the Big Island very early the next day.  Incredibly, time flew by on this sleepy island.  We didn't even have a chance to try clay shooting ("Pull!") or go horseback riding...it'll have to wait until next visit!  Now, onward to the Big Island...