Four Seasons Resort Lanai Review

Let me start off by saying this – the Four Seasons Resort Lanai is perfection!

It’s a well known fact that Four Seasons service is out of this world, but there’s something different about it here, and in a totally amazing way! The staff is more attentive, and you feel like you just made a ton of new friends. That’s the laid back culture of Lanai, and it’s wonderful.

Of course there’s the typical Four Seasons water service, sunglass cleaning, complimentary snacks by the pool (ice pops, frozen banana, etc), and it’s all terrific. The staff knows you by name, but you also know their name, because it’s the same people every day, and they are just so lovely! They’ll ask about your day, when you’re done at the pool they’ll ask if you’re going to the beach, they’ll tell you about local happenings around town, they’ll say, ‘see you tomorrow’ when you’re done for the day. They know your needs before you even know them yourself. Dry towel? They’re on it. Want a drink? They’re already there waiting for your order. Even down to when you pass by the person who checked you in later on in your stay – they’ll address you by name, and ask how it’s going. It’s clear they’re ready to go out of their way for you should you need anything at all.

Every property should learn from the staff here, because they have got it down.

Maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself in this review, so let’s back track…

First off, where is Lanai?
Lanai is an island in Hawaii. It’s only 9 miles from Maui.

How do you get to Lanai?
You basically have two options. You can fly into Maui (there are direct flights from the mainland), and then either fly to Lanai, or take the ferry. Or, you can fly into Honolulu (on Oahu, which also has direct flights from the mainland), and grab an inter-island flight to Lanai. From HNL it’s about a 20-30 minute flight.

If you’ve flown from Tahiti to Bora Bora, or other small islands, it’s a very similar-sized plane.

The Lanai airport is pretty adorable!

Once in Lanai, you have two options to get to the Four Seasons – either a shared shuttle or a private SUV (both offered by the Four Seasons). The ride to the resort is quick, and it’s wonderful to drive through an undeveloped island, and I don’t mean undeveloped as in that it’s third world or anything like that, quite the opposite! The movie theater just underwent a multi-million dollar renovation. The island is untouched, yet sophisticated, with around 3,000 residents and less than 26 miles of paved roads – it’s truly stunning!

There are three hotels in Lanai, two of them are Four Seasons (one is currently closed for renovation). In fact, the Four Seasons Lanai just re-opened this year after a MASSIVE remodel! From the warm wood tones of the guest rooms and lobby (that really highlight that fabulous blue water!), to the addition of an adult-only pool, lush gardens, and so much more, this hotel STANDS OUT in the best way.

Don’t be surprised if on your way to/from your room you hear an “aloha,” and not just from the human staff!

Speaking of rooms, I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in one so updated! I’ll get into more in a separate post when I showcase our room, but we literally had every amenity you could think of, and all at the push of a button!

For such a small island, I felt like we could’ve spent MORE time here. There’s just so much to do! The Four Seasons in Lanai offers a ton of activities (some include a fee), and everything is just so well laid out for you to choose. You can snorkel right from the beach, relax at the spa (the new poolside massages are fantastic!), there’s an onsite golf course, a romantic dinner under the stars, rent a sanctuary for the day (with multiple packages to choose from), embark on a snorkel sail, take a UTV excursion around the island, hike to sweetheart rock, chill by one of the two pools, explore the grounds (there are even archeological ruins on site!), spot dolphins and whales (seasonally) from the beach (which offers the same amazing service as the pool does – made up chair, umbrellas, water, snacks, dining, etc)! There’s a pretty extensive list of the things to do here.

I’ll highlight more of the amenities in a separate post as well!

As far as dining, there’s a ton of places to eat. Pool and beach – side food is serviced by the onsite restaurant, Maibu Farm. There’s also a fabulous sports bar (you can even play pool and Josh liked that he was able to watch the Mets game lol), breakfast at One Forty is not to be missed, the famous Nobu restaurant is onsite, and don’t forget to head to the lobby and get a ride to the golf course for lunch at VIEWS. It’s AMAZING!

So I’ll update links here for these upcoming posts as they become available:
– Rooms
– Dining
– Pool/Beach
– Sweetheart Rock

Disclaimer: I received a substantial discount from the Four Seasons Resort Lanai for review purposes, which in no way reflects my opinion. Every guest of the Four Seasons is pampered beyond belief. They are wonderful. All thoughts/opinions are my own.