New York City residents Paul Demic and wife Reiko Takeuchi got a head start on the stress-free part of their Lanai vacation Wednesday when they walked into the newly opened Four Seasons Resorts Lanai luxury lounge in the Honolulu Airport’s interisland terminal.
There the couple was greeted by Island Air’s Director of Guest Services Candy Chung, Four Seasons’ Airport Lounge Manager Diane Crouch and Four Seasons Airport Ambassador Jackie Minami. Chung offered to see to their bags. Then Crouch directed them to make themselves at home in the lounge, which offers amenities like big-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi, complimentary snack and beverage service and even toys, diapers, cribs and bottle warmers for traveling families. As the couple luxuriated in the lounge, Minami checked them into the hotel.
"We’ve been to Lanai before. This is a huge step up," said Demic. "I think it’s really good because there aren’t many airport facilities outside the lounge. Before, you could buy some green tea, but that’s about it."
The 1,000-square-foot lounge, which was scheduled to hold its grand opening today, reeks of exclusivity and the kind of state-of-the-art comfort that top-dollar guests increasingly crave. It’s clear that the first hotel-branded airport lounge in Hawaii and likely the U.S. is meant to take the luxury hotel experience to another level and is, perhaps, only a hint of the upgrading planned for the Four Seasons Resorts Lanai since Oracle CEOLarry Ellison bought the hotels and 97 percent of the former Pineapple Island.
"We are striving to be the finest hotel in Hawaii," said Tom Roelens, general manager of Four Seasons Resorts Lanai. "The (lounge) is very rare."
The Four Seasons offers a variation of the lounge experience at its resorts in Amman, Jordan, and the Maldives.
"Four Seasons is all about the ultraluxury segment of the market. As long as it’s legal and ethical, we’ll find a way to provide the absolute best in services, whether it’s getting tickets to a sold-out Bruno Mars concert or creating a relaxing place for a guest, who may have just gotten off a long-haul flight, to wait for their Lanai flight," Roelens said.
Island Air also has partnered with Four Seasons to offer hotel guests services such as VIP greetings at the airport gate, a comfortable ride in a Mercedes Sprinter and baggage handling.
The lounge opening is one of many significant Lanai improvements made by Four Seasons in the last 18 months. The Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay is sporting a refreshed lower lobby, a newly designed spa, three new restaurants including NOBULanai, ONE Forty and Views Restaurant and Bar, and the addition of luxury retailer ADORE. The company took over management of the golf courses on Lanai and added pool cabanas. It also reduced the Manele Bay’s room count to 209 from 236 to construct 13 penthouse suites. By summer all guest rooms will have undergone improvements.
Four Seasons employs 750 of the 3,000 Lanai residents, Roe-lens said.
"The employment picture on Lanai has drastically improved," he said, adding that the company is still creating jobs to provide insightful service and meet increased visitor demand.
The investments and hiring expansion coincide with Ohana by Hawaiian Airlines’ plan to launch service to Lanai around March, augmenting access from Island Air and Mokulele Airlines.
While Ellison owns Island Air and the Lanai Four Seasons hotels, the airport lounge is open to all Four Seasons customers, including those flying on Mokulele and Ohana.
"When all the lift is added, there’ll be 270 seats a day coming into Lanai," Roelens said. "That’s basically a doubling of access, which has been the single largest challenge for Lanai in the past. It will allow us to capitalize on the added interest in Lanai that we’ve been seeing in the last year and a half."
