Oooh la laaaa-nai.
The premier luxury vacation destination on Lanai formerly known as the Manele Bay Hotel is scheduled to reopen Feb. 1 as the Four Seasons Resort Lanai looking ever-more-finely appointed after a $75 million overhaul that included gutting the guestrooms, stripping down the lobby and demolishing the pool.
“Discerning guests from around the world are anticipated with a generosity of appointments and amenities such as highly finished closets and furnishings for apparel storage and the new Four Seasons Bed — the first fully customizable hotel bed, offering travelers the opportunity to effectively choose their own bed and personalize their sleep during their stay,” Four Seasons said in an announcement.
Nightly room rates start at $950, up from $550 previously. The most luxurious suite, the Hulopoe Suite, with 5,137 square feet of living space, will cost $21,200 a night.
The old symmetrical pool, set in blue tiles and bordered by a wide paved deck arranged with lounge chairs, was demolished along with a poolside restaurant.
A new water recreation area with three pools will resemble a natural tide pool or tropical lagoon setting with lava rock-style lining, waterfalls and hot tubs amid grottoes.
“It really feels like you’re stepping into tide pools,” said Linda Lileikis, Pulama Lanai’s Manele hotel renovation project manager.
One of the pools, dubbed the “Retreat,” will be for adults only and feature secluded landscaped sanctuaries. A new poolside restaurant also is being built.
Tom Roelens, the resort’s general manager, said the improved hotel will have features, amenities and service making the guest experience unequaled.
For instance, he said, the hotel will be the only one at which guests can order room service from a Nobu restaurant, and diners in the hotel restaurants will have a new option to order “extremely high-end” wine by the glass.
It may even be possible for a guest to fly from a neighbor island on a helicopter and land at the resort if a proposal to add a helipad on the hotel grounds is approved.
“It’s a total new ballgame,” Roelens said. “It’s a total transformation of the property. Now we truly have a world-class Four Seasons product. We’re super excited about what the future has in store for Lanai.”