Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Koele

Sensei lanai is truly one of a kind. There are no pictures that can do justice to the grounds; every plant is purposefully placed. The hotel itself is what you would expect from a Four Seasons - very tasteful and elegant, spotless, arranged for convenience, with impeccable service. Every member of the staff knew my name and the intentions of my stay; I’ve never experienced customer service that exceeded so much at making me feel like I was the only guest there. It goes without saying that with all food by Nobu, food was amazing and really not as expensive as I expected. The fitness center and class offerings were plentiful. I took advantage of the clay shooting, observatory, and spa, all which I would highly recommend. The spa experience in the hale was extraordinary - my lomi lomi massage was well worth the cost both due to the quality of the massage itself and the facilities. The real uniqueness of this property is that you are also staying at a beach resort - you use the inter-resort shuttle to go down to the non-Sensei Four Seasons resort, which is stunning. The beach side of the resort seems busier, with more families, and it’s also hotter since its sea level. If you are looking for relaxing, breezier, less-peopley well-being and preservation, I would stay at Sensei and just shuttle down to the beach/golf when you want. The stay at Sensei is not cheap, however when you consider everything you get, including lanai air transfers from Honolulu, it is truly a bargain. I should add that I had a bump in the road upon arrival. Hawaiian airlines lost my luggage, and didn’t “find it” until the end of my stay. This situation is always challenging when you’re on vacation, but it was especially challenging here as you cannot buy much on Lanai (which is one of the reasons it is such a great place!). My golf shoes, active swimwear and goggles, and running shoes were all important to my stay but were unfortunately in my lost bag. Four Seasons, while having no responsibility for the lost bag, bent over backwards to try to track down the bag as well as make my stay more comfortable. Every single staff member at the resort knew my situation and tried to help. I would like to specifically call out Jewel Romero, guest experience manager, for taking this off my shoulders and forcing me out to enjoy the resort while she took on the task of finding my bag. If it were not for her, I do not think the bag ever would have showed up. She and staff also coordinated toiletries and provided a few free meals to help ease the pain - really not necessary but it really did turn the trip around for me. I previously did not have a staple luxury hotel chain I stick with, but moving forward I will always look for Four Seasons based on this customer service experience. In a time where no one seemed to want to help or be kind, the Sensei Lanai staff excelled at both. I will absolutely be back and happily spend my money at Four Seasons Lanai as it was well worth it. Just make sure you opt for the bag shipping service so Hawaiian Airlines doesn’t ruin your vacation! Some other hopefully helpful tidbits: the pool is large and horseshoe shaped, with ability to lap swim. Love the gifted reusable water bottle and plentiful water stations throughout hotel - no $9 bottles of water! Sensei is walkable to the small downtown area, but the beach resort is not. The art collection is stunning and includes some really nice pieces. There’s a good library to borrow books! The beds were fantastic. You can pet the horses, as well as Cocoa the house cat. Go out and use Larry Ellison’s $10 million telescope if you can. Ask the staff for ideas on what to do - there are so mn]any options, it’s easy to overlook something great!

Love it. Perfection. The takeaway was the people we met. 100% genuine and lively. Bowe set the tone with first class service upon arrival at the airport. The others who did an excellent job were the two Nancy’s at Nobu, Crystal, Mikalaya en the girl from Hungary at the pool, Arlene, Sandy, Mrs Espy, Christy (pastry chef), the gentleman who drove us to the airport for departure, even the gardeners .. everyone here has a smile and really caters to you. We had a very special anniversary here and it was 100% enjoyable. By comparison we went to Manele Bay for a beach trip, and the staff was less than impressive. We were so happy to come back and enjoy the people we knew and grew to love. Outstanding team and all deserving of recognition.

It’s a 10 out of 10 -Location in one of the most beautiful islands in Hawaii -Ease of travel since the resort provides a complimentary Welcome Agent at baggage claim, chauffeur driven Escalade to the regional airport 10 minutes away, then, a 19 seat private jet for the 30 minute flight to Lanai. No where else can you go to such a stunning resort with such relative ease! -Property-OMG it’s like waking into the most stunningly decorated hotel in the world. Each and every element is curated by the Designer who has to be one of the best in the world. This resort should be in Architectural Digest/Conde Nast Traveller BUT would need the entire magazine to be dedicated to the Sensei. When you enter, the Fine Art, architecture, symmetry, furnishings, quality of each and every design element is par excellence. -Fine Art, Jeff Koons, Botero, Hirst, too many to name. The owner has to own one of the best hotel collections of art in the world (and I’ve been to Chateau Lacoste in Provence!) -Staff-OMG again. One can’t explain how the employees are at the top of their fields. -Rooms-can you say “Toto” top of the line toilets in every room AND in most bathrooms throughout the resort (spa, gym, rest rooms etc…that’s millions in just toilets (lol). The beds are Four Seasons of course, the veranda was beautiful, the Electronics in the room from the room darkening shades to the lighting to the Grasscloth wallpaper, cream wood flooring (and ceiling!) amenities to the hilt as well. Spa-This resort has to have the most well trained top 1% of the worlds practitioners. Eric and Linda OMG. The treatments are special and unique -

Just returned from a four night stay with a friend for a girls retreat. Tears were shed as our flight from Lanai departed. This is truly an otherworldly place. My friend described it as “Gods waiting room” The natural serenity and beauty is hard to put in to words. The serenity of the Island, the resorts stunning grounds, punctuated by art drowns the senses with pleasure and beauty. The staff without exception was so warm, welcoming, kind and attentive. Aunty Nancy at Sensei hugged me goodbye on my last day. Ada in the bar / lunch lounge was so friendly and kind. Ryland shared so much of himself and how life is on the island is. Anthony at the Nobu bar (at the beach property) was so warm happy and kind. Annalise checked on us each day. I asked about purchasing matcha tea as a gift and she explained all the options and even showed me a tea set available to purchase. Everyone went out of their way to take care of you. My message and hale time with Tomatom was spectacular. But the most transformative was the water session with Liron. With my natural reserve (wall) worn down a bit by each day, this treatment is best described as a healing meditation in the water. Liron’s gift of gentle knowingness guides you. He gently immmerses you in the womb like environment of warm water, dappling sunlight, and peaceful underwater muted sounds. The result (for me) was a breakthrough for a lesson about myself that I needed to learn. It was beautiful and transformative. I am still trying to stay in that state. It is a beautiful dream you don’t want to wake up from. I don’t think this experience could happen anywhere else but Sensei and with Liron. I will definitely be returning to Lanai and Sensei

The most beautiful tropical resort you may ever see.... and I am mainly talking about the property and landscaping. From the tree line road leading all the way from the airport to the resort, to the carefully selected art woven between the most magical landscaped property you will ever walk through it is hard to explain the visual splendor of this resort. Of course every single staff member was warm and welcoming... it is a Four Seasons. (Except Dexter, he ignored my friends at the bar the first night but seemed happy to help everyone else, so I can't include him in that group) The suite we stayed in was amazing. But again, this might be standard for the course for a Four Seasons. Every single toilet on the property is one of those automatic heated toilet seats with lighting and cleaning tools. Largest TVs, roomy, comfortable. The yoga classes were very nice. Book your spa before you arrive. The island itself is quite boring. If you're traveling with someone that enjoys shopping, there's literally two gift shops in the little town. Each of the 24 seasons has one gift shop with the same stuff. The resort is like a rainforest it's cold and moody and the clouds come and go . Pack a sweatshirt and warm pants so when those cold moments come, you have something cozy. I definitely recommend the sunset sail or snorkel to get you out of the resort and into the warmer weather. I couldn't get over how quiet the two resorts were. It was almost like we were in a very low point of the season. So if you're someone that likes little more activity, these are not the resorts for you.