1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (109 page)

From Pineapples to Posh Hotels

Lana’i, Hawaii

Hawaii’s most secluded island, tiny unhyped Lana’i was once the state’s largest pineapple plantation, with field after field of red-dirt Dole pineapple groves producing 8 percent of the world’s total crop. The island’s new role
as a tourist destination was sealed in the 1990s when it was taken over by entrepreneur David Murdock, whose Castle & Cooke Resorts, L
LC
, owns 98 percent of Lana’i. Murdock suspended pineapple planting and built two superplush hotels, the Four Seasons Resort at Manele Bay and the Lodge at Ko’ele (see next page), 8 miles and many worlds apart on the otherwise largely empty island, which is home to only 3,000 people. Indoors, guests are spoiled to an almost unheard-of degree, but the great outdoors remains unspoiled, with few cars, no traffic lights, and no helicopters overhead to interrupt the Pacific Isle fantasy.

The elegant Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay is a Mediterranean-inspired pleasure palace with waterfalls, fishponds, and dense tropical gardens. It occupies the headland of
idyllic Hulopo’e Bay, where crystal waters and perfect, palm-shaded white-sand beaches are excellent for swimming and snorkeling (visited frequently by spinner dolphins and humpback whales). This beach is also a marine preserve, where no fish can be taken from the pristine waters and no boats can anchor. The natural drama extends to its renowned Jack Nicklaus–designed Challenge at Manele golf course, located on the cliffs above Hulopo’e with some of the most riveting ocean views in all of Hawaii. The resort’s private-club atmosphere and panoply of amenities have made it a magnet for such luminaries as Bill and Melinda Gates, who tied the knot here—on the golf course, no less.

Lana’i isn’t just for the rich and powerful. The 141-square-mile island is accessible via small commuter planes or the ferry from Maui, making it an easy day trip. If you’re just coming for a day, rent a 4WD and go exploring. Out on the north shore, the rugged, colorful, rock-strewn Garden of the Gods is considered a sacred site by the Hawaiians: The area’s red, orange, ocher, and yellow hues are at their most mysteriously beautiful in the early morning or just before sunset.

The par-72 Challenge at Manele golf course is located on several hundred acres of natural lava.

V
ISITOR
I
NFO
: Tel 800-947-4774 or 808-565-7600;
www.visitlanai.net
.
H
OW
: Island Air (tel 800-652-6541 or 808-565-6744;
www.islandair.com
) offers 25-minute flights from Honolulu or from Kahului, Maui.
Cost:
from $180 round-trip. The Expeditions Lahaina/Lana’i Passenger Ferry (tel 808-661-3756;
www.go-lanai.com
) offers a 45-minute ride from Lahaina, Maui, to Manele Bay.
F
OUR
S
EASONS
R
ESORT
L
ANAI AT
M
ANELE
B
AY
: Tel 800-321-4666 or 808-565-2000;
www.fourseasons.com
/lanai (golf, tel 800-321-4666 or 808-565-2222).
Cost:
from $395; greens fees $225 ($190 for guests).
B
EST TIMES
: 1st weekend in July for the Pineapple Festival, featuring some of Hawaii’s best musicians; late Sept or early Oct for the Aloha Festival celebrating Hawaiian culture.

A Plush Resort and a Plantation Town

Lana’i, Hawaii

The Lodge at Ko’ele overlooks Lana’i City from the cool, wooded upland district of Ko’ele at the center of Lana’i island. A part of the Four Seasons group, it is a handsome mix of Old Hawaii plantation, gentlemen’s hunting
estate, and British country manor, where guests can enjoy croquet, lawn bowling, and the daily ritual of 3 o’clock tea. Done in a colonial style that’s both rustic and sophisticated, the lodge
sits 1,700 feet above sea level among towering pine- and eucalyptus-covered hills, with views of green pastures, grazing horses, and the odd wild turkey. Its rooms are gorgeously appointed, some with woodburning fireplaces, a touch you don’t expect to find in Hawaii. The lodge is a sister property to the Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay (see p. 948).

Among the main attractions at the resort is its championship golf course designed by Greg Norman, the Experience at Ko’ele, a stunning layout with sweeping views. The sibling resorts share an exotic sense of remoteness, as if this distant, underdeveloped island had not yet entered the 21st century, despite the modern, up-to-the-minute amenities. Their old-world graciousness encourages guests to linger and socialize over cocktails, on the tennis courts, or during teatime. Guests are welcome to use the facilities at both properties.

Downhill from the Lodge, Lana’i City looks like a 1930s film set. Built in 1924 as a pineapple plantation company town and still the only town on the 13-by-18-mile island, it’s laid out around Dole Park Square, a picturesque village center bordered by tall pines and plantation buildings housing a couple of general stores and a handful of boutiques and art galleries. Neat, square blocks radiate outward, lined with modest tin-roofed homes painted in a rainbow of colors. Lana’i City also offers the homegrown Lana’i Art Program, where top artists from across Hawaii teach arts ranging from
raku

(Japanese pottery) to
gyotaku
(literally “fish rubbing,” a kind of printing using inked or painted fish).

The town also serves as a jumping-off point for one of Hawaii’s toughest hikes, the 14-mile (round-trip) Munro Trail, an all-day trek up the narrow, winding ridge trail that runs across Lana’i’s razorback caldera rim to the top of the island’s highest peak, 3,370-foot Lana’ihale. On a clear day, you can see the islands of Oahu, Molokai, and Maui from the top, as well as the peaks of the Big Island off in the distance.

The Lodge at Ko’ele’s reflecting pond is the centerpiece of the resort’s manicured grounds.

V
ISITOR
I
NFO
: Tel 800-947-4774 or 808-565-7600;
www.visitlanai.net
.
L
ODGE AT
K
O’ELE
: Tel 800-321-4666 or 808-565-7300;
www.fourseasons.com/lanai
(golf, tel 800-321-4666 or 808-565-4653).
Cost:
from $350; greens fees $225 ($190 for guests).
L
ANA’I
A
RT
P
ROGRAM
: Tel 808-565-7503;
www.lanaiart.org
.
B
EST TIME
: summer, since Lana’i City’s 1,600-foot elevation means winters can be chilly.

Tee Time at the Oasis

Maui, Hawaii

Just three decades ago, Wailea was a dusty, barren area covered by an impenetrable scrub of thorny
kiawe
. Today, after a multimillion-dollar deal that pumped in water from the rainy forests across the island, plus billions
more in high-end building and landscaping, this part of Maui’s South Shore is a veritable oasis. Spread over 2 miles of palm-fringed gold coast, the destination resort area has everything: warm, sunny weather nearly every day; sandy beaches sloping into fish-filled waters; luxury hotels and shopping; and Wailea’s greatest claim to fame, world-class golf.

Wailea, a virtual golf mecca, features three of Maui’s best courses: the Blue Course, designed by Arthur Jack Snyder; the championship Gold Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.; and Jones’s slightly more player-friendly Emerald Course. You can play them all from any of the area’s best hotels, which offer creature comforts verging on the obscene. The Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa boasts an opulent 50,000-square-foot spa and an astounding water park with waterfalls, slides, and nine pools—it’s kid heaven. The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, a Hawaiian seaside palace, features another top spa, pampering service, and a branch of the famous Spago restaurant chain. At the Fairmont Kea Lani Maui, an all-suite luxury hotel, there are private 2,000-square-foot beach bungalows, each with its own plunge pool and gourmet kitchen.

Golf aside, the next biggest draws in Wailea are golden-sand Wailea Beach and crescentshaped Ulua Beach. A couple of miles to the south, Makena is home to two more Jones-designed golf courses and the Maui Prince Hotel, luxurious if remote, with an atrium garden and a koi-filled waterfall stream. Must-see beaches nearby: palm-fringed sandy Maluaka Beach and 3,300-foot-long (and 100-foot-wide) Big Beach, also known as Oneloa (“long sand”).

W
HERE
: 12 miles south of Kahului Airport.
W
AILEA
G
OLF
C
LUB
: Tel 888-328-MAUI or 808-875-7450;
www.waileagolf.com
.
Cost:
greens fees from $200 ($175 for Wailea hotel guests).
G
RAND
W
AILEA
R
ESORT
: Tel 800-888-6100 or 808-875-1234;
www.grandwailea.com
.
Cost:
from $495.
F
OUR
S
EASONS
R
ESORT
M
AUI
: Tel 800-334-MAUI or 808-874-8000;
www.fourseasons.com/maui
.
Cost:
from $395.
F
AIRMONT
K
EA
L
ANI
M
AUI
: Tel 800-659-4100 or 808-875-4100;
www.fairmont.com/kealani
.
Cost:
from $395.
M
AKENA
G
OLF
C
OURSES
: Tel 808-879-3344;
www.maui.net/~makena
.
Cost:
greens fees $185 (from $110 for Maui Prince guests).
M
AUI
P
RINCE
H
OTEL
: Makena. Tel 800-321-6284 or 808-874-1111;
www.mauiprincehotel.com
.
Cost:
from $355.
B
EST TIMES
: late Jan or early Feb for Wendy’s Champions Skins Game (
www.seniorskinswailea.com
), a tournament that draws golfing greats; 4 days in June for the Maui Film Festival (
www.mauifilmfestival.com
); Nov–Apr for whale-watching.

House of the Sun

Maui, Hawaii

Who’s to argue with the local saying
Maui no ka oi
—“Maui is the best.” The “Valley Isle” is named after the Polynesian demigod, who, after having plucked all the Hawaiian islands up out of the sea, decided to
make this, the most beautiful one, his home. Nothing beats the views of and from the hulking mass of 10,023-foot Haleakala (House of the Sun), whose dormant volcanic crater, 2,600 feet deep and 21 miles around, is the largest in the world—so big that the island of Manhattan could fit inside. Annually, more than 1.5 million visitors follow a must-do tradition
and make the 3
A.M.
ascent through the cool upcountry landscape to Haleakala’s lofty peak to watch a sunrise that Mark Twain called “the sublimest spectacle I ever witnessed.” Just ascending the mountain is an experience in itself; it’s the only place in the world where you can drive from sea level to over 10,000 feet in just 38 miles. The two-hour trip snakes through three different climate zones along the way and offers magnificent views of the island’s lush sugarcane and pineapple plantations, as well as some of Maui’s 81 accessible beaches along its famous 120-mile shoreline.