I stayed at the FS Hualalai this weekend and I have a brief report. The renovations on the Sea Shell pool are complete. It will not look vastly different to anyone who has stayed before, it was mostly structural, but it does look as if there is more seating.
For those who do not know, all of the rooms except the suites at this property are exactly the same...huge (635 square feet), same furnishings, same bathrooms, same everything. The only difference between the golf, partial oceanview, oveanview, prime oveanview, oceanfront, etc., is location/view. The rooms are located in bungalows set in four crescents around the pools, gardens, and lagoon. The prime oceanview rooms are on the second floors. I actually prefer the first level rooms though, because they have outdoor lava rock showers that I think are very cool. All rooms have large (48'; I think) flat screen TVs, iHomes, gigantic slate showers and deep soaking tubs. Stearns and Foster beds, amazing linens.
I think the oceanfront rooms, located at the ends of each of the crescents, are worth the upgrade in price because they%26#39;re more private being at the end of the crescent instead of behind the pools, etc., and of course, they%26#39;re oceanfront. Bungalow 9, which is on the north end of the property next to the oceanfront restaurant, Pahu%26#39;ia, is my favorte building. I really like the location.
This weekend I stayed in a POV in the crescent around the Seashell pool, which is the pool with the kids. I wasn%26#39;t crazy about it. Little kids screaming early in the morning, not much of even a partial ovean view. I prefer the adults only pool the next crescent over, and I think the POV rooms in that crescent have better well, partial ocean views.
It is a common misconception that the property has no beach. In fact, the entire property is fronted by a beach. But, except for about a 100-foot long and 3-4-foot deep protected area right in the center of the property, ideal for children, you cannot get into the ocean from most of it as the lava rock and reef configuration make it too difficult. There is a fairly decent surf break on the north end of the property and on the far south end (about a ten minute easy walk along a paved path)there is a very long proper beach fronting Kukio Bay where you can easily get in and there is good swimming and even good snorkeling. Turtles everywhere. There is of course also a man-made saltwater lagoon on the property with eagle rays and a wide assortment of reef fish. Thus, it%26#39;s IMO the only hotel on the island offering very good snorkeling, surfing, and swimming all wihin easy walking access.
There have been several recent controversial changes at the hotel. The Beach Tree restaurant is now Italian-only at night (except Saturdays for the beach bbq), although the bar menu is still available. I like the new food a lot, but the menu is pretty limited. Pahu%26#39;ia, the oceanfront, upsacle restaurant open for breakfast and dinner only, has several new kitchen staff changes. I found my dinner there this weekend to be one of the best I had ever had. My only complaint is that out of the 12 or so entrees, all were fish/seafood except one pork, two steak, and a vegetarian. It would have been nice to have some lamb, chicken, veal, duck, or other choices. The third dining choice on the property is Alan Wong%26#39;s Hualalai Grille, arguably the best (or second-best, after Pahu%26#39;ia) dining on the island.
Spa services were uniformly outstanding, as usual. The sports club is awesome, with all the latest treadmill/elliptical trainers with TVs, a basketball court, rock climbing wall, etc. There is a game room for kids, staffed. The Kids for All Seasons Program is great for younger kids, staff take them fishing etc. The golf course is worlclass, and finally, the carts now have GPS.
The property continues to live up to its billing as one of the best in the world. As one might expect, everything is therefore very expensive. I%26#39;ll be happy to answer questions about the rooms, location, etc., for anybody who wants to post or PM me. I stay there every few months when they have kama%26#39;aina specials or one of my family members who works there can get me a deal.
Four Seasons Hualalai update/report
We stayed at the FS Maui before coming to the Big Island. They seem to be struggling through some management or ownership changes. My understanding is that this property was purchased by the same individual that bought the Maui property.
Interestingly enough I chose the Fairmont over this property strictly due to the beach. I%26#39;m not sure I would consider it a misconception that the property has no beach as it doesn%26#39;t sound very user friendly. I had heard some bad press on pool quality from friends who had been there previously. Glad to hear their making improvements. The rooms at the Fairmont were not the greatest but staff, services and primarily the beach/snorkeling were excellent.
Four Seasons Hualalai update/report
Thanks Shea, great report on a great resort. We will be there in a week for our 4th stay. Your report got me even more excited for the trip.
Nice report. Any word as to whether there have been any changes resulting from MSD%26#39;s purchase of both the Four Seasons Hualalai and the Kona Village Resort next door? When we were there last February, there were a lot of rumors and speculation as to what was going to happen. (Some good, some bad.)
The two resorts are quite different and excellent by themselves, but I do wonder if they couldn%26#39;t be better with some limited synergy to allow guests at one resort to utilize some features of the other.
I am confused...it the hotels name going to be the IMO now? And whats a POV??? and Why would Material Safety %26amp; Data authors purchase the hotel ???
Is it still the Four Seasons or the ';Four Seasons IMO'; ???
Good job, Dan, preserving your cover as a non-computer-lingo person. Makes it hard for others to realize that you ARE MSD....oops, guess I shouldn;t have said that :-)
nah, Dan is PA, not MSD.
Thanks Shea! Very comprehensive excellent report that should be very useful. What is a good kama`aina rate there?
I stayed a couple times at the Manele Bay and Koele Lodge on a $199 kama`aina rate, which I thought was an amazing price. (when it was owned by C %26amp; C, not 4S)
Aloha KamaainaK,
Actually, Manele Bay and Lodge at Koele are still owned by Castle and Cooke. Previously it was managed by Starwood, now by FS. In fact, when I have talked to the management at Manele they say it can get frustrating for FS since not only does C%26amp;C own the resort, they own the island. So anything they would like to have done to upgrade things needs to go through C%26amp;C. You are right about the high prices that FS charges. I think on Lana%26#39;i, they just wanted to catch up to the BI and Maui FS rates.
Sorry KK, the Four Seasons is the only hotel here that does not have a kamaaina rate!
TT, you are mistaken, the FS Hualalai does have a kama%26#39;aina rate. It varies, depending on the time of year and special promotions, but it%26#39;s always available to some extent. This weekend, the rate I got was $406 a night for the Partial Ocean View (POV, Dan :-), which is about half of the rack rate. This past year I also got a $385 per night rate as part of a package deal for the Humane Society fundraiser which was held on the property. I was upgraded to an oceanfront room on that rate, which made it a huge discount.
The changes made to the resort since Michael Dell bought it have not been significant. An average person who stayed here prior to the purchase will not notice any changes. Most changes have come in the restaurants, menus and staff, and I think they have been positive. I will say that service and maintenance quality seem to have improved under Dell%26#39;s ownership, but it was always good.
I will say that I am not a fan of Kona Village Resort. I%26#39;ve stayed a couple of time, and it%26#39;s just not for me. But I know many people love it. I can say that I don%26#39;t think the two hotels probably get much overlap in terms of clientele.
The Fairmont Orchid is a fine hotel in the price range, but it does not compare to the Four Seasons Hualalai on any level. In my opinion, the beach there is very small and always teeming with children. The Four Seasons is a ten-minute walk away from the best beach on the island in my opinion, Kukio, and the snorkeling along the coastline from Kukio as far north as Kona Village on a calm day is better than any snorkeling to be found anywhere near the Fairmont, where snorkeling even on a good day is mediocre at best.
Thanks Shea. My wife and I are going over in a month and I am curious to see some of what you mentioned. We have stayed there every year since it opened and things do change. We actually like the least expensive rooms by the 18th fairway as they have the best sunset views in early spring. Rock shower all the way.
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