Rugged luxury on Hawaii's Island of Lanai
Written: Mar 17 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: hardly any other people around, luxury accomodations, easy access, many activities
Cons: expensive
|
|
|
| joli's Full Review: Lanai |
Ok, imagine you are Bill Gates (insert joke here, but keep reading), it's 1994, and you are getting married. You don't feel like having the old backyard-barbecue, but what are you going to do to celebrate your wedding? Where are you going to go? No, not Disneyland - Hawaii, of course! But this isn't going to be just any Hawaiian vacation, you are going to go to the small Hawaiian island of Lanai just west of Maui. You are going to rent the entire island for only your wedding party (and really irk some media types by forgetting to invite them). Now that's a vacation! Ok, you can stop imagining now. (True story by the way, he rented the entire island for his wedding party in the summer of 1994.)
Lanai is extremely unique, in that the two hotel choices are both 5 star luxury hotels, but there are only about 25 miles of paved road on the island. You could experience a full and complete Hawaiian vacation while never leaving the grounds of your hotel - or you could rent a 4 wheel drive and experience the off-road adventure of a lifetime.
One hotel is the Manele Bay hotel; a large, elegant, polynesian structure perched on a cliff overlooking the Hulopo'e Beach. It features a short walk to the beach, courtyards, gardens, flowers, waterfalls, pools, tide pools, tennis, a world-class golf course, horseback riding, watersports, bike riding, some of the best snorkeling in the islands, a gourmet restaurant for all meals, and large individually decorated, luxurious rooms.
The other hotel is the Lodge at Koele, it is located inland (still only 7 miles from the coast) in a forest of Norfolk pines. To me, it looks like a large ski lodge - but is described as similar to an English manor. It has high-beamed ceilings, fireplaces, hand-crafted beds and a rare art collection. The grounds feature gardens, paths, sculptures, tennis, lawn bowling, croquet, hiking trails, and a golf course Upon opening, it was voted "Best New Golf Course" by Fortune Magazine.
Activities on Lanai range from the "usual"; hiking, biking, horseback riding, beach and pool-side lounging, golfing, fishing, hunting, kayaking, snorkeling, diving, whale watching, ocean rafting, and sailing to the unusual 4 wheel drive adventures featuring Shipwreck beach and the Garden of the Gods. Shipwreck beach is aptly named, with wrecks off and on shore due to the strong tradewinds between Maui and Molokai that sometimes force boats up on the reef. The Garden of the Gods is an eery area of haphazardly strewn boulders and rocks somehow placed on a desolate stretch of sand that offers great photo or camping opportunities. The pictures look strangest at sunset or sunrise - kind of like how we imagine Mars to appear.
Lanai, upholding it's luxurious image, can be quite expensive but you can bypass this by staying on Maui and visiting on a daytrip by ferry or raft. Rafting trips are amazing, with common dolphin, whale, and turtle sightings, and you can go all day or half the day to explore the coastal areas. Ferry trips are common and really inexpensive, with 4 wheel drive or other tours provided in conjunction with the trip over.
Find the Lodge at Koele page here http://Travel-Hawaii.com/Lodge_at_Koele.html, the Manele Bay Hotel page here http://travel-hawaii.com/Manele_Bay_Hotel.html, a ferry trip company here http://www.mauibound.com/lanaitours_expeditions.html and a rafting trip page here http://www.activitymart.com/maui/rafting.html . If you have the money or the time, Lanai is the place to find pristine waters, unspoiled beaches, green rolling hills, and the exceptional beauty, weather, aloha, and atmosphere that makes Hawaii so celebrated as a visitor destination.
Aloha, Lisa
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
joli
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Location: Keaau, HI
Reviews written: 126
Trusted by: 389 members
About Me:
That is my son Joseph in the picture.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.