Lanai

We spent three nights on the beautiful island of Lanai. Lanai is a place to really get away from it all. The island is 98% private which means you won't find timeshare salesmen or cheesy activities.

Sunny Trip Reports Island Rating* Click here for Explanation of Ratings
Accomodations
Snorkeling
Beaches
Dining
Activities
Shopping
Food Shopping
Friendliness
Cultural Experience
Value for Money
Would We Return

Hotel Lanai

We spent three nights at the Hotel Lanai and enjoyed our stay. This is a cozy little hotel that reminds us of "old Hawaii". (Not that we are THAT old) We truly felt like family here.  The hotel is located on a hill overlooking Lanai City. The Hotel Lanai is a hotel that allows you to explore Lanai without breaking your travel budget.
	We booked a "lanai room" ($135) which included a shared front porch. The room itself was a little small, but the front porch made up for it since we spent most of our evenings on the porch. The rooms have no TVs which was a real blessing. It allowed us to tune out the rest of the world and enjoy the beauty that surrounded us.  The only negative was the walls were paper thin. So don't be surprised if you hear your neighbors!
There is a shuttle bus that each hour will shuttle you to either of the Four Seasons hotels or the golf courses. We have stayed at the Four Seasons Manele Bay once before and it is beautiful, but the Hotel Lanai gives you a better sense of the true Lanai.

Hulopoe Beach, Lanai

Our favorite spot on Lanai is Hulopoe Beach.  The beach offers good snorkeling, great beach, lots of shade, and unsurpassed beauty. What more can you want from a beach? (Excuse the low res shots, these were taken with a "throw away" camera.)
	We took the shuttle from the Hotel Lanai to the Four Seasons. From there, it is a short 5 minute walk down to the beach. As you can see, I had beach chairs, cooler and snorkel gear in tow.
We found a nice shady spot and set up camp. We spent two days on the beach and it turned out to be the best two days of our trip.
	Each day a pod of spinner dolphins came into the bay and performed some acrobatics. The beach has grassy areas, showers, bathrooms, and lots of picnic tables.
You can also be a "day tripper" from Maui and visit this beach by taking the Expeditions ferry over to Lanai. From the ferry, it is about a 10 minute walk to the beach. Note, that on the weekend this beach becomes crowded. The Lanai locals come down and camp on the beach during the weekend. So the best days to visit are during the weekdays.

Lanai City

Lanai City is located upcountry from the beach. The city is surrounded by Cook Island Pines and it is usually much cooler than the beach area. Lanai City contains a few grocery stores, banks, shops, galleries and restaurants.  It is a quaint little city that doesn't take long to visit but it has a certain charm that makes it worth the visit.
	Restaurants We really liked Henry Clay's at the Hotel Lanai. Good food and although it was expensive the quality of the food justified the price. We also liked the Blue Ginger Cafe. Plate lunch-like food, but it was good and very inexpensive. We were not fond of Pele's Other Garden. We felt the food was overpriced and mediocre at best. (We had dinner, the lunches may be better)
Shops and Galleries Our favorite gallery was Mike Carroll's gallery. Mike is a painter from Chicago that relocated to Lanai 5 or 6 years ago. He and his wife have a nice gallery that displays his work along with other local artists. The art is high quality and it won't break your wallet. Well worth the visit.  We also enjoyed the Local Gentry clothing store and the Dis n Dat store.

Carroll's Lanai Blog

 

Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Dave had to work in Oakland for Cost Plus World Market. I trailed along so we could spend the night in Oakland before leaving for Maui and Lanai. I pretty much hung out around Jack London Square. When Dave got off work we met at a funky bar on the water front called "The First & Last Chance Saloon".

We spent the night at the Courtyard by the airport so we could leave our car there while in Hawaii. Dave walked over to a place called the Wing Stop and got take-out for dinner. We turned in early since we had to get up at 5:00 AM.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006

Today was our travel day. We flew Aloha Airline directly from Oakland to Maui. We actually arrived about 1/2 hour early. We took the SpeediShuttle to Lahaina Harbor. ($25 pp) The driver gave a nice little commentary along the way.

Because we had arrived early we had lunch at the Pioneer Inn in Lahaina. The Expeditions (Lanai Ferry) took off right on time. When we arrived to Lanai we boarded a shuttle that took us to the Hotel Lanai in Lanai City. ($10 pp) Once you pay it allows you to use the shuttle service for the rest of your stay.

We checked into Hotel Lanai and were given room 9. This was a "lanai room". It was very cute with a four poster bed. The Hotel Lanai is a Hawaiian Plantation style guest house built by the Dole's to entertain guests and visiting executives. It is nestled amongst the pines and is very quiet. The rooms are small but cozy.

We walked around town a bit. There really isn't much to see. Two small grocery stores, two banks, a few small restaurants, a couple of galleries, and a few gift shops. We stopped in a few of the places and everyone was so friendly. The ladies at the tourism office were very helpful. Mike Carroll at his gallery was also very friendly. He's a fun guy to to stop and chat with.

We ate dinner at Pele's Other Garden. Dave ordered the Ravioli and I ordered the spaghetti with meatballs. Although the ambiance was nice, I have to say the food was only mediocre. The ravioli appeared to have been purchased at Costco as did the meatballs. The red sauce tasted like it was straight out of a can (bland). The service was good. The food was so-so. We wouldn't recommend eating dinner there.

We returned from dinner and fell asleep right away.

Thursday, October 5, 2006

We woke up after a very restful night and had the continental breakfast provided by the hotel. It was very good.... juices, coffee, various breads, muffins, cereals, and fruit. 

After breakfast we packed up our gear and got ready for a day at Hulopoe Beach. In our opinion, it is the best beach in all of the islands. We took the shuttle to the Four Seasons Manele Bay and walked the short 5 minute walk through the hotel and down to the beach.

We donned our gear and snorkeled right away. Once you get out a ways, the visibility is spectacular. The best place is just off shore of the tide pools to the left of the beach. (When you are out as far as the ladder, then you will start seeing some amazing stuff)

At around 11:00 the pod of spinner dolphins came into the bay to frolic around. One person was snorkeling close to where the dolphins were playing. He swam out a little more and they curiously surrounded him. Once that happened, lots of people began swimming madly out there. By the time they got out there, most of the pod had left.

Dave and I enjoyed the rest of the day on the beach reading and relaxing. We took the 4:30 shuttle back to Lanai City. We cleaned up and relaxed a bit before dinner.

We ate dinner at Henry Clay's Rotisserie at the Hotel Lanai. We had heard that this is the best restaurant on the island. The meals were very good. I had the steak and Dave had the ribs. Both were prepared nicely. Service was excellent and the atmosphere homey. Everything was a bit pricey but overall a good experience.

Friday, October 6, 2006

We decided to spend another day at the beach, so we slept in and enjoyed another continental breakfast at the hotel.

We made our way to Hulopoe Beach and snorkeled right away. The visibility was not as clear as the day before. The water was much rougher. The dolphins were much more active today. Dave tried to swim out to them but they were evasive. They actually stayed in the bay longer than the day before.

We returned to Hotel Lanai around 4:00 so we could do some last minute shopping in Lanai City. We purchased a print of the Hotel Lanai from Mike Carroll. We visited for a bit. We also bought a great t-shirt from The Local Gentry.

We ate dinner at the Blue Ginger Cafe. They serve plate lunch style dinners. Dave had the Teri Chicken and I had the Pork Chops. Both meals were very delicious. Dinner for 2 was $30 including tip.

We returned to our little porch and shared a bottle of sparkling wine. Our last night on Lanai was restful and relaxing.

Saturday, October 7, 2006

I woke up early and started to organize our things so we could pack. Today was moving day. We have to catch the 10:30 ferry to Maui. We took the shuttle down to the Manele Bay Harbor so we could take the ferry back over to Maui. The ferry was right on time.

The story continues on the Maui Blog.