Lāna‘i Guide: 5 Places to Stay on Lāna‘i
Stay at a plantation home or a luxurious hotel.
Photo: Grant Kaye
Hotel Lāna‘i
Built in 1923, this plantation-era inn in the heart of Lāna‘i City has plenty of charm: wood floors, Hawaiian quilts, a classy restaurant and bar, and thin walls—bring earplugs to get a good night’s sleep. The front units are nicest, with private lānai and a little extra room inside. A cottage in back has a TV, bathtub and private yard. Rooms start at $174; the cottage at $254. Continental breakfast included.
828 Lāna‘i Ave., Lāna‘i City, (808) 565-7211, hotellanai.com
Four Seasons
Everything is high-tech luxury here, from the iPad room-service menus to the Toto toilets that remember your preferences (several options for wash and blow dry!). Suites come with Japanese cedar soaking tubs, and the concierge will send you text alerts when dolphins are in the bay. The lushly landscaped grounds overlook Hulopo‘e Beach, where genuinely friendly attendants set up beach umbrellas for you and serve you mini smoothies. If you’ve got money to burn, this is a great place to do it: Rooms range from $1,075 to $21,000.
1 Mānele Bay Road, Lāna‘i City, (808) 565-2000, fourseasons.com/lanai
Dreams Come True
The Hunter family rents out its comfortable four-bedroom plantation house room by room or as a whole. Perks: fresh liliko‘i juice and fruits from the garden, big bathtubs and, best of all, the option to rent a truck to explore the island without Dollar’s restrictions. That alone makes booking here worth it; it’s also a cozy place to stay. $141 double; $564 entire house. Continental breakfast included.
828 Lāna‘i Ave., Lāna‘i City, (808) 565-6961 or (808) 565-7211
Lāna‘i Guest House
This bright turquoise and blue plantation house is artfully decorated and stocked with everything a small family might need: two bedrooms with a queen bed and bunk beds, modern kitchen appliances, a barbecue and a backyard full of fruit trees. The house is $200 per night ($25 off for kama‘āina), plus $50 cleaning fee. Two-night minimum.
320 Fraser Ave., Lāna‘i City, (808) 308-2222, lanaiguesthouse.com
Hulopo‘e Beach Campground
This is easily one of the finest campgrounds in all of Hawai‘i, with soft grass for pitching your tent, clean showers and bathrooms, picnic tables and barbecue grills, and, above all, resplendent Hulopo‘e Beach just steps away. Reserve your spot via email 72 hours in advance. Permits are issued in person for three nights max, major holidays excluded. $15 per person per night, plus a $30 registration fee, credit cards only.
Email: info@lanaibeachpark.com, (808) 215-1107
Bucket List
See dolphins.
Photo: Thinkstock
Wild spinner dolphins frequent Hulopo‘e Bay to rest. Look for them in the early morning hours. (Don’t swim out to meet them; they’re napping.)
Find three petroglyph fields.
Ancient Hawaiian artists carved dogs, sailing canoes and the bird god Halulu into rock faces all over the island. Check them out at Shipwreck Beach, Kaunolū Village and Luahiwa.
dive cathedrals.
Photo: Thinkstock
Sunlight streams into underwater lava tubes, creating a shimmering stained-glass-window effect on the cavern walls.
get your jeep stuck/unstuck.
Photo: shannon wianecki
Four-wheeling on the red-dirt roads is an adventure! Without cell service, you’ll have to rely on your own ingenuity and the kindness of strangers when your Jeep suddenly becomes as stubborn as a mule.
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