Hawaii Honeymoon: Fairmont Kea Lani + Four Seasons Lana‘i Review
My wife and I just got back from our honeymoon in Hawaii and wanted to share a review since r/ChubbyTravel was really helpful while we were planning.
We spent 5 nights at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea on Maui, followed by 5 nights at the Four Seasons Resort Lana‘i. This was our first time staying at either property and our first time visiting Lana‘i.
Fairmont Kea Lani — Maui
We really enjoyed the Fairmont and thought it was a great place to start the trip. The property is beautiful, the location in Wailea is great, and the rooms are very spacious. We especially liked having the large balcony and the extra living space that comes with the suite-style rooms.
Fairmont Kea Lani Signature Ocean-View Room
The grounds are beautiful and the property has a really nice, relaxed Hawaiian feel. We spent plenty of time by the pool and beach, and it was nice having such a nice resort to come back to after exploring Maui. The beach was pretty disrupted due to recent storms, but a small section was still open.
We did have one hiccup during our stay. We started having quite a few bugs coming through the main door of our room. Bad seal I guess? It was frustrating at the time, so I called management to let them know. They responded immediately and upgraded us from our Ocean View Room to a Signature Ocean View room. It was a very nice upgrade, with a higher floor, better view, and nicer room. We really appreciated how quickly they handled the situation. (Thank you bugs!)
One thing we really appreciated about the Fairmont was how easy it was to rent a car through their on-site Avis counter. It made it incredibly convenient to get out and explore Maui on our own, rather than being limited to the resort. We of course made our way to Mama's Fishhouse and traveled through a good portion of the road to Hana.
We also noticed something that happened at basically every dinner we had during the honeymoon, both at the Fairmont and later at the Four Seasons Lana'i. Once the restaurants knew we were celebrating our honeymoon, we were brought complimentary desserts. It happened at every restaurant we ate at, and while it obviously wasn't something we expected, it was such a nice gesture from the staff and made the dinners feel a little more special.
Overall, the Fairmont was a really nice property and we had a great stay.
Getting to Lana‘i
We took the ferry from Maui over to Lana‘i, which was a really fun part of the trip itself. It's a completely different experience from flying and was a great way to transition from Maui to Lana‘i.
The ride over was enjoyable, and the return trip to Maui was a little choppier because of the weather from Hurricane Nolo south of the islands, but even that was more of an adventure than anything else.
Four Seasons Resort Lana‘i
Lana‘i was easily the highlight of the honeymoon. It's much, much quieter than Maui and by the end of our five nights, we were both wishing we had stayed longer.
A huge part of that was the room. u/alex_travels was able to get us upgraded to a Prime Oceanfront Suite. The room and view were honestly one of the best parts of the entire honeymoon. Having our own private chairs overlooking Manele Bay was such a relaxing way to start and end each day. We spent a lot of time out there just sitting, having a drink, and taking in the view.
Outside our room above Manele Bay
Upgraded Room - Prime Oceanfront Suite
When we first walked in, there was champagne, fruits, desserts, and even a framed photo from our wedding waiting for us. Such a nice touch, thank you Alex! :)
The property itself is incredible. The location overlooking Manele Bay is beautiful, and the combination of the beach, pools, gardens and surrounding landscape makes the resort feel incredibly secluded. It really does feel like you've gotten away from everything.
We spent a lot of our time doing exactly what you hope to do at a resort like this: laying by the pool, hanging out at the beach, and having lunch and drinks without really worrying about what we were supposed to do next.
The beach was one of our favorite parts. Obviously the scenery is beautiful, but there was also something really relaxing about sitting there and hearing the rocks tumble with every wave as the water came in. The service at the beach for setting up chairs and ordering lunch was extremely fast, and everyone was always so friendly and attentive.
We did a few activities while we were there as well. We visited the Lana‘i Cat Sanctuary, which my wife absolutely loved. Literally cats everywhere (I believe they said over 700) as we walked around and fed them all treats. We also did a beautiful sunset cruise. The water was a little choppy because of the winds from Hurricane Nolo to the south, but the staff on the boat were fantastic. They even surprised us by opening a bottle of champagne for my birthday.
And the food was outstanding. We had several dinners at the Four Seasons and were impressed with all of them. The highlight was easily the Teppanyaki Experience at Nobu. It was one of the coolest dining experiences we've ever done. A 14 course dinner (1 or 2 bites each) and the chef was incredibly entertaining and skilled. He actually taught us how to cook each course with which ingredients and the correct method on how to eat everything. It was genuinely fun rather than just being a nice dinner.
Just like at the Fairmont, the staff at the restaurants were incredibly thoughtful about our honeymoon. We received complimentary desserts at basically every dinner we had at the Four Seasons as well. None of this was something we expected, but those little gestures from the staff really added up and made us feel like the resort was celebrating with us.
The service throughout the resort was also exceptional. Everyone we interacted with was incredibly friendly, and it seemed like everyone knew our names. It never felt overly formal or forced though, just genuinely warm and attentive.
I didn't get a picture, but the resort in the evening was truly otherworldly. With the lush vegetation and tiki torches lit up throughout the property, it really felt like we were in paradise. The koi ponds throughout the resort were also so pretty and fun to stop by, especially since we could feed the fish.
We honestly found ourselves wishing we had booked more time at Lana‘i. Five nights sounded like a long time when we planned the trip, but once we were there, it went by incredibly quickly. Too quickly!
Overall
Both properties were fantastic, but they gave us very different experiences.
The Fairmont Kea Lani was a beautiful and comfortable place to start the honeymoon, and we really enjoyed our time on Maui. It gave us a great home base for exploring the island while having a luxury resort.
But Lana‘i was the standout for us by a pretty wide margin. The property, room and view, beach, service, food, activities, and especially the feeling of being completely removed from everything made it incredibly special.
We had an amazing honeymoon and would happily return to both properties, but if we had to go back to one tomorrow, we'd be heading straight to Lana‘i.
Happy to answer any questions about the rooms, food, beach/pool, activities, ferry, or anything else from the trip. Thanks!
