You can’t teach aloha – Hawaii’s unique take on welcome, love and affection – you share aloha. It’s a sentiment that runs deep throughout the islands’ culture and one that’s immediately confirmed on my arrival at the beautiful Four Seasons Resort Hual?lai.
Perched on a half-mile stretch of fine sand beach on the northwest Kona Coast of the Big Island, this exceptional oceanfront resort and residential community is a showcase of refined luxury, natural beauty and authentic Hawaiian traditions.
Set on more than 800 acres of rolling coastal land, Hual?lai is a low-density development with spectacular private estate homes blending seamlessly with the resort surroundings.
Four Seasons Resort Hual?lai is a vacation destination in itself, with 192 comfortable guest rooms and another 51 spacious suites tucked into mid-20th-century, Hawaiian-style bungalows.
Each accommodation is designed with natural woods, neutral color palettes and indoor-outdoor living spaces, fusing the luxurious interiors with the resort’s lush gardens and alluring natural waterfront setting.
Gourmet dining is a major part of the Hual?lai experience with four venues – the ‘ULU Ocean Grill, ‘ULU Sushi Lounge, Beach Tree and Hual?lai Grille – offering a variety of cuisines from Japanese to Californian.
You know life is really good when the most difficult decision of the day is whether to opt for the lobster and shrimp pad thai or the ahi poke, and whether it will be enjoyed on the terrace or at the beachfront bar.
With seven pools, including separate ones for adults and kids, the 18-hole, par-72, Jack Nicklaus-designed Hual?lai Golf Course, an excellent fitness facility and an Ocean Adventures center on the beach, you can be as active or as slothful as you like.
And healing hands are a hot stone’s throw away at the restful Hual?lai Spa, offering an array of treatments in thatched huts, complemented by a glass-walled steam room.
One of the resort’s centerpiece pools is King’s Pond, an extraordinary lava rock aquarium that’s home to more than 4,000 fish and a friendly spotted eagle ray. The daily in-water feeding is fun for both kids and adults.
Hual?lai also has an attractive real estate investment component with 23 informal “neighborhoods” nestled into the wider community and more to be added as Hual?lai continues to expand.
About 40 villas and homes are currently listed, ranging in price from $1.4 million up to $4.2 million. Three-bedroom, three-bath villas average 2,650 square feet of indoor living space, with spacious lanais offering additional outdoor areas.
Owners become members of Four Seasons Resort Hual?lai and can access the resort’s myriad dining and leisure amenities, creating an enviable residential lifestyle.
“Hual?lai has a true sense of ohana [family] that is a constant thread through the property and contributes to a very fulfilling lifestyle,” says Rob Kildow, director of sales for Hual?lai Realty.
“It’s all about the members and the community,” he adds. “The resort is a wonderful amenity, but not the primary focus.”
In fact, the development is so cleverly designed that it’s hard to tell where the resort begins and the residential community ends.
As I watch another idyllic Hawaiian sunset, that special sense of community is all pervasive. I never actually leave the resort during my entire stay, and I’ll wager that you won’t either.
THE AGENDA
Find Your Zen
Try a customized body treatment infused with local oils and botanicals at The Apothecary at the Hual?lai Spa.
Stay Active
Enjoy the resort’s Jack Nicklaus signature golf course, picturesque coastal trails and world-class fitness facilities.
Tree of Life
Sign up for a fun back-to-basics cooking class in the kitchen of the Beach Tree restaurant with family and friends.
THE DETAILS
For more information, visit hualalairealty.com and fourseasons.com/hualalai.
Image Credits: PHOTOGRAPHS BY DON RIDDLE.