This week I surprised Molly for our wedding anniversary and we spent a couple of days on Lanai. While Lanai is still part of Maui county, it feels like a million miles away as the ferry departs Lahaina and we set sail for what we call “the happiest place on earth” (with apologies to Disney World).
We stayed at the always wonderful Manele Bay Hotel. There have been a few changes in the dining scene at the Four Seasons resorts since our last visit. The Four Seasons manages both resort properties on Lanai: the Manele Bay Hotel and the Lodge at Koele.
At Manele Bay, the Italian themed restaurant I’ilani (where we had our wedding dinner three years ago) is closed. The Italian menu has been moved over to the adjacent Hoooooo Court which in the morning is the venue for our favorite breakfast buffet.
A couple of favorites from dinner: the carpachio from the anti pasta menu and the linguine with prawns from the primi piati selections. Both dishes were well executed and satisfying in their simplistic reliance on quality ingredients prepared well. I appreciated that the succulent prawns were cooked to perfection and served with their heads so I could enjoy their delicately sweet and musky flavor. (shrimp heads are not Molly’s cup of tea and she appreciated how theybeasily separated from the rest of the shrimp.)
The deserts (dolce) menu is worthbexperiencing. The pastry chef for the resorts is top notch and executes better than any pastry chef on Maui. I especially enjoyed the soufflé-inspired apple sponge tart. (similarly delicious pastries are served at the breakfast buffet.)
The other change at the Lanai resorts is the closing of the restaurant at the Challenge Golf Club house. This was one of our favorite places to enjoy lunch because of the spectacular views.
Presumably both of the closed restaurants will reopen when tourism to the Pineapple island picks up. According to a resort employee, there are already indications of that with an uptick in easily bookings for 2011.
It's only a 45 minute ferry ride to Lanai, where the pool at Manele Bay reminds us to slow down and forget the hustle and bustle of Maui.
A couple of weeks I surprised Molly for our wedding anniversary and we spent a couple of days on Lanai. While Lanai is still part of Maui county, it feels like a million miles away. When the ferry departs Lahaina and we set sail for what we call “the happiest place on earth” (with apologies to Disney World), the relaxation settles into our bones immediately.
As we have before, we stayed at the always wonderful Manele Bay Hotel. There have been a few changes in the dining scene at the Four Seasons resorts since our last visit. (The Four Seasons manages both resort properties on Lanai: the Manele Bay Hotel and the Lodge at Koele.)
At Manele Bay, the Italian themed restaurant (where we had our wedding dinner three years ago) is now closed. The Italian menu has been moved over to the adjacent Hulopo’e Court … which also serves our favorite breakfast buffet in the mornings.
A couple of favorites from dinner: the carpaccio from the antipasto menu and the linguine with prawns from the primi piati selections. Both dishes were well executed and satisfying in their simplistic reliance on quality ingredients prepared well. I appreciated that the succulent prawns were cooked to perfection and served with their heads so I could enjoy their delicately sweet and musky flavor. (Shrimp heads are not Molly’s cup of tea; she appreciated how they easily separated from the rest of the shrimp.)
The desserts (dolce) menu is worth experiencing. The pastry chef for the resorts is top notch and executes better than most pastry chefs on Maui. I especially enjoyed the soufflé-inspired apple sponge tart (similarly delicious pastries are served at the breakfast buffet).
The other change at the Lanai resorts is the closing of the restaurant at the Challenge Golf Club house. This was one of our favorite places to enjoy lunch because of the spectacular views.
Presumably both of the closed restaurants will reopen when tourism to the Pineapple island picks up. According to a resort employee, there are already indications of that with an uptick in easily bookings for 2011.
Our favorite meal was our last one: tea at the Lodge at Koele. The oh-so-dark paneled walls, the delicious pastries, and the excellent selection of teas made me wish we’d gone twice, not just once.
If you go to Lanai – even just for a day – don’t miss the tea at the Lodge.
The "Golfer's Tea" featured a mini Italian sandwich (good), pulled pork slider (very good), and miniature hot dog (excellent, despite my skepticism).
The traditional tea with finger sandwiches (delectable) and teensy cakes (you only need one bite) and excellent scones and shortbread cookies.
Jalapeno corn muffins. Ravishing apple pie. Really.