Went to the Lodge with my wife for our 40th Anniversary. Can't say how welcomed we were made to feel from the moment we stepped off of our mainland flight in Honolulu to when the whole staff lined up to greet us as we entered the Lodge. They have someone meet you at your flight and get you and your baggage over to Larry Ellison's Island Air airline while you wait in their VIP lounge. The process is then repeated at the Lanai airport where they shuttle you to the resort. The lodge at Koele is simply beautiful with some of the best gardens anywhere. Great rooms and very peaceful. It can be cool though as you are up at 3,000 feet. Not much nightlife but the people of Lanai are some of the friendliest folks anywhere. The Experience Course was closed for renovations so I cannot comment on that but the Challenge at Manele course were Bill Gates got married was incredibly scenic while living up to its name. I highly recommend this place.

We stayed at Manele Bay, but rode the shuttle up here one evening for dinner, which was pricey, but delicious. This property feels more like a blue blood golf club than a Hawaiian resort, though. They offer a lot of activities like horseback riding, clay pigeons, and croquet. My advice is to stay at Manele, and visit here to take advantage of the activities, or at least split your stay.

My experience and feedback of Koele is mixed. The hotel itself is absolutely wonderful. The location is beautiful, there’s amazing service and the aloha experienced is both refreshing and genuine. If I were rating the stay alone it would easily get five stars. Truthfully it offered one of my best hotel experiences ever. The process of booking your stay and dealing with their reservations department however is maddening. Last year I called to book a stay for our 25th anniversary, got a room rate but needed to confirm the dates with my wife before booking. I called back 10 minutes later and the rates went up over 30% and the staff treated me like I was making up the original rate. Thankfully a manager got involved and resolved the issue which led to us proceeding with the stay which again was wonderful. We were so impressed that we elected to revisit Koele during our next vacation and bring our children. Much to my surprise I had a similar experience with reservations. I was given one rate and when I called back to book the price went up 50%. In fairness I called back two weeks later this time but was told during my first call the rate is stable since I was booking so far out. Simply put, the details and feedback from the reservations department is inconsistent. I am absolutely astounded this has happened to me twice. Details concerning options with Island Air and packages were drastically different from one employee to the next. While the hotel is truthfully a fantastic experience, the reservations process could not be worse. I cannot begin to express how frustrating it is to book at this hotel.

This was the nicest and most beautiful hotel I have ever stayed at. The staff welcomes you as you get off the shuttle from the airport with leis as one of the bellhops plays on a conch shell. Next the take you to the main area where they give you a delicious juice drink and get your accommodations in order. The good: beautiful resort, very friendly and helpful staff. Excellent resort with delicious food and excellent activities. Also great attention to detail. I left my sunglasses on my nightstand and the next day there was a sunglasses cleaning kit left out. If we left clothes out, they were neatly folded for us. The bad: Everything is a little pricey. Some of this is the typical Hawaiian inflation because everything has to be imported. Also the shuttle service is good because it takes you into Lanai city and the other resort. My only complaint was we were coming back from dinner in Lanai city and the shuttle bus filled up. We were expecting the driver to drop off the guests and come right back. Instead we ended up having to wait for the the next shuttle (they leave every half-hour). To make matters worse, this shuttle ended up being the last one of the night, so if that had filled up, we would've had to walk back. (About a mile or so). This wouldn't have been so bad except that it was dark and raining out. Overall: This is a great hotel that you will have to pay for. The staff works their hardest to make sure you enjoy your stay. I recommend doing one of the adventure activities We ended up doing the skeet shooting. (I'll write a review on their page).

If all of the island retreats start looking the same, the Four Seasons Resort Lana'i, The Lodge at Koele is what you need! Upon arriving at the Lanai City, Lanai, Hawaii airport a shuttle was waiting which took our bags and drove us up to the Lodge where we were greeted with Lei's, refreshing cloths and the island spirit of Aloha. The Check-in experience was a pleasure, seated in the great hall and served with Pineapple Lemonade, we were greeted by our names as if we had visited before (process of elimination as to who we were I suppose, but a great touch!). I splurged on 3 nights in the Great Hall Fireplace Suite and it was well worth the rate. The room was quite spacious with a large King bed and seating area facing a cozy fireplace. The first thing I noticed upon sitting down was how quiet the room was. The bathroom was quite large with separate enclosures for the toilet and bathtub and a large sink area with plenty of counter space. We enjoyed the views from the large balcony overlooking the croquet lawn past the distant horse stables and down towards the ocean. Our bags arrived to our room about 20 minutes later which was longer wait than I had anticipated but the gentleman which brought them up gave a great tour of the room and shared some local tips from his 17 years of working at the lodge. After unpacking we headed down to explore the many nooks and private seating areas hidden all throughout the lodge. We discovered a large game room, several reading areas, entertainment room, dining areas and lounge. The grounds were immense, we walked around a large pond seeing turkeys and stopping off in a solarium filled with beautiful orchids. Down at the pool there were two jacuzzi's, during a few times down to the pool we were one of only a few couples there and always had one of the jacuzzi's to ourselves. I imagine this is not always the case but we also lucked out that I did not encounter any kids during our stay (as I specifically picked the lodge to avoid unnecessary noise). The attendant setup the cabana area for us and was very attentive in refilling our waters. Back in the room, we found that the maids had come and tidied up while we were gone, the leis we had placed on the entry table were situated on the laps next to our bed, the bag of toiletries I left on the sink were individually placed on a cloth and the snacks we brought with us were placed in a zip-lock bag. This seemed to be the trend during our stay with the staff anticipating our needs and pampering us. The only negative item (which if you read my reviews is a constant sore spot with me) was the $14.99 for Internet access. Now, I could see if they charged for highspeed LAN connection but had a wireless available from the lobby but that was not the case (although they did have two computers setup in the billiards room you could use). My position on it is this, just charge me $20 bucks more a night and give me "free" internet, I am willing to pay for an expensive room but I dont want to feel nickle and dimed! What blows my mind is the expansive list of free amenities and above and beyond services they provide yet they charge for internet access!?!? I just dont get it!!!! Why do high end resorts charge for internet?? This has got to stop!!! (Seriously) ... ok, enough ranting for this review but I am sure I will rage again soon! In getting around, there is a town about a mile away, a nice walk, for breakfast go to the Canoe Lanai very inexpensive (breakfast for 2 was $22). If you dont want to walk they run a shuttle on the half hour to town. The shuttle also runs to the sister property about 25 minutes away, Four Seasons Resort Lana'i at Manele Bay (see details in subsequent review)