Four Seasons Resort Hualalai

My family just returned from a week long stay at FSH. Overall we had a great time. The hotel and surrounding area are unbelievably gorgeous. The rooms were superb as well. It was certainly crowded, and there were days I was glad that my family are morning people as often by 8am there was a line to get in to breakfast and by 10am most of the beach and pool chairs were taken. That said, if you tell the pool attendant they are pretty good about reclaiming abandoned chairs. All of the activities we did on property - fishing, eagle ray feeding, art by the pool, snorkel, paddle board canoe, dolphin/whale watching trip - were a lot of fun. However, we would have expected more of these activities to be either included with or subsidized by the price you are paying to stay at the resort, but (except just snorkel from the beach) all were super pricey. For example, using a paddle board oneself (no staff assistance) was $100. Just felt a little nickle and dimed. By and large the service here was top notch. The staff at the pools, restaurants, ocean activities, natural resources and kids programs were all so kind, knowledgeable and attentive. The staff here are really what make staying here worth it in my opinion. The one caveat here is the concierge team prior to arrival took forever to respond to emails. I'm talking days or even weeks without even a response, only replying after one or more follow up emails. This normally wouldn't be more than a minor annoyance, but sometimes between emails activities that had previously been available would get booked up, which was really frustrating.

Coral Photography was amazing! This was a family trip to celebrate a birthday and we were so happy we were able to capture these incredible family memories! Couldn’t be happier with the entire process, and our photographer Ramon was perfect especially when working with kids! Ronacin also made the entire viewing experience seamless! 10/10 would recommend!

Our seventh visit to Hualalai. Everything was outstanding. Bell service, concierge, valet, desk, service staff, all top-notch. Beautifully maintained grounds and pools. The new restaurant Miller & Lux is a cut above. The ongoing “welcome back” theme was nice. Our previous stay was immediately post-pandemic, and the whole island, including the 4S was a bit … rough. Everything is back the way it should be. The only thing that would be an improvement would be fewer children, which I understand would be less than favorable for business. ;) Everyone’s experience is different I suppose. I can only surmise that a recent less-than-stellar review was left by the folks making the most vocal, attention-craving complaints at the restaurants and pool during our visit. Not surprising.

Writing this while still at the resort and thankful we only spent 2 nights here on the way back from Japan. This is my fourth time at Hualalai and first in 4 years. I will never return. This used to be one of my favorite properties. And to be clear, I am a frequent traveler and usually extremely loyal to FS. This hotel used to be fabulous but it has markedly gone downhill in every way. It no longer feels like a Four Seasons but a Marriott at best. The list of grievances is long but TLDR: the rooms are in desperate need of refurbishment, housekeeping is subpar, the wait times for everything from pool chairs to breakfast is absurd, the service is disenchanted and this hotel nickel and dimes you for everything. For those looking for more detail, here you go: -visible stains on all the room furniture and pool towels -our toilet overflowed all over the bathroom at no fault of ours. Not a single apology from the hotel. -the welcome amenity was a bottle of aqua pana. First FS that hasn’t offered a bottle of wine. -staff at the kids club is rude and they make it seem like supervised kids are not welcome unless you pay to drop them off. -15-20 min wait time at breakfast when more than half the tables are empty but unbussed -staff telling me to come at 8am to reserve pool chairs feels very 3-4 star hotel -$50 for mediocre pasta -housekeeping that leaves hair in the shower drain -impossible to get dinner reservations at a reasonable hour if not done days in advance Just overall not at all a Four Seasons experience. We will never return. The Rosewood Kona village next door, on the other hand, looks great!

The resort is beautifully landscaped and the staff very well trained, there is a hint of the old world charm in the fellow guests reminding me of the days of my parents and grandparents. The spa and gym were used extensively by myself and my travel companion, both are top quality. Literally there was a resort pool for every mood and whim. The food was by and large great but like every resort suffers if you order in room. Oddly I think the resort suffers somewhat from disorganization on the administrative end... for example being assigned a room we hadn't booked though it was quickly addressed in rather a grand style and by the end of our stay almost forgotten. The overhead on running this place must be mega-enormous and hence a price per night that make even the comfortable squirm a bit. Overall though both I and my travel companion consider it an experience worth the cost.