Mauna Lani

Spring water seeps up through the lava at Kalāhuipuaʻa, on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii Island, and mixes with the sea in a chain of fishponds that Hawaiians built centuries ago and that still hold fish. Mauna Lani opened beside them in 1983 as the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows, and since 2020 it has belonged to Auberge Resorts Collection. The ponds come first here, in history as in the view from the lobby.

History

Kalāhuipuaʻa was a place of rest for Hawaiian chiefs, and its ponds supplied their tables with fish. In the twentieth century the land belonged to Francis Hyde ʻIʻi Brown, a grandson of John Papa ʻĪʻī, the scholar and adviser to the Hawaiian court. Brown, a celebrated amateur golfer and businessman, kept a retreat at Kalāhuipuaʻa and looked after the ponds. Japan's Tokyu Corporation acquired the land in 1972 and opened the hotel in 1983, with golf courses named after Brown. For decades the resort has kept young green sea turtles, or honu, in its ponds and released them to the ocean each Fourth of July, a day it calls Turtle Independence Day. Auberge Resorts took over the hotel in 2019, closed it for a renovation of every room and public space, and reopened it in early 2020.

Architecture and design

The main building points towards the ocean like an arrowhead, with wings opening on either side so that most rooms face the water. At its centre a tall atrium holds a garden of palms and water. The renovation kept the shape and the atrium and replaced the 1980s finishes with lighter interiors of natural wood and woven textures, and with Hawaiian art and craft throughout. Most rooms look over the ocean from their lanai. Five bungalows close to the shore, each with its own pool, are the largest accommodation, set apart from the main building with several bedrooms and private outdoor space. Wide spaces of lava, lawn and coconut palm separate the buildings from the beach.

Dining

CanoeHouse, at the water's edge, is the resort's principal restaurant, with tables set close enough to the shore to hear the surf and cooking based on island fish and produce from Hawaii Island farms. Other restaurants and bars serve the pool and the beach. Sunset on the shoreline lawn is the hour when most guests gather, and the low lava coast to the north gives a clear view of the sun going down over the sea.

Wellness

The spa sets its treatment rooms in gardens among the lava, with Hawaiian lomilomi massage on its menu alongside other treatments. A fitness centre and a large pool sit near the beach. The Francis H. ʻIʻi Brown North and South golf courses wind through the black lava fields beside the resort, their fairways cut from the flows.

Weddings and events

The oceanfront lawns and the beach host weddings, with the fishponds and the sunset over the water behind the couple. The resort has a ballroom and meeting rooms for conferences and banquets, and the size of the grounds allows events to be held outdoors at several sites. CanoeHouse can also be used for private dinners.

Location

The Kalāhuipuaʻa Historic Trail leads past the fishponds, lava tubes and shelter caves used by Hawaiians travelling the coast. The Puakō Petroglyph Archaeological Preserve, with thousands of figures carved into the pāhoehoe lava, lies at the northern edge of the resort, reached by a trail from Holoholokai Beach Park. The Fairmont Orchid is a neighbour within the same resort area, one of several resorts on Hawaii Island's Kohala Coast. Kona International Airport is about half an hour south. The coast is dry and sunny most of the year, with Mauna Kea rising inland and, on clear days, the outline of Haleakalā on Maui across the channel.