I’ve never experienced a Hawaii beach quite like Polihua, on the island of Lanai.

One-and-a-half miles of white sand. Completely devoid of people.

The latter has a lot to do with the 11 miles of unpaved road—half of it accessible only to four-wheel-drive vehicles—one must negotiate down Lanai’s dry, rocky, steep and scrub-brush filled north shore to get to Polihua.

Once we guided our Jeep through a final canopy of kiawe trees hugging Polihua, skittered across the warm sand and dipped our feet in the cool Pacific waters, though? Check out the video below for a 360 degree view of what we experienced.

I’ll be writing about my tour of Lanai’s beaches in a future issue of HAWAII Magazine.

   

Many of you asked. Some of you guessed after my weekend post. Now, I can finally answer.

Yes, after some none-too-subtle campaigning on my part, I attended the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele Kona beer dinner on Saturday.

It was departing executive sous chef Thomas Bellec’s grand finale at the Lodge—a five-course dinner menu, paired with craft beers from Kona Brewing Co. He’d done a couple of wine dinners, and even a scotch dinner in the past—all in the Lodge’s country manor-reminiscent interiors.

But the beer dinner seemed apt for a more casual setting. So taking advantage of good upcountry weather, dinner was served under the stars on the Lodge’s croquet court.

The Four Seasons pulled out all stops. Guests were seated at elegantly-appointed picnic tables equipped with padded seats. Tiki torches lit the area. Heat lamps offset the chilly evening tradewinds. Pashminas were handed out to whoever wanted one. A guitarist strummed gentle Hawaiian tunes.

How to break the ice? How about a trio of cocktails, all beer-infused—a mai tai with a float of Amstel Light (so-so), a bloody mary with a kicky bite of Corona and lime (good), and a fresh-squeezed lemonade mixed with Hangar 1 vodka, kafir lime and a float of Corona (best).

After a couple of each over a half-hour, conversation flowed.

I sat across from Mark and Barbara Zigmond, owners of Lanai City’s Pele’s Other Garden restaurant—and right next to Tom Roelens and his wife Sara. Roelens was ending his third week as general manager of both Four Seasons resorts on the island—the Lodge at Koele and the Manele Bay Resort. 

He was still giddy about getting the job, regaling us with tales of his Belgian childhood, where quaffing beer as a minor was legal, and his father occasionally brewed up a batch of the stuff in the family living room.

“We kids looked forward to days we could come home from school for lunch,” said Roelens, after one story.

Responded Zigmond, to much laughter, “Yes, but did you learn anything after lunch?”

Chef Bellec's aim was to match each course with the right beer. Kona Brewing’s light, citrusy Wailua Wheat beer, for instance, complemented  the dressing on the green salad with Lanai venison pastrami.

Roelens enjoyed the subtle spice, fruit and smooth finish of Kona Brewing’s wonderful 3K Belgian Triple ale so much, that he ordered a second round for our table before we could finish our beer-glazed brie and roasted pear on egg brioche.

Another high point? The brewer’s Pipeline Porter—rich with roasted coffee aroma and a smoky dark chocolate finish—paired with one of the richest entrées I’ve ever encountered.  It was, first, an applewood-smoked bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin on, second, a bed of kalua pulled pork, plus parsnip puree and Brussels sprouts fricassee, all in beer infused demi glace. I'm still surprised I survived it.

Four Seasons Resort Lanai public relations director Brad Packer said it was his dream to host a similar dinner at the Lodge … with tequila.

I’ll bring the limes and salt, dude.

And HawaiiMagazine.com readers will, again, know about it before it happens. Cheers!
 

One of the cooler things about my job is escaping the office on Oahu every couple of months, flying to one of the neighbor islands and getting to call what I do there work.

I’m on the island of Lanai this weekend, taking in some scenery, activities and food. You’ll see everything I collect while I'm here in future HawaiiMagazine.com Web posts and HAWAII Magazine articles.

For now, though, some photographic evidence of what I was up to on Friday.

Vog from Kilauea enveloped most of Hawaii on Friday, obscuring views of Oahu and Molokai on the morning flight to Lanai. The effect it had on the view of the manicured gardens at the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele when I checked in, however, was wonderfully dramatic.

A view of the island's only town, Lanai City, from a bluff above the Lodge at Koele. With just over 3,000 residents, a handful of businesses and comprised mainly of homes, it's not your classic definition of a "city." But you'll meet some of the friendliest people in Hawaii here.

I rented a Jeep 4x4  to explore the island's beaches for a future HAWAII Magazine feature. With only 30 miles of paved road on the island, Jeeps are pretty much the only rental available. Fortunately, they're the best way to see Lanai (other than on horseback, which I'm also doing a bit of this weekend for a HAWAII feature). This is a beach road on the island's north shore.

Polihua Beach, on Lanai's north side, is your reward after a lengthy and extremely bumpy drive down a single-lane Jeep trail. Stretching more than two miles, it's Lanai's longest white sand beach. It's also one of the island's most remote. On a typical late afternoon visit, you'll find about as many people exploring its breathtaking grandeur as you do in this photo.

My dinner after a long day of "work"—a meat lover's pizza at Pele's Other Garden in Lanai City. It's always a joy visiting owners Mark and Barbara Zigmond, and sampling their terrific homemade Italian entrees, pizzas, deli sandwiches and desserts. Great people. Must-have-food on Lanai. Check out Mark's must-read "My Corner of Paradise" feature in our Jan./Feb. 2008 issue.

 

Memo to John Heckathorn, editor, HAWAII Magazine:

Would it be waaaaay too out of line to ask that you send me on assignment to Lanai, just to attend a beer dinner at the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele on April 26?

Executive sous chef Thomas Bellec has crafted a five-course menu, paired with craft beers from Kona Brewing Co. Seared Kalua Pork wrapped in applewood-smoked bacon with parsnip puree, Brussels sprouts fricassee and a beer demi matched with a pint of Pipeline Porter. Warm brie cheese with roasted pear on egg brioche and beer glaze, paired with Steam Vent Lager. I'm even liking the organic green salad with Maui onion and venison pastrami, matched with Wailua Wheat beer.

There’s more on the menu. But you get the idea.

Dinner will be served in the Lodge’s way-refined Music Room, from 6 to 9 p.m. It’ll set us back $75, just for me, so I am guessing you shouldn’t come along, in the interest of budgetary restraint.

I can call (808) 565-2469 right now for a reservation.

The Lodge at Koele has done wine dinners and even a scotch dinner, previously. I missed those. It’d be a crime to miss this one, too.

I’d even be more than willing to stay overnight at the Lodge, if necessary. (Of course, I don’t just wallow in the lap of luxury. I could research Lanai beaches and lunch options in Lanai city the following day, before flying back to Oahu.)

Should I pack an overnight bag?

Derek
Web editor, HawaiiMagazine.com

P.S. HawaiiMagazine.com visitors should also feel free to make reservations. Perhaps I'll see you all there!
 
 

Yesterday was not just another day in the office at HAWAII Magazine.

I hopped on a boat with the staff of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, as they went out on a routine research and rescue mission in the waters off Maui.

This wasn’t like my commercial whale watching cruise last year. These were the scientists who watch over the humpback whales and I needed authorization under a federal permit to join them.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to rescue any whales entangled in debris. However, we found ourselves surrounded by humpbacks, breaching, slapping the water with pectoral fins (pictured above), and singing as they glided underneath us, big as buses.

The sanctuary is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), dedicated to help protect Hawaii’s humpback whales. As many as 10,000 humpback whales travel from Alaska to Hawaii every year.

For the July/August issue of HAWAII Magazine, I’ll write a story about the NOAA heroes who work with these amazing creatures.  

But till then, here’s my video of a humpback whale breaching in the blue waters of the Pacific, between Lanai and Molokai. (In Hawaii, it's illegal to approach a humpback whale closer than 100 yards by sea. The photo and video may look close, but I've got a camera with a great zoom function).

It was better than sitting at my desk all day.



 

 Just hitting news stands is the April issue of Golf Magazine, with its 20th anniversary list of premier golf resorts, picked with the help of 8,000 readers.

Of the 75 resorts, Hawaii has nine.  Top rated was the Four Seasons Resort Lana'i at Manele Bay, praised for its “pristine” golf experience.

Also receiving honors was Manele Bay’s sister property on Lanai, The Lodge at Koele

There were three prime golf resorts on the Big Island: Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Mauna Lani Resort and Hilton Waikoloa Village.

Two on Maui: the Grand Wailea Hotel & Spa and the Kapalua Resort.  And two on Kauai: Grand Hyatt Kauai and Princeville at Hanalei.

We especially enjoyed that Golf Magazine included both maps and  temperature reports for each of the resorts.  When we checked, it was in the mid-70s at all the Hawaii resorts, but at the American Club in Kohler, Wisc., it was a brisk 30 degrees, a bit cold for golf.  But maybe we’re just wusses from living in Hawaii so long.




 

Travel + Leisure Magazine’s 2008 list of the world’s 500 best hotels features 16 properties from Hawaii.

The annual list is determined from a poll of T+L readers, who graded their experiences at hotels and resorts worldwide.

The highest ranking Hawaii resort this year?

The Big Island’s consistently top-ranked Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, which broke into the T+L list’s Top 10, moving up three spots from No. 12 to No. 9.

Just the thought makes us daydream about being there—the sunset view from a ground floor, ocean view room — the lava rock outdoor showers — and a Hualalai hot rock massage.  Not to mention cocktails at sunset in the lounge while Grammy winner Charles Michael Brotman plays slack-key.

Four Seasons Resorts Hawaii properties, in fact, took up four of the Top 5 spots for highest-ranking Hawaii hotels.

Congratulations to the Four Seasons Hualalai and the other great Hawaii properties that made the T+L best 500 cut.

Here they are, ranked in order of their placement on the list. Clink on each to go to its Web site.

1.    Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Big Island           
2.    Halekulani, Oahu                       
3.    Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailiea, Maui           
4.    Four Seasons Resort Lanai, The Lodge at Koele, Lanai   
5.    Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay, Lanai       
6.    Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui                   
7.    Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows, Big Island       
8.    Hotel Hana-Maui & Honua Spa, Maui           
9.    Kahala Hotel & Resort, Oahu                   
10.    Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa, Kauai           
11.    Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa, Maui           
12.    Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, Maui                   
13.    Royal Hawaiian, Oahu                   
14.    Fairmont Orchid, Big Island                   
15.    Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, Big Island           
16.    Princeville Resort, Kauai