Review: Four Seasons Hualalai, Big Island, Hawaii (An Epic Resort)

What temperature did you set the air conditioning to? Different people like it at different temps and "cold enough" for some people is not cold enough for others.

So glad you and Ford got to go to Hualalai! Ford booked me and my then-boyfriend on a trip there and we got engaged! We've gone back a few times, mostly booking homes on the property.

One thing--I know you try to be nonintrusive when taking photos but the restaurant photos make it look like the resort is empty...was that the case? I've never seen Beach Tree with an open table--let alone most of them!

I stayed at a similar room you guys did at King’s pond years ago. These photos brought back good memories. Maybe it’s time to visit this four seasons again. I hope you will do a post of the Big Island in general. It’s really underrated. This post really should be written by Ford but I get why he doesn’t want to post again on this website. Not sure why people like to bag on him.

While these hotel articles have some interest I wonder if you've deliberately moved away from the main topic of earning and using points for aspirational or outsize value. You haven't identified a way to get to these hotels without cash. Cash travel options are covered in many other blogs and publications.

This was my first Four Seasons experience and it set my expectations for other FS properties and other luxury resorts. This place was simply amazing. I’m glad to see that it still delivers.

@ David -- Hah, that's a fair point. We usually set the AC to 68 at night, and the system had no trouble keeping up.

@ Donesh -- Happy you enjoyed the property as well! The hotel was very full when we were there, so it just looks empty because of my pictures. Maybe a post with how I go about taking hotel pictures would be interesting at some point, but I do everything I can to avoid getting people in them. That can be really, really time consuming at times.

In the case of the restaurants, the pictures were either taken right at opening, or I even drop by before opening in hopes of snapping some shots.

Hmmm, now that it's been renovated, I really need to go back and compare. Last time I was there, the Grille was the only low point, with extremely slow service- and this was in 2018. Great review!

@ Bill -- Four Seasons reviews aren't intended to replace other points hotel reviews, but rather are intended to complement them. I'm still reviewing plenty of aspirational points hotels (I've written several this year already), and have more coming shortly.

Also keep in mind there are all kinds of different people in the points community. Some people earn points so that they can use them for airfare, and then spend more cash on hotels. I know that's the case with many of Ford's clients.

So I hear you, but I promise there are lots more points hotel reviews coming.

Site increasingly feels like a timeshare pitch. We now we're getting a pitch on every review but exact terms of the amazing deal are rarely clear. Every property is wow amazing and can be booked at better rates if you contact my travel agent spouse. At least on last review it was clearly disclosed a travel agent rate was paid for reviewed nights. In this review, I didn't see any mentioned of whether the stay was a discounted rate (apologies if I missed it but doesn't really change the point). All feels a little....icky.

Is there anything interesting to see or to eat near(by walk)the hotel?

Very detailed review. Thank you. Do you ever feel overwhelmed by these resort properties? It seems almost stressful trying to make the best of the experience.

Clearly mentioned as a travel agent rate (which they get not because of Ben, but because his husband actually is a travel agent). In the minimal disclosure world of travel blogs I don't expect Ben to reveal exactly what that rate was, but I am kind of curious if food is comped on these stays. I imagine the hotel has an interest in getting their agents familiar with the dining operations.

I enjoy your site very much and with your resume of traveling—-I respect your opinion highly! You tell us you receive a travel agent rate, the opinion I would most want is “worth as a function of retail check out”

Hah I was thinking the same thing! If I was staying for a couple of nights only I would be so worried about missing out on something!

You’ve come a long way from reviewing the executive lounge spread at airport Marriotts. Congratulations and well done on the review.

I can see someone picking this as a destination/aspiration vacation over any number of Maldive resorts which include some seaplane rides and days extra of hither and yon of getting to and from MLE over KOA.

Also… Four Seasons beds might be the most comfortable in the industry for a lot of people, but my back went out of sorts after a couple of nights at the Four Seasons Mumbai, just got more stiff and sore after each night. I preferred the St. Regis (as well as generally as a hotel). Not that the Four Seasons was terrible (how terrible is a $100 five star hotel?), except for that bed for me, but I’d pick the St. Regis.

I'll second Bill. It looks like a beautiful property, but it's hard to imagine many readers are interested in $1,800+ properties that are not bookable on points. There are unlimited aspirational non-points hotels, but I come here to read about aspirational hotels (Alilas, Canaves Oia, Hyatt and Hilton Cabo properties, Calala Island, Bora Bora Marriott/Hilton/IHG properties, etc.) I can actually book cheaper than $2k/night via points. Seven out of your last 20 hotel reviews were not points properties and 2 more are Ritz-Carltons (bookable on points but basically no status recognition). I count 10 different Four Seasons reviews in the last year. I get that reviewing a non-points property like a Four Seasons can give you a good benchmark for reviewing points properties, but with 10 properties reviewed in the last 12 months, how many more data points do you need to confirm the service is good across the company?
I understand that travel agents can be helpful in booking properties, but why not just stick to the large swath of points properties bookable via Hilton Impresario/Hyatt Prive/Marriott STARS & Luminous/Virtuoso etc. so your readers can choose to use a travel agent for cash rates or points when they prefer?
Yours is truly my favorite points and miles blog and a daily read, it's just so disappointing to see a hotel review, then realize it's yet another Four Seasons/Rosewood/etc.

Walking? No.

Driving, yes, but if there's a downside to the FS it's that you're a good ~15 miles, both N and S, from non-resort restaurants.

I disagree Bill, the points hotels are no longer aspirational to most, just as this community has grown up and aged so have our incomes. Im no longer interested in the best use of SPG points or HH. There are plenty of blogs about bonvoy. Sure there are aspirational blogs too but those are so biased and paid advertising. I cant get good reviews on $1k a night cash hotels from anyone but Lucky, everyone else is some overrated wannabe famouse influencer. So sure i love Ben's points hotel reviews but i find more value in post like this.

Having stayed there a number of times, both with and without young kids, it is a great place for:

-young kids
-very convenient, very good golf
-adults who never leave the FS

Once the little Doubts got older we shifted to renting multi-bedroom houses/condos where the extra space required didn't bankrupt us, and we were closer to more varied dining options.

This is an absolutely gorgeous property and pics don’t do it justice! It is just divine.

The Beach Tree has a great affordable sunset happy hour…..or at least they used to. When staying at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel (another amazing resort and part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection), we’d come every day to Hualalai for cocktails at the Beach Tree. Very enjoyable

Such a great review, Ben.

The food here looks outstanding.

I love the reviews of the more unique non-points properties - please keep them coming!

Unfortunately, as family friendly as the pools and amenities are, the fact that this specific property caps their standard room capacity at two adults and one child instead of two adults and two children like other Four Seasons makes the already high room rates essentially double for many families. I guess that's one way to effectively limit the number of children on property.

The rooftop deck of the villa is over the top. We had a great time (2018 retirement trip) at the Fairmont, thought it was quite nice but not at this level. Your room look super.

It's icky that you can't read? He disclosed he stayed on a travel agent rate.

Just curious- what do the villas typically cost per night ? Enjoyed the review!

I stayed here last year, and I have to disagree quite a bit with this review.

The pool areas are small, and they can be crowded. Being on lounge chairs in a row that are only 2' apart from each other was a buzz kill. For a "starting at $1k/night" place, I want my S P A C E.

Ulu was a ho-hum dining experience. We had much better meals in Kona and Waikoloa for a fraction of the price.

I think this is a great example of why some reviews can lead people astray. No doubt Ben has experienced some great service from hotels in his day, and perhaps FS was off on their game when I was there, but honestly...I wouldn't get excited about a free night at the FS Hualalai. (Well, I'd take the free night probably and move to a proper hotel the following day.)

I've been lucky to stay at a handful of FS -- Hualalai didn't come close to the impeccable service standard I've experienced at other properties. A shame, because it's in a rather idyllic spot.

Thanks for all the Four Seasons Hawaii reviews. We just stayed at a Four Seasons in Hawaii this month (booked through your company). We have been fortunate enough to go to the Big Island, Maui, and Oahu properties. I have to say my wife and I love the Maui and Oahu properties. The Hualalei property is nice but is definitely our least favorite by far. The resort just seems so dated overall for the price. Not just the rooms but the overall exteriors and fixtures seemed very dated at Hualalei compared to peer properties. We stayed there last before the renovation you mentioned , but the rooms were like a motel before.

Also we didn’t like the lava rock at the property (and on the rest of the Big Island). And just my 2 cents the Hualalei hotel is less friendly to kids than the Maui and Oahu properties. Always great to have a variety of views but I would only stay here over the others if you love golf or want to be in a place with less children, or love big island activities specifically. Good luck

This has “White Lotus” (show on HBO) written all over it — I think it was filmed at this hotel as well.

White Lotus was filmed at the FS Maui

Carol, we stayed at Hualalai last summer with our two small kids and had an amazing time. The secret is to stay in the privately owned Golf Villas immediately adjacent to the hotel rooms, all on property. We had a beautiful 3-bedroom condo on the 18th green, not as close to the ocean as Lucky’s room, but still visible. Hotel rooms are in the immediately adjacent building, so it still feels like staying at the hotel. The Golf Villas are the only privately owned villas at Hualalai from which you can order room service (due to the close proximity to the hotel). We paid the daily resort fee to access all of the Hualalai amenities, just as a hotel guest would. The cost for our 3-bedroom villa was comparable with some of the single hotel room costs. The entire family had an amazing time, and we will certainly be back!

Lucky, I’m surprised you didn’t mention the wonderful pool and beach service, including attendants coming around during the day with free popsicles and to wash your sunglasses. Maybe not so unusual at certain high end properties around the world, but it’s certainly about as good as service gets in Hawaii.

Ben- How does the food and sunset compare to FS Maui? Every time I book Hawaii I go back to FS Maui because the food is fantastic and sunrise/sunset views are incredible and I only have 10 days a year to go there. I have heard from chatting up other FS guests in the club lounge FS Maui that FS H is great for kids and/or golf but neither applies to my situation.

The White Lotus was actually filmed at the Four Seasons Maui.

That's the pro and the con of the Big Island. It's big, so it doesn't feel as crowded as Oahu or Maui. It's also so big that everything is much more spread out. I like going to the Kings' Shops/Queens' Marketplace to the north and get dinner at Roy's or hit the hot foods bar/deli at Island Gourmet Markets.

So is Hawaii more on the tropical or sub-tropical side? Can't really tell from the pictures, as the vegetation seems to be quite "garden"-esque. Or does it vary from island to island?

Probably not a lot of golfers among your readers but a paragraph about the golf facilities, hotel guest privileges, etc would have been appreciated...

Are the Big Daddy drinks upgraded spirits, or just larger?

As already mentioned, this FS is about halfway from the city of Kailula Kona and other resorts further north (i.e., Waikoloa) - about 15 miles of driving in each direction.
I did not stay at FS but I visited the property before the renovation and it did look somewhat dated at that time.
Like the other higher end properties on Kohala coast, the hotel is surrounded by spanning fields of black lava rocks - so you basically have a relatively small and mostly flat area of green tropics next to the beach and that is it. There is very little rainfall throughout the year so the weather is good even in winter.
Except the hotel pools and golf, there is essentially nothing to do nearby. Personally, I do not see the attraction of snorkeling in a pool and there are no good snorkeling sites off the FS beach. In my view, the Big Island has the best snorkeling sites in Hawaii but you would have to drive from FS and/or get a tour/charter a boat.
Finally, the beach at Hapuna or Mauna Kea is much better.
Volcano national park is on the opposite side of the island that is about 2 h dive away. Other attractions would also require 1-2 h of driving.
Big Island is beautiful in its own way mainly due to its unique nature. But if you are out of the hotel most the time, why stay at FS?

To all those complaining about Four Seasons reviews - you can book just about any airplane product using some kind of points, but many of the most relevant hotels globally can only be booked by cash. Luxury hotels, boutiques, whatever. VRBO, Airbnb, same thing. It’s important to get reviews of these non-points products so that readers can know what the best lodging options are at all the various price points and payment methods. Ben, keep ‘em coming

This Tuesday, three nights poolside ROOM—-$7600

I’m glad you had a nice time because this resort ruined my honeymoon. Our checkin agent abandoned us for about an hour. Our “ocean view” room was next door to a construction zone (we had the lovely view and noise of cranes). We had to fight for pool and beach chairs every single day. When I finally complained, a manager said we didn’t purchase a suite (apparently 2,000 a night isn’t a lot of money for them) so they didn’t care if we had lounges or not. Meals were pretty hit and miss.

I will say the room renovation was nice and much needed. But the ocean view rooms are not worth 2,000 a night, especially with the construction and inability to get lounges. Maybe the resort is better when you aren’t there in summer. But ruining our honeymoon by literally giving us no place to sit on the beach and having construction (we weren’t even told about beforehand) is unforgivable.

Rainfall varies VERY widely across the islands, as does the amount of "natural" soil & plant life.

The side of the Big Island around Hualalai and further N, is a rainfall desert that's mostly lava rock. Effectively all the plants in that area are there courtesy of man.

OTOH, Kauai "The Garden Island" ("The Really Rainy Island" not to the tourist board's liking) contains the rainiest place on earth.

You put some serious effort into this review! Nice work Ben. On a side note, anyone can enter the property and use their beaches as all beaches are public in Hawaii. Just tell the gate guard your intentions and they will let you in.

Your reviews of Four Seasons properties would have more credibility if you didn’t use a deeply discounted travel agent rate. Expectations change dramatically if you pay thousands of Dollars per night.

Appreciate the deep detail, but agree with the last comment. Your reviews usually provide a fair amount of transparency with regards to the price you paid, whether with miles, points of cash. This is not true with your Four Seasons reviews. Saying the room was paid with a travel agent rate is fine, but wouldn't it be more appropriate to disclose the actual rate? It makes a difference whether you got the room for $100 a night or received a 20% discount off the rack rate.

When you take off or drive to KOA airport you can see the Kona Kampachi enclosures offshore.

I've been to both and the FS Maui isn't even in the same league for me as the FS hualalai. Service is of course great at any FS, but Maui feels like a resort factory while hualalai feels like true tropical luxury. And the sunsets will be similar from either spot (West facing) but the setting on the big island wins hands down.

I've been at this resort three times with two adults and two kids and never had a problem staying in one room together.

What a coincidence, at this Four Seasons they really insisted to do a tour of all the room types as well! But it is definitely not a paid review, we just paid a $5 special travel agent rate, full disclosure... 😉 😉

Ridiculous roomrates and the whole pitch about 'no resort fees' hardly makes a difference of course. I don't know why you would pick this place if almost anywhere on the planet you can get better value for money and / or better deals. But with Asia closed until now and a ton of Americans preferring domestic travel, I guess they can charge these rates, so good on them.

There is yet another reasons to promote booking FS through a travel advisor this year. Four Season runs the following promotion for 2022: "There will be thirty (30) prizes offered to the winners of the Promotion, which include the twenty-eight (28) Participating Sales Advisors that achieve the highest actualized rooms revenue from Qualified Reservations at any Property placed using their Four Seasons Advisor ID and a Preferred Partner Rate code..." The prize " consists of seven (7) nights’ accommodations for the winner and one (1) guest at no more than two (2) properties of their choice" and includes daily breakfast, one dinner, and airport transfer.
I believe the blogger's spouse was a recipient of such a prize in the past. Thus, while FS has no loyalty program for the end customers, there is some variant of it for the travel advisors.
While travel advisors may work fully for the interests of their clients, I am also aware of some travel agents who would try to book you into a hotel/hotel chain with the highest kickback or a promotion. These incentives work as the Loyalty programs but only for the travel agents. The only difference is that the travel agents spend other people money while receiving travel perks themselves. Of course, the latter is also true for the business travelers.

One solution to the travel agent rate issue is for reviewers like Ben to only book widely available rates (rack rates, whatever). After all, points bookings are available to everyone, so maybe cash reviews should feature rooms paid for at rates available to everyone

Correct

Good to know, will check that out!

Did you book with this party size, or only book for 2 adults and showed up with kids? We really want to stay here, but I also don’t want to unexpectedly pay for a second room on the spot for the extra kid. When I looked at booking online it specified we wouldn’t fit the room.

This is somewhat my thoughts as well. I'm torn on the thought of paying any more than you have to, versus having a truly "unbiased" review. I wondered previously how these reviews might be swayed a bit based on numerous factors (favorable rates, comps, upgrades), even if subconsciously. I am completely for Ben pushing some business Ford's way, but tbh, the beginning of so many reviews has started to sound like an infomercial for his TA business.

Then there is the inherent benefit to "hype up" a hotel, which could/might/should increase business for Ford as someone now wants to book this property. I get that I am not the target demographic for this resort, something I am more than okay with. What I don't get is ever having enough money that the idea of paying $1,800/night for this would make sense. Then as a benefit of staying at an exorbitantly overpriced hotel, you get to pay for extremely overpriced food and beverages.

The hotel is in a barren lava flow that has been man made into a lush resort. Kona and much of the Big Island are an absolute waste land where development has changed the nature of things. Kona is hot and the ocean brings wind. The Four Seasons has excellent service. If you do not stay here, it is worth a visit. The guard gate will give recommendations.

Feedback is an art form. Your experience sounds odd. Four Seasons is visited by "winners" in life so I can imagine being bested in lounge chair duels. But on the room You are describing a rip off.

Agreed!

Kailua has more golfing than people. Check a golf site for meaningful reviews. You will not be disappointed.

I stayed here and also the nearby Auberge Mauna Lani in February. Ben's review is good -- I had a very nice stay at the Four Seasons. The grounds, service, and food are all excellent. The Mauna Lani is also fantastic, and has a bit more "energy" and might be more suited to families. It really just depends what you want. FS is discreet and elegant, with an aura of exclusivity. Mauna Lani feels more "alive" and slightly less stuffy. Both are beautiful.