After six weeks of back-to-back rainy days and temperatures down to the 30’s in Los Angeles at the beginning of the year, I was ready for a warm, sunny escape. The first place that came to my mind was Four Seasons Resort in Maui, a childhood favorite of mine which I had not been to in many years.
I decided to spontaneously book a last minute, four-day trip there and got extremely lucky that the hotel had a room available on my travel dates. They’re usually booked months in advance, so the fact that they had one room left was what I thought, kismet.
Maui is an easy getaway from Los Angeles, a direct flight from LAX gets you there in five hours. As soon as you land, you feel almost immediately at ease. The humid, warm weather and cool breeze puts you at peace from the moment you step off the plane at Kahuluhi Airport.
Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea is a quick 30-minute drive from the airport. Situated on 15 acres of sun-soaked Hawaiian coastline, the 5-star resort is a U-shape, which gives almost all of the 383 rooms and suites a view of the Pacific Ocean out front.
Upon arrival, we were warmly greeted with leis and a shell necklace. At check in, we were given a cold towel and a colder lemonade to drink whilst getting situated with our room keys, personalized itinerary, and an overview of the resort. Although it is a Forbes Five Star property, the hotel itself is not at all stuffy, but warm and welcoming. The staff-members are friendly and personable, and the guests are bustling around the hotel, popping in and out from one activity to the next, which makes for amazing energy in the common areas.
As I mentioned, the hotel is designed in a U-shape so most of the rooms offer either complete or partial ocean views. Our
room was beautiful designed with contemporary artwork a, 65-inch flat-screen TV, an in-room tablet, and a plush bed with 300-thread-count linens and an incredibly fluffy down comforter. The bathroom was quite large, with a separate tub and shower and it’s own music speaker system. Every room and suite has a private outdoor living space with comfortable outdoor furniture that is perfect for enjoying the perpetually sunny Hawaiian weather.
Four Seasons Resort Maui has an impressive pool setup, with the main two on the ground level of the property and an adults-only serenity pool on the lobby level. We spent all of our time at the serenity pool, as we were two adults, where we had a beautiful large cabana each day. The cabanas (two of the six chicly decorated by Missoni Home), offered privacy, flat screen TVs, a Nespresso machine, WiFi, superior service, shade, and a complimentary bottle of champagne. The guests at the serenity pool were all very friendly, and we actually ended up making friends every day while drinking blueberry mojitos and aperol spritz at the swim-up pool bar.
There are a few different restaurant options from which to choose, all of which include a view. We ate at all three restaurants, and even in the lobby, as we wanted to try each one.
Every day began with the insanely decadent all you-can-eat breakfast buffet at DUO. I cannot even begin to describe the glutton that ensued every day around 8am while we were there. Between the custom omelet station to the donut arrangement and strawberry Nutella crepes, it was hard to not go back for seconds… and thirds…
We typically ordered lunch poolside in the cabana, which consisted of fresh mahi mahi tacos, wagyu beef hot dogs, and fresh salads.
For dinner one night, we tried Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante which is located by the main pools, overlooking the sand. The casual Italian restaurant features delicious pasta which are all made in-house. My favorite dish was the ricotta gnocchi with a red wine-braised short rib ragout and fresh mint.
The other night, we tried Spago from Wolfgang Puck. This was the most memorable meal of the trip, leaving our mouths watering with every course. Some favorite dishes included the Spicy Ahi “Poke” in Sesame Miso Cones, the Japanese Hamachi Tiradito, Ginger-Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi, and the Chinois Style Colorado Lamb Chops. The wine list is also something to note, which features pages upon pages of wine from all over the world.
We were able to work off (some) of that savory food we devoured with activities on-site, such as stand up paddle boarding yoga, snorkeling, and tennis.
The beach which Four Seasons Resort Maui is situated on is a beautiful one, where you are able to lay out on lounge chairs provided by the hotel, and partake in numerous water-sports such as paddle boarding, snorkeling, scuba diving, and beyond.
Needless to say, my vacation to Maui was exactly what I needed. The warm weather, impeccable service, incredible food and laid back atmosphere was the perfect combination to send me back to Los Angeles (admittedly, it was not easy to get on the plane after that trip), albeit I was ready to conquer the cold weather in a much better mood.
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