Off to The Lodge

Tourism is the bread and butter of Hawaii's economy.   But the state of Hawaii cannot solely depend on tourists - the state needs the support of the residents of Hawaii.  Thus, we have the kama'aina deals.  Kama'aina (pronounced kah-mah-EYE-nah) deals are for the residents of Hawaii and are usually for lodging and other tourist oriented activities.  It is the kama'aina deal that brought me to the island of Lanai.  A basic room at the Lodge at Koele usually starts at around $350 per night.  Last month I saw an advertisement for the Lodge at Koele - kama'aina rate of $250 per night and a $100 per day dining/activity credit.

I had previously been to Lanai, but that was six years ago.  Not much changes on Lanai - it's a small island and only has 3,000 residents.   It was perfect for a laid back weekend for my perpetually busy wife and lazy Keith.  The flights to Lanai depart from Honolulu Airport's commuter terminal.  That's fantastic because it's a smaller building and you breeze through the check-in process and security.   The flight from Honolulu to Lanai City is only 30 minutes on the turbo prop airplane.  I love Island Air - great airline to go inter-island in Hawaii.

We arrived in Lanai City and boarded the shuttle bus.  Ten dollars per person just for the fifteen minute drive from the airport to Lanai City.  There is only one jeep rental agency - Dollar Car Rental.  A jeep is necessary to explore Lanai because there aren't paved roads outside of the downtown and resort areas.   Since they have a monopoly on car rentals, they can basically charge whatever they want.  In this case it was $130 per day for a jeep - no kama'aina deals.  Oh well.

We grabbed the jeep and drove 5 minutes from downtown Lanai City to the Lodge at Koele.   Mr. Microsoft, Bill Gates, was married on the island of Lanai.   He rented out both resorts for his guests.  The last time I was in Lanai I stayed at Manele Bay.   This time I wanted to stay up in the mountains in a more peaceful setting.    After checking in, we walked around the hotel grounds for a while and I took some photos along the way.  Then I had the bright idea to go to the grocery store in Lanai City for booze and snacks.   As long as I had the $130/day jeep I may as well get some use out of it.  5 minutes later and I was in Richard's market buying a bottle of rum and chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies.  Back to the hotel for a little peace and quiet before my 7pm dinner reservations at the hotel.

The main restaurant, The Dining Room, was fully booked for some group event.  That was fine because I ate there last time I was in Lanai.  We were eating at the other dining room, The Terrace.  I was very impressed with the service at The Terrace.  Everyone who brought something to my table, whether it was cocktails, bread or the meal, addressed me by my last name.  MR. xxxx here are your rosemary dinner rolls.  MR. xxxxx please enjoy your wine.  MR. xxxxx, I believe you ordered the kiawe fired flat steak with the poached asparagus.  MR .xxxx  would you like more water?  I don't think there was a single time where I wasn't addressed as MR.   The Terrace restaurant is located on the perimeter of the open lobby.  The big fireplace and the jazz piano player gave a certain coziness to the evening.  After dinner we headed back to the room to spend a little time with the bottle of rum from Richard's Market.