Four Seasons Resort Hualalai

On the Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii at Kaupulehu, Four Seasons Resort Hualalai occupies a position in one of the most geologically active and volcanically diverse landscapes in the United States, where the recent lava flows of Hualālai Volcano meet the Pacific Ocean in a coastline of black rock and white sand whose contrast of geological youth and biological richness gives the resort its distinctive visual identity. The 243 bungalows and suites are arranged through six villages of low-rise structures that follow the coastline’s contour, with tide pools, coves, and black sand beaches accessible from various points of the property rather than from a single resort beach, giving the guest experience a quality of coastal exploration unusual in a resort of this scale. The King’s Pond, a 1.8-million-gallon lava-rock pool with direct ocean access, creates a swimming environment inhabited by manta rays, sea turtles, and tropical reef fish.

The manta ray night dive at Hualalai — one of the world’s most reliable encounters with these extraordinary animals, attracted to the resort’s underwater lights by the plankton concentrations they feed on — is among the most consistently celebrated wildlife experiences available from any luxury hotel in the Pacific. Snorkelling with sea turtles in the protected coves, guided lava field hikes with the resort’s naturalist team, helicopter excursions over the active Kīlauea volcano and the black sand beaches created by recent lava flows, and deep-sea fishing on the Kona coast provide the activity range. The ULU Ocean Grill’s menus draw on the Big Island’s extraordinary food diversity — the Kona coffee, the Waimea highlands beef, and the Kailua-Kona fishermen’s daily Pacific catch.

Four Seasons Hualalai’s relationship with the Hawaiian natural environment is expressed through the King’s Pond’s reef restoration programme, the sea turtle monitoring work conducted in partnership with the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, and the Cultural Center’s programmes with Native Hawaiian practitioners whose traditional ecological knowledge of the Kohala Coast gives guests a connection to the human history of a landscape that has been continuously inhabited for over a thousand years.