When you think of Four Seasons hotels, you don’t tend to think of them as all-inclusive or adults-only, and yet Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort will offer both of these features.
In fact, as far as we know, there is no other all-inclusive Four Seasons hotel in the world. There are also no other Four Seasons that don’t welcome children with open arms. Usually, if you travel with your family, your children are treated like kings at Four Seasons hotels! But this resort is adults only.
Equally, on the all-inclusive front, you can sometimes buy packages at Four Seasons resorts or hotels with credit included, which I suppose makes them a little more inclusive, to some extent. The resort credit can usually be spent on food and drink, but this Four Seasons all-inclusive of food and a spa itinerary is a world first!
What next I hear you ask? Will they launch a Four Seasons loyalty rewards program next? No, booking via an official partner travel agency like our own luxury concierge is the only way to get extra benefits on your next Four Seasons hotel booking. But I wasn’t joking about the all-inclusive and adults-only aspect. Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort is the best and only all-inclusive, adults-only Four Seasons hotel in the world (at the moment).
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the world’s leading luxury hospitality company, and Sensei, the well-being company founded by Larry Ellison and Dr. David Agus, have partnered to develop Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort, which is scheduled to open November 1, 2019.
This new retreat will be all-inclusive and adults-only and unique to the Hawaiian islands. This is a Four Seasons first, an all-inclusive hotel that will focus exclusively on wellness retreats, offering a comprehensive and fully customizable program tailored to individual needs.
“Four Seasons partnership with Sensei signals our deep understanding of what today’s luxury traveler wants: an exclusive and differentiated wellness travel experience, perfectly pairing Sensei’s evidence-based approach to healthy living with Four Seasons renowned and legendary service,” says Christian Clerc, President, Global Operations, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
“Set against the backdrop of the uniquely breathtaking Lanai landscape, this new offering combines unmatched hospitality, nutritious upscale dining, and reputable experts to offer a luxury wellness experience found nowhere else in the world.”
I can vouch for the beauty of this incredible location having visited a few years ago. In fact, it is rather an unusual location for a hotel in Hawaii. Almost all hotels in Hawaii focus on the beach and the hot weather, and yet the Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort is located up in the volcanic mountains on Lanai and the climate and greenery feels more like a balmy summers day in Northern Europe than a Hawaiian resort sitting on tropical islands. It’s walkable from Lanai’s tiny main village but is not near a beach or the sea. Its grounds have the feel of a pristine British country house without the drizzle and the lawns are dotted with tropical flowers and look at how one might imagine heaven to look.
Located against a backdrop of towering Cook pines and banyan trees, the Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort is up the hill and a short luxury Four Seasons minibus ride from its sister beachfront Four Seasons Resort Lanai, a hotel that we think is one of the best luxury hotels in Hawaii.
The new wellness experience at the Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort takes full advantage of the 90,000 acre (36,000 hectare) island’s natural beauty and seclusion. A handpicked team of wellness experts, nutritionists, chefs, fitness experts, spa therapists, and hospitality professionals will treat your mind and body.
Upon booking a retreat, each guest is matched with their own Sensei Guide, who will help customize their itinerary in advance. During each stay, the Sensei Guide will use cutting-edge health tools and technology, recommendations from their supporting wellness team as well as guest feedback to adapt the program.
Sensei co-founder Dr. Agus, best known for being the founding CEO of USC’s Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine and his best-selling books on data-driven approaches to a longer life, says, “Our goal is to create experiences, products, and services that help people address the gap between their wellness intentions and daily practices. Our retreat provides a great environment to work towards balance, health, and well-being with the support of a dedicated, data-driven wellness team.”
Guests of the adults-only Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort consult with their Sensei Guides to create their own customized itinerary with a variety of choices to accommodate how they want to spend their time. Whether that’s targeting a specific health goal or simply unwinding from the stresses of everyday life, each itinerary is designed to be fluid and adaptable throughout their wellness-oriented vacation. Journeys start with a minimum three-night stay with the ability to add on additional days, complete with wellness activities, meals, adventures, and more.
Facilities include a 24-hour fitness facility, two movement studios, yoga pavilion, and outdoor yoga spaces, salon, onsen baths, outdoor pool with lap lanes, 18-hole short golf course with Scotty Cameron putters, an Adventure Park with zip lines and rope challenge courses, and an outdoor sculpture garden featuring works of renowned contemporary artists. Guests will also have access to a full range of Four Seasons-managed island activities, including golf, ocean sports, hiking, biking, horseback riding, archery and sporting clays, and more.
A new dining concept, Sensei by Nobu, incorporates many ingredients harvested from Sensei’s on-island sustainable farm, with optional dining in a private spa hale, poolside or in the privacy of one’s room or suite, each of which has a balcony or a lanai, perfect for al fresco dining. Menus have been designed by world-renowned Japanese Chef Nobu Matsuhisa and his team in close collaboration with Dr. Agus and Sensei’s nutritionists, utilizing a science-driven approach to diet within the context of full-body health.
Previously known as the Lodge at Koele which we reviewed in 2014, the hotel has been fully transformed by Todd-Avery Lenahan of TAL-Studio. The new version of the hotel includes a soaring Great Room, Sensei by Nobu restaurant, spa and wellness facilities including 10 private spa hale, and 96 guest rooms and suites.
Todd-Avery explains: “We wanted to create an environment set amid this mountain location that inspired the senses to ascend and rise above the fray of life. The large grand space has been re-sculpted, with a more than 80-foot (24 metre) long glass wall overlooking the verdant gardens bringing the landscape inside.
Extraordinary works of art are encountered for the first time, commissioned exclusively for the property and stimulating thought and reflection. A new architectural frieze-band visually tells the story of the island’s geographic and cultural context, while colors from nature are vibrant against a serene palette, offering a harmonious and balanced setting for a journey to well-being.”
Hotel Manager Said Haykal sums up the approach for the new Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort, A Sensei Retreat: “Every detail of the Hotel and surrounding grounds have been designed to enhance the innovative wellness programming we will offer here. As we work with Sensei to put the finishing touches on the new Retreat, our respective hospitality and wellness teams look forward to working closely with our guests to plan their wellness vacations in advance of our opening this November.”
All-inclusive packages include accommodation, spa and wellness programming, meals and refreshments, selected island activities, and inter-island transfers between Honolulu and Lanai on Lanai Air.
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