The Experience at Koele Golf Course

Island of Lanai, Hawaii
Part 1

by Ed Stone

For over 1,000 years, Hawaiian legends held that evil spirits inhabited the Island of Lanai. This paradise was then called "The Forbidden Island." As legend would have it…a young Hawaiian Prince came and drove them out, creating a demon free island 13 miles wide and 18 miles long. The island's topography varies from white sand beaches, to lush tropical jungles and misty mountain top pine forests more than 3,400 feet above sea level. These towering pine forests were the result of a visionary, George Munro. Munro was a naturalist and innovator from New Zealand. He was hired by the Lanai Company in 1910 as the foreman for their infant cattle company. Figuring that he could help alleviate Lanai's perpetual water problem, he planted pines, whose dense needles would capture moisture in the high elevations and thus create a "fog-drip"-a kind of natural trickle-down effect. His system worked so well that between 1917 and 1922, James Dole purchased the land to develop the Hawaiian Pineapple Company which lasted until 1985 when David Murdock concluded that his part of Lanai would travel a new path.

Thanks to the vision of Messieurs Munro, Dole, and now Murdock, the 2,800 inhabitants of Lanai have embarked on a new challenge to convert the Island of Lanai into a vacationers' secluded paradise.

Today, there are two outstanding resorts and golf courses on this unique island, The Lodge at Koele plus the Manele Bay Hotel. The Manele Bay Hotel opened in May 1991 with 250 luxury guest rooms and suites featuring spectacular views of the ocean and Lanai's dramatic coastline. The elegant two-story buildings reflect a blend of Hawaii's traditional kama'aina and Mediterranean architectures, with arcaded loggias and sloping roofs. Formal gardens and multi-level, lavishly landscaped courtyards create a vivid contrast to the sea and shore.
The resort, with a golfing Experience par excellence, is the secluded Lodge, which opened in April1990 with 102 beautifully decorated rooms, in the style of an English manor.

Greeted on the front porch of The Lodge at Koele with a Hawaiian lei and a cool glass of fresh pineapple juice, I immediately felt quite special, relaxed, and removed from the harried world I left behind. No matter where I looked, there was an impressionist's landscape just waiting to be captured on canvas. The guest rooms' ambiance was based around a cozy, down comforter, four-poster bed adorned with a pineapple at the top of each post. The sitting area included a very inviting traditional country window seat and just outside was a covered porch where guests enjoy the beautiful gardens ornamented with statuaries of Buddha, fu dogs and other sinuous forms. Even the bathroom made a statement with its grandeur, and its bathtub beckoning one with special bath gels and herbal salt offerings.

The Lodge at Koele is truly one of the world's most elite resorts. Here is the "get-a-way" for the extrovert or recluse, young or old, honeymooner, golfer, food and wine connoisseur or a person just looking for a place to get away with "that special someone." Even celebrities find solitude and privacy here. In 1994, Oprah Winfrey came here to "get away from it all." Arnold Schwarzenegger visited last year for some R&R. This is the place where the world's richest person, Bill Gates, chose to come for his wedding celebration. Need I say more? Everyone is treated with a generous portion of gracious Hawaiian hospitality while surrounded by a warm, elegant, and comforting luxury. The Lodge is nestled in the island's dramatic uplands, providing a peaceful setting with easy access to the many pleasures of the island's spectacular coastline.

Click on selected photos for expanded view.

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Images copryrighted CGA