Most people have never even heard of the island of Lanai, let alone been here. Or if they have heard of Lanai, they still think of it as the “pineapple” island. It is true that it was indeed once a major pineapple plantation for the Dole Corporation and little more, but today all the pineapples are gone and the major industry on the island, like the other Hawaiian Islands, is tourism.

It is sad in a way, I guess, but I think most of the locals here don’t mind too much. In fact, working the pineapple fields is hard, hot work, and Americans don’t like to do that kind of work much anymore – at least at the wages required to compete with pineapples from other markets. So the pineapples left Lanai, and they are almost gone from Hawaii altogether. Gone to places like the Philippines.

In the void of the pineapples on Lanai were built several excellent resorts, The Lodge at Koele and the Manele Bay Resort both of which are currently managed by the Four Seasons. The resorts employ a large number of local Lanai residents as well as plenty of other Hawaiians, principally from Maui which is just a short ferry ride away. The hotels are quite luxurious, but they are small compared to the rambling resorts of Maui. There are just a few hundred rooms at the Manele Bay, and a little over a hundred at the Koele.

My favorite is the Lodge at Koele because it is so atypical of a Hawaiian hotel. It is located at about 1700 feet in the pine trees and is designed like a large old hunting lodge. The grounds are immense and covered with thick grass, shrubs, trees and flowers. It is worth a trip to see even if you only come to Lanai from Maui for the day.