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Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States · Four Seasons · Apex Luxury
Four Seasons Hualalai opened in 1996 across 865 lava-field acres at historic Ka'ūpūlehu, where planners preserved anchialine pools and stretches of the ancient King's Trail. Hill Glazier's low bungalows form a kipuka village; King's Pond holds 1.8 million gallons of ocean-fed brackish water for snorkeling with manta rays. Jack Nicklaus's course hosts the PGA Tour Champions' season opener.
- 249 rooms
- Opened 1996
- Neighborhood: Kaʻūpūlehu
- Rooms from 635 sq ft (59 m²)
- Architect: Hill Glazier Architects
About Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
- A 2011 Tōhoku tsunami closed the resort about six weeks, damaging pools, a restaurant, and twelve rooms.
- Development began in 1989, stalled in the early-1990s slowdown, then restarted from a full redesign in 1994.
- The Ka'upulehu Cultural Center teaches ukulele, hula, and lei making beside commissioned Herb Kawainui Kane paintings.
- Honduran mahogany, koa, bamboo, and teak finish the open-air pavilions aimed at Hawaiian village precedent.
- MICHELIN Two Keys arrived in 2025 alongside ongoing Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five Diamond ratings.
History
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai opened on September 27, 1996, on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii's Big Island, occupying 865 acres of lava field and shoreline at Ka'ūpūlehu — a name that translates from Hawaiian as 'the spreading of the breadfruit leaves,' a reference to the ancient fishing village whose shoreline this land once was. Development of the site began in 1989 and almost immediately uncovered a network of anchialine pools — rare, permanently water-filled depressions in the lava connected to the ocean through subterranean passages and supporting endemic species found nowhere else on earth — along with sections of the ancient King's Trail, a Hawaiian shoreline path used by Native Hawaiians for centuries. Both were preserved as centerpieces of the resort's landscape rather than paved over, an early indicator of the property's unusual relationship with the culture and ecology of its site.
Hill Glazier Architects designed the resort buildings in a low-rise, village-like configuration that spreads across the lava field and shoreline, with interior design by BAMO that draws on traditional Hawaiian materials and weaving patterns without descending into cliché. A Jack Nicklaus championship golf course — the 18-hole Ka'ūpūlehu Course — winds through the dramatic lava landscape, serving as the annual host venue for the PGA Tour Champions' SBS Tournament of Champions. Seven pools are distributed across the resort, including a 1.8-million-gallon King's Pond, a brackish lava-rock pool fed directly by the ocean through subterranean channels where guests snorkel alongside manta rays and other native marine life.
The property holds the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star and AAA Five Diamond distinctions simultaneously, and was ranked the number-one hotel in the United States by U.S. News & World Report in two consecutive years. It received Michelin Two Keys recognition in 2025. A multi-million-dollar renovation in 2020 and 2021, overseen by Michael Booth of BAMO, refreshed the resort's accommodations and public spaces. In 2011, a tsunami generated by the Tohoku earthquake in Japan temporarily closed the resort for approximately six weeks — the only significant operational interruption in the property's history.
Miller & Lux Hualalai, the premier dining restaurant opened in 2024 in a partnership with celebrity chef Tyler Florence, was recognized as the Best Neighbor Island Restaurant at the 2025 'Ilima Awards. The oceanfront Beach Tree restaurant and the ULU Ocean Grill, reimagined in 2024 under executive chef Richard Polhemus, complete a dining program that has made the resort one of the most seriously regarded culinary destinations in the Hawaiian Islands. The property's 249 rooms, bungalows, and villas are arrayed along the shoreline and through the lava landscape, many with private pools and direct beach access, making Hualalai the most complete luxury resort experience on the Big Island.
The setting
Located at 72-100 Ka'ūpūlehu Drive on the Big Island's northwest Kohala Coast, the resort occupies the site of the ancient Ka'ūpūlehu fishing village, 30 minutes from Kona International Airport. 4 miles from Kekaha Kai State Park.
Restaurants and bars
- Miller & Lux Hualalai — Restaurant · Steakhouse · Chef Tyler Florence
- Beach Tree — Poolside · Italian · Carlos Ramos Castro
- 'ULU — Restaurant · Pan-Asian, Hawaiian-inspired · Chef Richard Polhemus
- Noio — Restaurant · Sushi · Chef Nuri Piccio
- Residents' Beach House — Poolside · Global, Hawaiian-influenced · Eric Garrett
- Hualalai Trading Company — Restaurant
Experiences
- Alaka'i Nalu ocean ambassadors — "Leaders of the wave" ocean ambassadors share skills and insights for water sports and adventures, including the Alaka'i Nui 46-foot catamaran.
- Kumu Kai Marine Center — Led by on-site marine biologists, with daily marine education for all ages; King's Pond holds 4,000 tropical fish and a spotted eagle ray.
- Ka'ūpūlehu Cultural Center — Exhibits, interactive programmes, Hawaiian cultural specialists and historians.
- Hualalai Golf Hale — TrackMan 4 flight simulation, TPI golf fitness video analysis, SAM Putt Lab and Balance Lab, TopGolf Swing Suite Experience.
- Off-site activities — Helicopter tours, deep sea fishing, hiking, horseback riding, Mauna Kea summit exploration and Volcanoes National Park.
- Kids for All Seasons — Supervised year-round programme with Hawaiian arts and crafts, ocean explorations, seasonal theme nights and Camp Manitou seasonal programme.
Amenities
- Native Hawaiian cultural programs on the site of the ancient Ka'ūpūlehu fishing village
- Kids for All Seasons program; fitness center; tennis
- Private pool
- Sauna
- Hot tub
- Kids' club
- Water sports
- Pet-friendly
Awards
- AAA Five Diamond (2026)
- Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star (2026)
- MICHELIN Two Keys (2026)
- Condé Nast Traveler Gold List (2025)
- Travel + Leisure World's Best Hotels (2024)
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