With the holidays upon us and the new year just around the corner, here’s a wrap-up of the latest news and offerings in marvellous Maui…

NEW OFFERINGS

Introducing Four Seasons Hotel Lanai at Koele, A Sensei Retreat

The new Four Seasons Hotel Lanai at Koele, A Sensei Retreat has begun accepting reservations, with a focus exclusively on wellness retreats. The new adults-only, all-inclusive property offers a comprehensive and fully customizable program tailored to individual needs.

Four Seasons has partnered with Sensei, the well-being company founded by Larry Ellison and Dr David Agus, as well as Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, to create what it describes as “a new dining concept for an extraordinary level of wellness, luxury hospitality and dining expertise all under one roof in a location as private and beautiful as Lanai”.

Click here for more information.

Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa announces multimillion-dollar lobby renovation

Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa is finishing the second phase of its property transformation with a multimillion-dollar renovation of its lobby.

Slated for completion in November, the renovated space will welcome guests with a new lobby bar and café, lounge, and reception area in an open-air setting, designed to bring the outdoors in, with an expansive lanai and viewing deck, offering panoramic views of Kaanapali Beach.

Renovations will also include a new family game room on the lower lobby level. The resort completed renovation work on its 508 guest rooms and suites in July 2018. For more information, click here.

Fairmont Kea Lani reimagines restaurant, ballroom and fitness centre

Fairmont Kea Lani Maui resort recently completed an extensive makeover of its breakfast restaurant, fitness centre, ballroom, and foyer.

The completely reimagined Kea Lani Restaurant offers guests a contemporary design, alfresco dining and innovative menu, featuring a farmers-market selection of produce and proteins, and an international menu of breakfast favourites with island flavours.

The resort’s brand-new fitness centre offers panoramic views and new equipment, including Peloton bikes, dynamic training areas and flexibility zones.

The transformation of the Kea Lani Ballroom and foyer embraces tropical tones to create an appealing backdrop for galas and signature events.

For more information, click here.

Tiki Bar & Grill at Kaanapali Beach Hotel introduces new menu items

Tiki Bar & Grill at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel recently introduced new additions to its menu, which now includes the Beyond Burger, bowl options and a variety of pupu, such as kalua pig nachos.

Gluten-free and vegetarian options were added to the menu to accommodate diners with dietary restrictions and an increased customer focus on eating healthy.

All food items at Tiki Grill are served in reusable baskets to reduce disposable-container waste.

In addition to an expanded wine list, Tiki Bar has also introduced a new selection of playful tropical cocktails, including a Mamaki Old Fashioned, and a menu of mocktails.

For more information, click here.

New menu and happy hour at Alaloa Lounge

The Alaloa Lounge at The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua recently unveiled an entirely new menu concept and nightly happy hour, offering guests 50 per cent savings on a charcuterie plate and select bottles of wine, from 4pm to 5pm.

Highlights of the new menu include a nightly sushi feature from 5pm to 9pm, a build-your-own-entrée option, tiki-style deep-dish pizza and local favourites.

The lounge also hosts music nightly from 6pm to 9pm, alongside fire-pit lounge areas and ocean views.

For more information, click here.

New local-owned stores at Wailea Village

Wailea Village, a new dining and shopping destination in south Maui, recently welcomed three locally-owned businesses — Bikini Market, HUE Home + Design and Kohola Gallery — to its collection of shops.

At Bikini Market, Mariah Cortez aims to curate a fresh feel with her shop’s swimwear collection, bringing together local and mainstream designers. Friends Jessica McClellan and Wendy Takemoto offer luxury home furnishings, gift items and an extensive textile studio at HUE. And photographer Douglas Hoffman presents portraits of Maui’s marine life and landscapes at Kohola Gallery.

Wailea Village emphasises local, casual, creative, and artful offerings for visitors and residents. For more information, click here.

Spa Montage introduces refreshed fitness centre

Following an extensive renovation and equipment upgrade, Spa Montage Kapalua Bay resort recently reopened its fitness centre to guests.

New programming and equipment at the fitness centre include Technogym Strength and Cardio, Peloton and TRX 101 classes. Peloton offers on-demand classes that accommodates all levels.

Guests of the fitness centre can now also save their preferences to a personal user profile. The centre’s Technogym’s ARTIS line of cardio and strength equipment tracks performance utilising the MYWELLNESS cloud platform and offers an array of training. Daily access passes and personal training are also available.

For more information, click here.

Dine at Montage Kapalua Bay for the holidays

The Montage Kapalua Bay resort’s signature restaurant Cane & Canoe will celebrate the holiday season with special dinner menus, including a Christmas Eve Prix Fixe Dinner, Christmas Day Dinner Buffet and New Year’s Eve Prix Fixe Dinner.

Returning for the holiday season – 21 November to 1 December (excluding 23 November) and 19 to 29 December, the resort’s Champagne Hale at Cliff House pop-up bar and lounge will feature a new Champagne cocktail pairing with shaved ice.

For more information, click here.

Destination Residences Hawaii announces launch of #DestinationBucketList

Destination Residences Hawaii recently announced the launch of #DestinationBucketList, a series of what it describes as “highly curated, luxury experiences providing a true taste of Hawai‘i … featuring offerings designed to highlight what each island is best known for, from the wonders of nature to culinary and culture, outdoor adventure and water activities”.

The full-day, bucket-list adventures are available for guests of Destination Residences Hawaii properties on Maui and the Island of Hawai‘i, and include a Mauna Kea sunset experience, helicopter flight to wrangle cattle, and other experiences.

For more information, click here.

Aqua-Aston Hospitality sponsors The Green Room speaker series

Aqua-Aston Hospitality recently announced its sponsorship of The Green Room, a new speaker series presented by Maui-based arts and ecology organisation The Merwin Conservancy.

The Green Room is aimed at fostering a reverence for language, imagination and nature with a series of arts and ecology salons in Hawai‘i. Speakers for the series include renowned Hawaiian scholar Dr Pualani Kanakaole Kanahele and former US poets Laureate Robert Hass and Forrest Gander.

Engagements in the series will be held on 11 December, 28 January and 18 March at the Honolulu Museum of Art on Oahu; and 13 December, 30 January and 20 March at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center on Maui.

For more information, click here and here.

SPORTS

Maui Golf Adventure with Matt Ginella

Golfers are invited to join Matt Ginella, host of Golf Channel’s Golf Advisor Round Trip series, for a golf adventure on Maui, set for 1 to 7 December.

Participants will experience five rounds of golf at the Wailea Golf Club, Kaanapali Golf Courses and Kapalua Resort, as well as their choice of accommodations at one of three Kaanapali resorts and the Fairmont Kea Lani resort in Wailea, plus special activities hosted by Ginella.

For more information on registering, and a peek at Ginella’s recent visit to Maui, click here.

AWARDS

Hoolei Villas at Grand Wailea named top resort in Hawai‘i

Condé Nast Traveler’s 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards recently recognised Hoolei Villas at Grand Wailea and Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort among its top resort destinations.

Hoolei Villas was ranked the number one resort in the Hawaiian Islands and number five in the US. Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort was also recognised in the top resorts category as the eighth best in Hawai‘i.

A record 600,000 Condé Nast Traveler readers cast votes for more than 10,000 hotels, resorts and hotels, among other categories, in 2019 Readers’ Choice polling to identify the best travel experiences in the world.

For more information, click here.

Redline Rafting voted among top 10 experiences in the US

Locally-owned Redline Rafting was recently ranked among the top 10 experiences in the US by reviewers on TripAdvisor in the travel website’s 2019 Travelers’ Choice Experiences Awards, after receiving five-stars on more than 97 per cent of its reviews.

Redline provides eco-conscious snorkelling adventures at Molokini volcanic crater, and on the coast of south Maui, focuses on education and ecologically responsible and marine-life friendly practices.

According to the company, its red zodiacs “are usually the first commercial boats to Molokini crater and, with a maximum of 24 people, offers a very intimate experience”. Redline Rafting also provides its guests with complimentary reef-safe sunscreen and wetsuits.

For more information, click here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Alii Nui Thanksgiving Dinner Sail (21 November)
• Maui’s Thanksgiving Day Paddle For Hunger (28 November)
• Holiday Express Train Ride, Sugar Cane Train Lahaina (29 November to 31 December at 6pm and 7:30pm).
• Annual Tree Lighting at Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort (1 December December from 5pm to 8pm).
• Tree Lighting Ceremony at Fairmont Kea Lani (5 December from 5:30pm to 6:30pm).
• Kapalua Wellness Retreat (6 to 9 December).
• 21st Annual Lighting of the Banyan Tree (7 December).
• Santa Arrival by Outrigger Canoe at Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, at Wailea Beach (24 December from 7am to 10am).
• Alii Nui New Year’s Eve Fireworks Sail (31 December).
• Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Golf (1 to 5 January).