During my previous two visits to Lana'i, more than 17 years ago, I'd really enjoyed checking out the Lodge at Koele. Located on the former site of the Lana'i Company Ranch and Headquarters "the Lodge" is located maybe a half mile from the center of Lana'i City. Of course, it's pretty much impossible to get lost near the city so we decided to walk to the Lodge. You basically take Lana'i Road until it ends. The area looks very "upcountry" as we call it.
You then take a right and head up the pine lined road…….
And you'll soon see the Lodge at Koele…..
The hotel stands in stark contrast to the Manele Bay Resort, the Lodge has an "old English" feel to it…….
The grounds are wonderfully manicured….wild turkeys and all.
Actually, I just wanted the Missus to see one thing at the lodge.
It's the orchid house, which overlooks the lake and some of the golf course…….
There's a little table and chairs in the greenhouse which is so very calm and relaxing if no one else is there.
Wouldn't it make a great place for your morning tea or coffee?
Of course, the orchids aren't too shabby either, I posted a couple of photos in a previous post, but here are a few more.
There are only 102 rooms at the Lodge, so it has a feel of real exclusivity…..
Later that evening, we decided to check out a restaurant called Pele's Other Garden in Lana'i City. The dinner turned out fine, though the guy managing the front was pretty much a jerk. We got there at about 5pm and walked in. The guy leaning on the counter looked at us and said, "yeah….". I asked if they were open, he said, "does it look like we're open?" Geeez, what a putz. Next thing out of his mouth, "do you have reservations?" I said "no." He said, "can you read?" There seemed to be reservation signs on almost every table. Ok, fine, I turned to leave….he interrupted our exit by pointing to a corner table and said "there…." And here I thought they called this the hospitality industry? Whatever….the young lady who served us was very nice and friendly. The jerk seemed to treat everyone he knew nice, but everyone else was fair game.
Our dinner was decent. The smoked salmon appetizer had a generous amount of salmon.
And the bruschetta was nice, tough the balsamic reduction was very strong.
The vegetarian pizza had too much cheese and the crust was gummy.
During our meal, we saw the guy insult several other customers, even those with reservations. I later asked someone local whether the dude suffered from severe bowel obstructions or terminal lemon sucking syndrome. I got the best explanation from her, 'ah, he's just a bitter Haole from New York who couldn't make it anywhere else."
By the time we walked back to our room, the Missus had already moved on to Her next thing. She had some app that did constellations and stood there like a doufus in the parking lot of the Hotel Lana'i pointing Her iPhone to the sky…….
Then She got an even better idea….."why don't we walk back to the Lodge? I think the sky there is clearer!" So we ended up walking back, and there we were standing in the darkness in the back of the Lodge at Koele. While the Missus was busy staring at the now cloud covered sky and tripping over stuff, I took some photos.
The place is photogenic…even at night.
Funny thing happened while we were walking around. They locked the back door to the lobby area of the hotel.
That wasn't a problem though, as we just walked to one of the hallways and entered that way.
While walking back in the very quiet darkness, I told the Missus that according to legend, the island of Lana'i was home to evil, man-eating spirits…….. We did end up back to our cottage, with all limbs and digits intact.
The next morning we partook of the free breakfast spread at the hotel, then caught the shuttle and out flight back to Oahu. Here are some photos with a couple of familiar landmarks in them.
Thanks for reading!