Click our panoramic photo for a larger view!

The Fairmont Kea Lani was the third stop on our 10-day whirlwind tour of Maui to find the island’s best resorts for baby boomer travelers.  I shot the panorama above from our lanai with my iPhone 5.

The AAA Four-Diamond Fairmont Kea Lani has the distinction of being Hawaii’s only all suite and villa luxury oceanfront resort.  Rather than the 400 sq. ft. lodging available at most resorts, we enjoyed sprawling in 860 sq. ft. of luxurious living space.

The Fairmont Kea Lani offers resort guests 413 one-bedroom suites, 37 private two- and three-bedroom villas, the famous Willow Stream Spa, three pools, six dining options, and a beautiful golden-sand beach to while away the hours all located in the posh resort-town of Wailea.

Note: if you can’t see the video, click here.

Favorite Memories From The Fairmont Kea Lani

• In Hawaiian, Kea Lani means “heavenly white”, and first impressions were high as we pulled up to the stunningly beautiful white structure designed by international resort architect, Jose Luis Ezquerra.   Ezquerra, an authority without equal in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean art, architecture, and archeology, has mentioned that the Kea Lani is an “architectural descendant of his world famous Las Hadas” which changed the face of international resort architecture.   For inspiration, Ezquerra also brought cues from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and the Iolani Palace.  Be prepared for a visual feast when you walk into the lobby!
• As one would expect from a world-class resort property, service from the Kea Lani staff was friendly and impeccable.
• We enjoyed an Ocean View Suite which offered us an angled ocean view from our bedroom as well as from our spacious lanai.  Not only did we enjoy the space afforded by our 860 sq.ft. suite, but we found all of the luxurious amenities that luxury travelers would expect, and the sunsets from our lanai were spectacular.  We especially enjoyed the Le Labo Rose 31 bath products which featured “a chorus of warm, spicy floral and woodsy notes”.  Pure delight for the senses!
• Dining at the KO Restaurant was also a distinct pleasure.  As you can see in our video above, we enjoyed Maui’s only fine dining sugarcane plantation era cuisine.  Standouts were Ahi on the Rock, unbelievable sushi, Portugese bread with lavender butter, and Lobster Tempura with a delectable spicy sesame, pineapple sweet chili garlic, and grapefruit soy sauce.  Wow!
• While the resort is certainly family friendly, we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the stunningly beautiful adult pool.  Cabanas were abundant and the staff was on hand to bring us tropical drinks.  🙂
• We loved our time on the Kea Lani’s golden-sand beach.  If we had one regret, it was that we didn’t get to experience the Kea Lani’s Hawaiian Canoe Experience.  A complimentary experience for resort guests (10 yrs+),  four guests plus two staffers head out for a one-hour tour of the coastline in a replica of the traditional Hawaiian canoe.  What fun!  Make certain that you book this experience early, it sells out quickly!
• Evening strolls around the resort, with Tiki torches lighting our way, were romantic and certainly one of the hallmarks of a Hawaiian vacation experience.
• We’ll never forget the huge smiles sent our way from our housekeeper each day.  She beamed with joy!
• We were enjoying the resort during the humpback whale season (generally Feb & March).  Watching them frolic in the ocean from our lanai was a real treat.  Make sure you bring your binoculars!

We’ve had the great privilege to stay at quite a number of great Fairmont Hotels properties around the globe, and the Fairmont Kea Lani is a real standout.  We highly recommend it.

Disclosure: our wonderful experience was provided by the kind folks at The Fairmont Kea Lani, and our Maui press trip was provided by the Maui Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Thanks!