Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the world’s leading luxury hospitality company, and Sensei, the well-being company founded by Larry Ellison and Dr. David Agus, have partnered to develop Four Seasons Hotel Lanai at Koele, A Sensei Retreat, scheduled to open November 1, 2019.
Unique to the Hawaiian market and a Four Seasons first, the all-inclusive hotel will focus exclusively on wellness retreats, offering a comprehensive and fully customisable program tailored to individual needs.
“Four Seasons partnership with Sensei signals our deep understanding of what today’s luxury traveller wants: an exclusive and differentiated wellness travel experience, perfectly pairing Sensei’s evidence-based approach to healthy living with Four Seasons renowned and legendary service,” says Christian Clerc, President, Global Operations, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “Set against the backdrop of the uniquely breathtaking Lanai landscape, this new offering combines unmatched hospitality, nutritious upscale dining and reputable experts to offer a luxury wellness experience found nowhere else in the world.”
Located against a backdrop of towering Cook pines and banyan trees on the island of Lanai, which is also home to the beachfront Four Seasons Resort Lanai, the new wellness experience takes full advantage of the 90,000 acre (36,000 hectare) island’s natural beauty and seclusion.
Bringing the concept to life is a handpicked team of wellness experts, nutritionists, chefs, fitness experts, spa therapists and hospitality professionals. Upon booking a retreat, each guest is matched with their own Sensei Guide, who will help customise their itinerary in advance. During each stay, the Sensei Guide will use cutting-edge health tools and technology, recommendations from their supporting wellness team as well as guest feedback to adapt the program.
Sensei co-founder Dr. Agus, best known for being the founding CEO of USC’s Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine and his best-selling books on data-driven approaches to a longer life, says, “Our goal is to create experiences, products and services that help people address the gap between their wellness intentions and daily practices. Our retreat provides a great environment to work towards balance, health and well-being with the support of a dedicated, data-driven wellness team.”
Guests of the adults-only Koele Retreat consult with their Sensei Guides to create their own customised itinerary with a variety of choices to accommodate how they want to spend their time. Whether that’s targeting a specific health goal or simply unwinding from the stresses of everyday life, each itinerary is designed to be fluid and adaptable throughout their wellness-oriented vacation. Journeys start with a minimum three-night stay with the ability to add on additional days, complete with wellness activities, meals, adventures and more.
Activities range from one-on-one training sessions and group classes to lectures, philanthropic activities, immersive spa treatments in a private hale and island excursions. Facilities include a 24-hour fitness facility, two movement studios, yoga pavilion and outdoor yoga spaces, salon, onsen baths, outdoor pool with lap lanes, 18-hole short golf course with Scotty Cameron putters, an Adventure Park with ziplines and rope challenge courses, and an outdoor sculpture garden featuring works of renowned contemporary artists. Guests will also have access to a full range of Four Seasons-managed island activities, including golf, ocean sports, hiking, biking, horseback riding, archery and sporting clays, and more.
A new dining concept, Sensei by Nobu, incorporates many ingredients harvested from Sensei’s on-island sustainable farm, with optional dining in a private spa hale, poolside or in the privacy of one’s room or suite, each of which has a balcony or a lanai, perfect for al fresco dining. Menus have been designed by world-renowned Japanese Chef Nobu Matsuhisa and his team in close collaboration with Dr. Agus and Sensei’s nutritionists, utilising a science-driven approach to diet within the context of full-body health.
Previously known as the Lodge at Koele and now fully transformed by Todd-Avery Lenahan of TAL-Studio, the Hotel includes a soaring Great Room, Sensei by Nobu restaurant, spa and wellness facilities including 10 private spa hale, and 96 guest rooms and suites.
Todd-Avery explains: “We wanted to create an environment set amid this mountain location that inspired the senses to ascend and rise above the fray of life. The large grand space has been re-sculpted, with a more than 80-foot (24 metre) long glass wall overlooking the verdant gardens bringing the landscape inside. Extraordinary works of art are encountered for the first time, commissioned exclusively for the property and stimulating thought and reflection. A new architectural frieze-band visually tells the story of the island’s geographic and cultural context, while colours from nature are vibrant against a serene palette, offering a harmonious and balanced setting for a journey to well-being.”
Hotel Manager Said Haykal sums up the approach for the new Four Seasons Hotel Lanai at Koele, A Sensei Retreat: “Every detail of the Hotel and surrounding grounds has been designed to enhance the innovative wellness programming we will offer here. As we work with Sensei to put the finishing touches on the new Koele Retreat, our respective hospitality and wellness teams look forward to working closely with our guests to plan their wellness vacations in advance of our opening this November.”