Four Seasons Hualalai: Preferred Partner guide

Four Seasons Resort Hualalai opened in 1996 on the Kona-Kohala Coast of the Island of Hawaii, ten minutes north of Kona airport. It has 249 rooms and suites and three villas in low, two-storey bungalows, set in crescents around eight pools, with a Jack Nicklaus golf course reserved for guests and members. Booked through a Preferred Partner advisor, a stay adds daily breakfast for two, a $100 hotel credit, upgrade priority and VIP recognition, at the same rate Four Seasons publishes.

Same rate as fourseasons.com
No booking fees
No resort fee
Benefits from a one-night stay

Four Seasons Preferred Partner benefits

Black lava rock, white coral sand and coconut palms around a calm cove on the Kona coast — Lava rock, palms and a sheltered cove on the Kona coast.

The Property

Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at a glance

Opened: September 1996. The resort marks 30 years in 2026
Accommodations: 249 in two-storey bungalows: 196 guest rooms and 53 suites, plus three stand-alone villas
Setting: Half a mile of shoreline within the 865-acre Hualalai Resort, on the Kona-Kohala Coast
Room size: 635 sq ft for every guest room. Superior Suites are 1,050 sq ft and Deluxe Suites 1,441 sq ft
Pools: Eight: King's Pond and the infinity pool above it, Seashell, Keiki, Beach Tree, Palm Grove (adults only), the Ocean Pool and a lap pool
Dining: ULU, NOIO, Beach Tree, Miller & Lux Hualalai, Residents' Beach House and Hualalai Trading Company
Golf and sport: Jack Nicklaus 18-hole course for guests and members only, seven tennis courts, three pickleball courts and a 19-room spa
Rating: Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star for 17 consecutive years, and AAA Five Diamond
Airport: Kona (KOA), 7 miles south. Allow 10 to 15 minutes by car

The Perks

Four Seasons Preferred Partner benefits at Four Seasons Hualalai

The program benefits are the same at every hotel. What changes is what they are worth. This is how each one works at this property.

Breakfast for two at ULU

Full breakfast for two per bedroom at ULU, which serves a buffet and an à la carte menu from 6:30 to 11:00 am, or through in-room dining on your lanai. Restaurant prices at Hualalai are among the highest in Hawaii, so over a week this is the most valuable benefit.

$100 hotel credit, $200 in suites

One credit per stay, to use at the restaurants, bars, spa or golf course. A round on the Hualalai course costs $420, so the credit covers about a quarter of one. At dinner it pays for a round of cocktails and a starter, not a meal for two.

Upgrade priority

A one-category upgrade when available at check-in. Every guest room is the same 635 sq ft, so an upgrade here means a better position: from the golf side into one of the pool crescents, or from the ground floor to a Prime Ocean-View room upstairs.

Early check-in and late checkout

Priority for both. Many flights from the US mainland land at Kona around midday and leave in the evening or overnight, so a room on arrival and a late checkout both make a real difference.

VIP recognition

A welcome amenity and a VIP note on the reservation. We send the resort your crescent and floor preferences before you arrive, which matters more here than at most hotels.

Combines with Four Seasons offers

Preferred Partner benefits apply on top of the resort's own promotions, such as Experience More, which adds a nightly resort credit. We check what is available for your dates when we quote.

Advisor Picks

Best rooms to book at Four Seasons Hualalai

There is no main building. Rooms are in two-storey bungalows with no lifts or corridors, grouped in four crescents along the shore, each around its own pool: King's Pond, Seashell, Beach Tree and Palm Grove. A fifth group overlooks the golf course. Every guest room is 635 sq ft with a king bed and a sofa bed, so you are choosing a view, a floor and a crescent, not a size.

Best value and golfers

Ocean Golf-View Room

The entry category, beside the 18th green, looking across the course to the ocean. It is the furthest from the beach, the spa and King's Pond, and the closest to Miller & Lux and the first tee. A good choice if you plan to play, or if you would rather put the saving towards a longer stay.

Families with young children

Poolside and Partial Ocean-View Rooms

Ground-floor rooms in the Seashell and Beach Tree crescents, a few steps from the pools, with an outdoor lava-rock shower. They cost a little more than the golf side and put you in the middle of the resort. Ground-floor rooms in Seashell look onto gardens, not water.

Couples who want the view

Prime Ocean-View Room

The upper floor in all four crescents, with a balcony, a wider view of the ocean and more privacy than the rooms below. Ask us to request Palm Grove or Beach Tree for quiet. There is no outdoor shower upstairs.

The closest to the water

Oceanfront Room

The front row of the King's Pond, Seashell and Beach Tree crescents, on either floor. The ground floor gives you the outdoor shower and a terrace that opens towards the shore. The upper floor gives the better view. Ocean-View Deluxe Rooms in King's Pond sit just behind them.

Families who need space

Superior and Deluxe Suites

Superior Suites are one-bedroom suites of 1,050 sq ft with a separate living room and a queen sofa bed, sold by the same views as the rooms. Deluxe Suites are 1,441 sq ft and can connect to a second bedroom. The Ohana Suite, on the ground floor in Seashell and Beach Tree, opens onto a lawn and is built for families.

Occasions and groups

Specialty suites and villas

The Anelakai and Kahuwai suites have private pools beside the beach at King's Pond. The Wai'olu and Milo suites sit at the adults-only Palm Grove pool. Three stand-alone villas, Ho'onanea, Makaloa and the Hawaii Loa Presidential Villa, run to more than 5,200 sq ft and four bedrooms, with a dedicated concierge team.

Crescent and floor are requests, not guarantees, so tell us what matters most and we will ask early. Families are happiest in Seashell or King's Pond. Couples usually prefer Palm Grove or Beach Tree. Rooms sleep three adults, or two adults and two children aged 14 and under, and a 15-year-old counts as an adult. Rooms with two beds are very limited and are sold only as connecting rooms, so families with teenagers should plan on connecting rooms or a suite.

Before You Go

Advisor tips for Four Seasons Hualalai

Choose your crescent before your category

Seashell is the family crescent, with the busiest pool, the children's pool and a lawn. King's Pond is central and suits families with children old enough to snorkel. Beach Tree has the quiet pool and is closest to the Beach Tree restaurant, the spa and the gym. Palm Grove, at the southern end, has the adults-only pool and is the quietest.

Decide between the outdoor shower and the view

Ground-floor rooms have a private outdoor lava-rock shower, the feature guests remember most. Upper-floor rooms have better ocean views and more privacy. You cannot have both in a standard room, so tell us which you prefer and we will request it.

Be realistic about the beach

The shoreline is lava rock with a narrow strip of sand, and it is not a place for a long ocean swim. The sand narrows further in winter surf. Guests swim in the Ocean Pool, which is cut into the lava and sheltered by a breakwater, and drive to Kua Bay for a wide sandy beach.

Budget for tax, but not for a resort fee

There is no resort fee, and self-parking is free. Hawaii's accommodation taxes rose in January 2026, and state tax, county tax and general excise tax together now add close to 19 percent to the room rate. We give you the full total with your quote.

Ask early for Christmas and New Year

The festive weeks are the most expensive of the year and go first to guests who return every year. For the 2026 season, stays including 25 December carried an eight-night minimum, and suites had sold out by July. Send us festive dates a year ahead.

Book dinner, golf and the cultural classes ahead

Beach Tree needs a dinner reservation, and the omakase counter at NOIO has only 12 seats. Hotel guests can book Residents' Beach House from 3 pm the day before. Tee times, lei making and the hula class at the Ka'upulehu Cultural Center also fill up, so give us your wish list before you travel.

Hire a car if you want to see the island

You can spend a week at the resort without leaving, and many guests do. Everything else is a drive: Kailua-Kona is 15 miles and about 25 minutes away, and the volcanoes are more than two hours. Self-parking is free, so a car for the whole stay costs little extra.

Travelling with children

Kids For All Seasons is complimentary for ages 5 to 12, runs daily until 5 pm and takes children for a few hours or the whole day. Camp Manitou runs paid day adventures for ages 9 to 17 in spring and summer. Children can snorkel with the fish in King's Pond and feed the resident eagle ray, and there are free guest laundry rooms around the property.

Where the Credit Goes

Dining at Four Seasons Hualalai

There are five restaurants plus a cafe and shop, poolside service at every pool and in-room dining around the clock. Prices are high, even by Hawaii standards, which is why the breakfast benefit counts for so much here. Children aged four and under eat free at ULU and Beach Tree with a paying adult.

Pan-Asian and Hawaiian, breakfast and dinner

ULU

The main restaurant, on the oceanfront between the Ocean Pool and King's Pond, refreshed in December 2024. It serves the breakfast buffet and à la carte breakfast from 6:30 to 11:00 am and dinner from 5:30 to 9:00 pm. Most ingredients come from the island, including oysters grown at the resort. This is where the Preferred Partner breakfast is taken.

Sushi lounge and omakase

NOIO

On the floor above ULU, with sushi, sashimi and cocktails in the lounge and a seven-course omakase at a 12-seat counter. The omakase is booked separately.

California Italian, by the beach

Beach Tree

The relaxed all-day restaurant beside the Beach Tree pool, with handmade pasta and pizzas from a brick oven, and live music in the evenings. The open-air bar next to it is the resort's sunset spot.

Steakhouse by Tyler Florence

Miller & Lux Hualalai

An American steakhouse overlooking the 18th green, with a raw bar, seafood and Japanese wagyu. It was named Best Hawaii Island Restaurant in Honolulu Magazine's 2025 Hale 'Aina Awards.

Casual seafood on the lanai

Residents' Beach House

The club's beachfront restaurant, shared with Hualalai residents. Lunch runs from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm and dinner from 5:00 to 8:00 pm, with a bar menu in between. Hotel guests can reserve from 3 pm the day before.

Coffee, pastries and sandwiches

Hualalai Trading Company

The cafe and shop for coffee, pastries, salads and sandwiches to take away. The quick option before an early tee time or a day out in the car.

On Property

Pools, beach and facilities at Four Seasons Hualalai

With eight pools spread along half a mile of coast, guests sort themselves by mood, and no single pool carries the whole resort. Attendants bring water, fruit and sunscreen to the loungers.

King's Pond

A 1.8-million-gallon saltwater aquarium carved from lava rock, home to about 4,000 tropical fish and a spotted eagle ray. Guests snorkel in it, with equipment provided, and marine biologists run daily fish feedings. An infinity pool and three hot tubs sit above it.

Seashell and Keiki pools

Seashell is the family pool, with an infinity edge, thatched palapas and daybeds. It is the liveliest pool in school holidays. Behind it, the Keiki Pool is a shallow, sand-bottomed wading pool for toddlers.

Palm Grove and Beach Tree pools

Palm Grove is the adults-only pool, for guests 21 and over, with an infinity edge and the resort's only swim-up bar. Beach Tree is open to all ages but stays quiet, with a wooden deck a few steps from the ocean.

The beach and the Ocean Pool

The shore is lava rock and a narrow band of sand, lined with loungers. Sea turtles rest along it. The Ocean Pool, sheltered by a lava-rock breakwater, is where to swim in seawater. Paddleboards, outrigger canoes and snorkel trips go out from the beach with the Alaka'i Nalu ocean team.

Golf, tennis and pickleball

The Hualalai Golf Course is a Jack Nicklaus design of 7,117 yards, par 72, open only to resort guests and club members. A round costs $420, or $300 after 2 pm. The members' Ke'olu course is not open to hotel guests. There are seven tennis courts and three pickleball courts.

Spa, fitness and the cultural centre

The spa has 19 treatment rooms, 18 of them outdoor hales with soaking tubs and showers. The 15,000 sq ft fitness centre has three open-air gyms, yoga and Pilates studios and a four-lane lap pool. The Ka'upulehu Cultural Center teaches lei making, weaving, ukulele and Hawaiian history.

Timing

When to visit Four Seasons Hualalai

The Kona-Kohala Coast is the dry, sunny side of the island and is warm all year. The decision is about price, crowds and what the ocean is doing.

Mid-December to March: Peak season and whale season. Humpbacks pass within a mile of shore from January to March and can be seen from the 17th hole. Christmas and New Year are the most expensive dates and carry long minimum stays. The golf course closes for about a week each January for the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, and the beach is at its narrowest.
April and May: Quieter once the spring holidays are over, with the same weather. Upgrades are easier to come by and the resort's own offers appear more often.
June to August: The family season. The beach is at its fullest, Camp Manitou runs for older children and teenagers, and there are outdoor films in the evenings. Book connecting rooms and suites well ahead.
September to mid-December: The calmest stretch of the year at the resort. The exception is the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona each October, when nearly 3,000 athletes arrive and flights and hire cars need booking early. Early December, before the holidays, is a good time for couples.

Travel

Getting to Four Seasons Hualalai

The resort is on the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway at mile marker 87, north of Kona airport. It is one of the shortest airport transfers of any Four Seasons resort.

From Kona airport (KOA): 7 miles and 10 to 15 minutes. Take a taxi, or we can arrange a sedan or SUV transfer through the resort. Villa and suite stays include round-trip transfers.
By hire car: Collect a car at Kona airport and drive north. Self-parking at the resort is free and valet parking is charged per night. A car is the practical way to reach the beaches, Kailua-Kona and the rest of the island.
From Hilo (ITO): Hilo's airport is on the opposite side of the island, 1.5 to 2 hours away over Saddle Road, which climbs to about 6,500 ft and is often foggy. Use it only if you are combining the resort with the volcanoes.

Beyond the Hotel

Things to do near Four Seasons Hualalai

The Island of Hawaii is the largest in the chain, and its best sights are a long way apart. These are the outings worth planning before you arrive.

Manta ray night snorkel

Boats go out from the Kona coast after dark to float above feeding manta rays. It is the outing guests talk about most. The resort can arrange it on a private charter.

Kua Bay

Manini'owali Beach in Kekaha Kai State Park, about five miles south, is the white-sand beach the resort lacks. Swim on calm days only, as there are no lifeguards and the shore break is strong in high surf. The park is open from 8:00 am to 6:30 pm, and visitors pay $5 each plus $10 to park.

Kikaua Point Beach Park

A small public beach park at Kukio, about three miles from the resort, with sea turtles on the sand and shaded picnic spots. An easy hour out with small children.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

2 to 2.5 hours each way by the south coast road, so leave early and make a full day of it. The alternative is a helicopter tour, which the resort arranges.

Mauna Kea

The summit is about 90 minutes from the resort. The road beyond the ranger checkpoint needs a four-wheel-drive vehicle and is off limits to most hire cars, so go with a guided sunset and stargazing tour.

Waimea, Waipio and coffee country

Head north for the ranch town of Waimea, about an hour away, and the Waipio Valley lookout half an hour beyond it. Head south for the Kona coffee farms above Kailua-Kona and the historic site of Pu'uhonua o Honaunau.

How to Book

How to book Four Seasons Hualalai with Four Seasons Preferred Partner benefits

1Send us your dates, the room category you want, and who is travelling. Tell us if it is a special occasion or a first visit.
2We reply within 24 hours with the Four Seasons Preferred Partner rate, which matches the hotel's own published rate, plus any hotel offer available for your dates.
3Confirm, and the hotel contacts you directly to collect your card details. The benefits are on the reservation from that point.
4We add your requests before you travel: flight times for early check-in, dining reservations, dietary notes and the upgrade request.

Already booked direct?

Send us your confirmation. A reservation booked directly with the hotel can usually have the benefits added, with the dates, rate, room type and cancellation policy unchanged. Bookings made through an online travel agency cannot be moved.