"Aloha look" capitalizes on spectacular setting
By Judy Wylie
Contents:
Sheraton Maui's redesign for the future
A tale of two Four Seasons
In the mid-1990s, the Asia Pacific Center for Architecture held an East-West Encounter symposium that included a discussion of future resort design in the region. One presenter, Larry Helber of Helber, Hastert & Fee, identified the "integrated resort concept" as rising in prominence.
First implemented at Kaanapali Beach on Maui in the early 1960s by AMFAC Corp., which designated some 1,200 acres of its marginal beachfront sugarcane lands for resort development, the concept became the basic ingredient of most subsequent integrated resorts to be developed in Hawaii, he said.
Hawaii's architects, interior designers and landscape architects defined integrated resort development as emphasizing strong indoor/outdoor relationships, the use of Asia-Pacific design elements, linking of resort components into a theme and the relocation of the social gathering places in resorts from the lobby to the outdoor pool and surrounding terraces.
In the same seminar's report, Donald Goo of Wimberly, Allison Tong and Goo, a prominent resort architectural firm in Honolulu, noted that resort master plans for the future should respond to the need for more:
- day- and night-time activities
- interest in shopping as a personal and family activity
- restaurant options with special themes to create new experience
- recreational offerings
- social linkages and desire for gathering places
Goo continues to see new or redesigned resorts "being more like a community, complete with accommodations, activities and an array of supporting businesses clustered around the resort's ‘new town.'"
This philosophy has proved to work well over time. Following the Kaanapali development, the Wailea multiresort community on Maui, and the resorts of the Kohala Coast on the Big Island adopted these ideas. Many guests who come to stay in one resort use the others to expand their options of places to play and dine.
Sheraton Maui's redesign for the future
The Sheraton Maui is an example of one of the first properties in the Kaanapali development area. Originally built in 1963, it underwent redesign and reconstruction in the late 1990s to reflect new interests and trends and to upgrade an aging facility. Shinji Yanai, manager of design and development for Kyo-ya Company, which owns the resort, says a number of resort development trends in the last 10 years factored into the hotel's renovation.
"During the bubble economy in Japan (late 1980s to early 1990s), Japanese investors focused their efforts on building luxury, European-style hotels which came with very high construction costs. We felt the return on investment on these types of hotels would be very difficult. At the same time, we felt retaining the Hawaiian look and feel of the hotel was important in order to offer a truly Hawaiian experience to our customers," he says.
The solution was a product built with casual Hawaiian elegance in mind, targeted specifically to the family market. The large rooms were furnished with two double beds and a double Murphy bed, and bathrooms were equipped with twin sinks and a separate shower, tub and toilet area. Microwave ovens and refrigerators were added to the rooms as well.
"Our recommendations to the architects and interior designer were to personify the nostalgic plantation era of Hawaii through the use of dark wood, white imperial plaster walls and rich earthy colors, as opposed to the popular marble-brassy look of the times," Yanai says.
The free-form style pools popularized in the 1980s at projects such as the Westin Maui and the Hyatt Waikoloa (now the Hilton Waikoloa) turned the pool into an aquatic playground. The older Sheraton's pool system was converted to blend the elements of a natural lagoon through lush foliage, lava rock and cascading waterfalls.
A final important change: Modern lobbies and entrance areas of Hawaii resorts offer guests a dramatic view through the lobby to the ocean beyond. "At the Sheraton Maui, our idea was to give guests an unforgettable sense of arrival, one that would undoubtedly say ‘Hawaii,' Yanai says. "So we filled the site from ground level up to lend enough height to see the ocean and the neighboring islands as well. Our water feature surrounding the lobby was designed so that the sun reflecting on the water would then be seen reflecting off the ceiling, creating a subtle, soothing effect throughout the open-air room."
A tale of two Four Seasons
Comparing two Four Seasons properties in Hawaii provides an interesting historical perspective on design trends. Trends through the 1980s, says Stuart Fearnley, senior vice president of design and construction for Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, are reflected in the Four Season Maui property at Wailea, which is a medium-rise, higher density, palatial style property. The newer Four Seasons Hualalai property on the Big Island is a low-rise, low-density villa-style development.
"It is important to ensure you achieve a sense of place," Fearnley says. "At Hualalai we wanted to "marry" the concepts of land, sea and sky, to provide an indoor/outdoor experience. The Big Island of Hawaii is a very powerful and culturally spiritual place, with great expanses of mountain scapes, rugged coast and blue skies. It was also important in a luxury product to achieve all ocean-view rooms and as much ocean front as possible, which we did at Hualalai."
The low-rise villa style emphasizes privacy, seclusion and the perception of individual "ownership" of units, Fearnley says. That sense of seclusion extends to the pools as well.
"Because the ocean beach at this resort is rugged, it was important to create a varied pool experience for all guests, so we diversified with several pools so there was something for everyone, and decentralized, so that not all people are gathered at the same pool The result is a resort that never feels crowded, and has a sense of seclusion and privacy," Fearnley says.
"We also wanted to create rooms that want to be lived in, not just slept in," says Fearnley. The large rooms and their elegant, wicker, linen and dense cotton elements in island colors do invite guests to linger.
The Four Seasons Wailea property, which opened in 1985, was designed by Sid Char, senior vice president and a director of Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo. The property continues to have the highest room rate in the state as well as a high occupancy rate.
"We feel people are drawn to the property because of the quality and casual elegance of it, the high ceilings and open spaces of a palatial village by the sea, including elements of old plantation design, such as wide verandahs and constant ocean breezes, Char says.
"We also created little spots of privacy on the long narrow site, terracing out to the ocean. The rooms are set on a 45-degree angle, so you never stare into rooms across the way, but have views out to the water. We planned the resort so that you could see the length of the beach and the crescent bay view." Public spaces such as the lobby, restaurants and the pool are all close to the water.
With more families traveling together, the hotel converted one of the cocktail lounges to a game room. It also added a lobby bar to accommodate a younger clientele that is seeking entertainment.
A few other design quirks at the Four Seasons: 2.4 acres of rooftop gardens, and meeting spaces with wood-shuttered windows "so participants can be inside and still see the blue ocean off Maui," Char adds.
Judy Wylie (judyw@cruzio.com) is a Santa Cruz-based business and travel journalist.