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The Hawai'i Island Retreat at Ahu Pohaku Ho'omaluhia has opened on 50 oceanfront acres in North Kohala on Hawaii’s Big Island. The luxury boutique eco-friendly lodge and destination spa has been created in an architectural style reminiscent of royal Hawaiian summer palaces. The 15,000-square-foot main lodge has winding staircases and wood floors. All eight guest rooms come with large soaking tubs and have Pacific Ocean views through a grove of pine trees. The Gold Penthouse, with its chocolate brown-and-white marble floors and views of the ocean, is sequestered on the top level lodge. It has a staircase that leads to an elevated deck, perfect for a ceremony or reception.
The 1,200-square-foot yoga studio also overlooks the ocean, and an outdoor amphitheater presents hula performances, lu'au, social gatherings. Ahu Pohaku owner, innkeeper and lead therapist Jeanne Sunderland is one of the first lomilomi practitioners to become certified by the Native Hawaiian Lomilomi Association and indoor and outdoor spa treatments are available.
Sunderland wants to nurture the lodge’s guests, but also nurture the land by being as sustainable as possible. Hawai'i Island Retreat produces its own electricity via solar cells, catches and uses soft filtered rainwater, and grows much of its own food, flowers and herbs on property.
The entire eight-room lodge and 50 acres can be booked for wedding parties.
Special Grand Opening rates until June 30 start from $250 to $450 per night, double occupancy, with a three-night minimum.