First Look: Four Seasons Lanai

[trip style = luxury + sun]

Editor's Note: As a mega-fan of all things Four Seasons, I've been asked to guest judge the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea's Couples Season photo contest, where in true FS form, each prize is worth more than $2,000 USD. Book a stay and enter here. Open to residents of Canada, USA, UK and Australia.

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When I stayed at the Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay—just a 40-min boat ride from Maui—two years ago, I promised myself I'd come back. Beyond style, it had soul—a soul that kept me from wanting to leave, as well as instigated my return. 

Look for more photos and details on what I would call my Hawaii "spirit hotel" in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, here's a sneak peek to put this retreat on your radar. 

The pool

The rooms — easily in my top five for design, finish and wow-factor 

An open-air Nobu outpost overlooking the ocean

Nightfall

[photos by @tripstyler]

3 JetSet Hotel Tips

Hotels are my second home, and traveling monthly for the past six years has taught me a thing or 20 about creating the best possible stay. Next time you book a room, work these VIP tips at accommodations ranging from Airbnbs to boutique hotels to resorts. 

1. Always celebrate something 
Pick an occasion: a birthday, an anniversary, your kid's first tooth, etc. Life should be celebrated in both the magnificent and the mundane, so whatever it is, tell the concierge in advance. Remember that {most} hotels are in the business of "blessing" guests, and more often than not they will send a platter of fruit or a flute of bubbly to mark the occasion. 

Last month at the Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay {more details on Thursday}, we told the hotel it was Baby Styler's 6-month birthday. In response, they gave him a book, a stuffed animal and a birthday card signed by the GM. On the opposite end of the luxury spectrum, when we rented a basic vacation home a few years ago in Australia, Mr. Trip Styler told the hosts it was his birthday, and they left us bottle of Prosecco.

2. Always request an early check-in and a late check-out
Hotels can't always accommodate early arrival or late departure requests based on their room inventory, but sometimes they can—especially in low season. I mean, who doesn't want a few more hours to hang by the pool? This is especially relevant for a trip style = weekend getaway when you want to maximize your down time. 

3. Always look the part 
If you want that potential upgrade, make sure you upgrade your outfit AND your luggage.  

[photos by @tripstyler]

Destinations We're "Pinning" For

Here at Trip Styler, we always have our eyes on our next destinations. This summer we're looking at you, Italy and France, while gazing longingly at Texas and Germany. While we can't take you with us, we can share our inspiration boards to show you these jaw-droppingly beautiful and ever stylish locales. Warning: These Pins may cause you to book a flight across the globe to drink rosé in Provence, up your cool factor in Berlin, hop on a boat to a secluded cove for dinner on the Amalfi Coast, or swim in a three-acre outdoor pool in Austin.

Click the destination names for more pins!

Amalfi Coast

Amalfi coastline

Positano / Road tripping

Locorotondo / Steps to the sea

Austin

Hotel Saint Cecilia

Barton Springs Pool / Hole in the Wall dive bar

Hotel San José / Hamilton Pool Preserve

Berlin

Holocaust Memorial

Badeschiff Pool / Michelberger Hotel

Clärchens Ballhaus / Capital Beach

Provence

Lavender fields

Calanque National Park / Gourdon

Avignon / Goult

Follow us on Pinterest for more tripspiration!

This post is written by Trip Styler's Assistant Wayfarer/Editor Heather.

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[images via pinterest]

Recap: Run + Rest

As a fan girl of wellness and wandering, when I found out I could pair both passions with my first Mother's Day, I jumped at the chance. 

This past weekend I participated in the inaugural Fairmont Mother's Day Run, a 3k, 5k or 10k jaunt from Vancouver's Stanley Park to Jack Poole Plaza, benefiting Make-A-Wish. Dancing to the beat of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", I shimmied and shook my way along the Seawall for the 10k on a morning so warm and bright, I was reminded why Vancouver is my home base and my main squeeze. 

But, for the Trip Styler crew, it wasn't just about the run. We wanted to trip style the occasion too. 

Naturally, we started at the spa so I could honor my mom with a mani and some rooftop relaxation. Then, the rest of the crew—Mr, Baby AND Dog Styler—joined in for a weekend at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, perfected with a fizzy flute of Moët. See you next year. 

The details:        

The terrace at Willow Stream Spa, the cherry on top of an 8,500-sf urban sanctuary towering over the Vancouver Harbor. 

The ladies lounge in the spa.

The nail salon.

Choosing nail colors for our manicures. 

Missing Maui, I went with a purple-y-pink tone from OPI's Hawaii Collection. 

Fairmont Pacific Rim's lobby, the gold standard for gathering places in Canada with servers wandering around in red carpet-ready frocks, all-day music played on the custom Fazioli piano handcrafted in Italy, and so much marble it's like you're in a quarry.

Our room with floor-to-ceiling views of the waterfront. 

Our spa-like bathroom the size of city apartment, featuring a waist-deep Ofuro {Japanese soaking tub} perched over Canada Place. 

Bathroom selfie with Baby and Dog Styler. Note the hotel's pet-friendliness!

Mr. Nacho King {aka: Dog Styler} about to get a treat in the bathroom. 

The pool. 

Mr. and Baby Styler hanging at the pool. 

ARC restaurant in the Fairmont Waterfront, the sharp location for the pre-race, carb-loading "Mamma Mia" dinner created by Chef Alessandro Vianello.

Mamma Mia dinner: Village Farms Caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella.

Mamma Mia dinner: House-made formaggi fusili pasta with peas and a trio of cheeses.

The start of the run {somehow I snapped this while jogging}.

The entire run meandered alongside the Pacific Ocean on the Stanley Park Seawall. 

Hugging Baby Styler after finishing the 10K run.

giovane café + eatery inside the Fairmont Pacific Rim: My go-to for coffee and confections such as sugar buns {read: cream-filled balls of dough}.

Trip Styler family portrait.

Dear Moët & Chandon, thank you for being one of the race sponsors. Sincerely, the Champagne-loving Trip Stylers. 

[photos by @tripstyler (aside from lead + room + spa) taken while as a guest of the hotel, somewhere I've stayed on my own and LOVE]

Conquering the Road to Hana

[trip style = adventure]

Dear car sickness sufferers: If you're under the impression you'll never experience the Road to Hana's curvy coastline, you're sorely mistaken. You just have do it the RIGHT WAY {tips below}. 

Because anything in motion is my nemesis—I even get chairlift sick—I was under the FALSE notion that a trip to Maui’s modern-day Eden was a no-go for me, in addition to the route otherworldly sights: cascading waterfalls, bamboo groves, botanical gardens, and red-sand beaches.

I thought my only options were a} experience it virtually through other people's photos, or b} become BFFs with a heli pilot, and get myself there by air.

Koki red-sand beach

Annoyed with my constant need to manage my motion sickness, a few weeks ago I changed my tune. After 15 or so trips to Maui, I decided it was time to overcome my fear of "ralphing roadside" halfway between the six-hour trip's 600 some-odd turns.

At first, I set the bar low. If I only made it five miles, I would consider it a win. Then, with Mr. Trip Styler at the wheel, we made it to the Rainbow Eucalyptus trees at Mile Marker No. 6. At Mile Marker No. 9, I was so ecstatic with our progress, I started high-fiving bamboo branches draping over the road. At Mile Marker No. 25, I started getting used to the mist from waterfalls gushing over the cliffs just paces from our car. 

Waterfall by the roadside

At Mile Marker No. 31, I spotted the sign officially welcoming us to Hana. Now I get it. In the midst of blind corners and close to 50 one-lane bridges, the scenery is spiritual: Trees grow out of trees, fuchsia flower petals dust the road, palms erupt like fireworks.

We came to this idyllic seascape a few miles beyond Hana in search of Uncle Troy's BBQ; we found this! 

It's funny that it took me a third of a century to make it to one of Maui’s most celebrated stretches of coastline, and yet Baby Styler came along for the ride in his first six months of life.  

How to handle the Road to Hana (without getting sick)
1. Drive at a tortoise pace. To put this in perspective, we averaged 15 mph. Really, it’s hard to go much faster given the road’s hairpin turns, blind corners and one-lane bridges.

2. Coast through each turn. Pressing on the gas in a turn jolts the stomach, and is one of the main reasons passengers start to feel queasy when this motion is repeated more than 600 times in a row.

For tips 3-7, see my latest article in the Expedia Viewfinder. 

Walking in feilds of green beside the Rainbow Eucapyptus grove

[photos by @tripstyler]