Four Seasons Resort Hualalai's 30th Anniversary Summer: Chef Residencies, Wellness Experts & What's New This Season
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ADVISORS NOTEBOOK · BIG ISLAND, HAWAII Our advisors track the season-by-season programming at the hotels we book most, so your advisor always knows what's happening on property before you arrive. Based on Four Seasons Resort Hualalai's official 2026 Summer eBrochure |
Elli Travel Group is a Four Seasons Preferred Partner — meaning we book Four Seasons Resort Hualalai directly with confirmed benefits, and track the resort's seasonal programming so your advisor always knows what's happening on property before you arrive. This post is based on Four Seasons Resort Hualalai's official 2026 Summer eBrochure, current as of August 2026. |
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai's 30th anniversary season is building toward its biggest moment yet: a dedicated Anniversary Week on September 25–26, featuring the Taste of Hualalai and a Hualalai Legacy Dinner with executive chefs from all four Hawaii Four Seasons properties. It's the most concentrated single event on the resort's calendar since it opened in 1996 — and it's still ahead.
It caps a summer that was the most programming-dense we've seen from this property. Since Memorial Day, Hualalai hosted a rotating lineup of James Beard–winning chefs, celebrity fitness experts, touring golf and tennis pros, and a genuinely unique roster of new activities that don't show up anywhere else on the Kohala Coast. Here's a recap of what the season included — and what's still ahead.
Jump to: 30th Anniversary Week · Chef in Residence Recap · Wellness Masters Recap · New Ocean & Land Activities · Family & Sports Programming Recap
The Headline: A 30th Anniversary Season
Since opening in 1996, Four Seasons Resort Hualalai has become one of the most consistently top-ranked hotels in the country — Forbes Five-Star, AAA Five Diamond, a fixture on national top-ten lists. This summer, the resort marked three decades on the Big Island with a "Throwback Thursday" menu series rotating across all four signature restaurants — 'ULU, Residents' Beach House, Beach Tree, and Miller & Lux Hualalai — each bringing back an iconic dish from the property's history on its designated Thursday. It was a small touch, but it signaled how seriously the resort was treating this milestone, and it set the tone for a summer with more chef- and expert-led programming than we've tracked here before.
30th Anniversary Week — Mark Your Calendar
The summer's programming builds toward a dedicated anniversary celebration in late September:
• Taste of Hualalai — Friday, September 25, Sunset Lawn
• Hualalai Legacy Dinner — Saturday, September 26, at 'ULU, featuring executive chefs from all four Hawaii Four Seasons properties (Hualalai, Maui, Oahu, and Lanai) cooking together for a single seated dinner
This is a rare opportunity to experience the collective talent of the entire Four Seasons Hawaii collection in one evening, and we expect it to sell out. If you have clients who love Hualalai and want to be there for the milestone, this is the week to book.
Chef in Residence Recap
Two notable culinary residencies anchored the summer at 'ULU and Beach Tree.
Chef Andy Ricker — 'ULU, July 27–31
Ricker is a James Beard Award winner credited with introducing regional Thai cuisine to American audiences — his Pok Pok restaurants defined a genre. His weeklong residency at 'ULU applied that same deeply researched, ingredient-driven approach to Hawai'i Island produce and seafood.
Chef Donato Loperfido — Beach Tree, August 3–5
Three exclusive Italian culinary events at Beach Tree.
Tyler Florence's Golden Summer Series — Miller & Lux, June 22, 29, and July 6
Miller & Lux Hualalai is chef Tyler Florence's American steakhouse on property. For three Mondays this summer, the menu featured his buttermilk-brined fried chicken made with organic, pasture-raised chicken from Punachicks Farm on the Big Island. On July 6, Miller & Lux also hosted guest sommelier Troy Thompson from Napa Valley's Hourglass Winery for a special pairing dinner.
Beyond the named residencies, each restaurant ran its own summer series — La Tavola Italiana family-style nights at Beach Tree (Wednesdays), Thai Night and Caribbean Night at Residents' Beach House, and Tanabata and Obon holiday dinners at Noio, the resort's sushi restaurant. Restaurant series like these tend to be recurring — ask your advisor whether a similar rotation is running for your travel dates.
Wellness Masters Recap
For clients who plan trips around fitness and wellness, this summer's lineup was a genuine draw:
• Harley Pasternak (June 29–July 3) — NYT bestselling author and celebrity trainer whose client list includes Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga; daily classes at the Aerobics Gym.
• Drew Manning (July 29–August 1) — NYT bestselling fitness author; a four-day, 90-minute holistic wellness format combining movement, mindset, and recovery.
• Heidi Powell (August 18–21) — trainer and transformation specialist known from ABC's Extreme Weight Loss; daily classes through the week.
All three ran out of the Hualalai Sports Club's Aerobics Gym at 8:00 a.m. This kind of Wellness Masters programming has run in past seasons and tends to return — ask your advisor about the current lineup for your travel dates.
New Ocean & Land Activities
A few additions to the activity roster from this summer are worth flagging to clients who've stayed at Hualalai before and think they've seen it all — these are standing additions, not one-off events, so they should still be bookable:
• Alaka'i Nui — a new 46-foot private charter catamaran (up to 6 guests) for custom ocean adventures: whale watching in season, snorkel scooter, subwing, and wing boarding.
• Onewheel Turf Surf — unique to this resort. Guests "carve" the golf course on a Onewheel board, guided by the Alaka'i crew. A genuine only-at-Hualalai experience.
• Guided E-Bike Cruise along the Ka'ūpūlehu coastline, blending riding with cultural and historical stops.
• Private Oyster Experience at Punawai Pond — a Marine Biologist–led tasting of Hualalai-grown oysters with champagne.
— Behind the Scenes Tour, Jr. Marine Biologist Experience, Fishing Derby, and Tide Pool Tour — all requiring 24-hour advance reservations.
Family, Golf & Tennis Programming Recap
• Kids for All Seasons (ages 5–12, daily 8 a.m.–5 p.m.) runs year-round and remains bookable. Camp Manitou (tweens/teens 9–17) ran June 29–August 22 this summer — an exclusive partnership bringing the storied Maine summer camp's cultural and exploration programming to the resort and around the island, including lava tube exploration and stargazing at Mauna Kea. Worth asking your advisor whether it returns next summer.
• Christopher Robin Preschool Summer Camp (ages 2–5) ran July 31–August 3 — a partnership with the well-regarded LA-based preschool, new this season.
• Real Madrid Youth Soccer Clinic ran July 25–26 for ages 5–17.
• Golf Hale visiting pro Parker McLachlin, short-game coach to Collin Morikawa and Anna Nordqvist, visited July 15–16.
• Tennis exhibition and clinic with Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer and Tian Fangran ran July 14.
These named clinics and camps have run seasonally in the past and tend to recur — ask your Elli advisor about the current schedule if any of these are a priority for your trip.
PLANNING TO BE THERE FOR THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY? Our advisors can build Anniversary Week — or any upcoming Hualalai programming — directly into your stay. → Start planning: ellitravel.com/travel-request |
How to Book Around These Dates
Specialty dining and named-expert events at Hualalai typically require reservations and fill quickly given the resort's volume of programming — worth keeping in mind for the Anniversary Week events specifically, since we expect the Legacy Dinner to sell out. As a Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Elli Travel Group can build these directly into your pre-arrival planning alongside your standard Preferred Partner benefits — daily breakfast for two, room upgrade on arrival, and the current Experience More resort credit.
✓ Daily breakfast for two ✓ Room upgrade on arrival ✓ Welcome Amenity ✓Hotel Credit per stay |
→ Start planning: ellitravel.com/travel-request → Read our full Hualalai Insider Guide: Four Seasons Resort Hualalai: The Insider Guide to Every Crescent, Every Pool, and Every Room Decision |
About This Guide
This guide was compiled by the Elli Travel Group team — a Virtuoso-member luxury travel agency based in Westchester, New York, specializing in luxury travel worldwide. Elli Travel Group holds Four Seasons Preferred Partner status, meaning travelers booking Four Seasons Resort Hualalai through Elli receive daily breakfast for two, a room upgrade at arrival (subject to availability), and an Experience More resort credit — all at the same rate as booking direct. Luxury Travel Advisors listed are independent affiliates of Elli Travel Group.
Elli Travel Group is a Four Seasons Preferred Partner and Virtuoso member agency. This post is based on Four Seasons Resort Hualalai's official 2026 Summer eBrochure, current as of August 2026. Programming, dates, and pricing are subject to change; confirm specifics with your Elli Travel Group advisor at time of booking.
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