FACES OF HUALĀLAI

The wonderful Hualālai staff have had the pleasure of assisting you before, maybe you’ve known each other for years. So instead of an introduction, this is a chance to catch up with a member of our Hualālai family, or, as we like to say, our ‘ohana.

public, homeowners, guests, workers, everybody—we get them all,” she says. In a typical day, she might make 60 coffee drinks and 40 smoothies, and those numbers can rise to 80 or 100 in each category during an intensely busy shift. But it’s the regulars who make her day. Some have been patrons of the Resort for longer than she’s worked there. “We’ve had a lot of repeat guests over the years,” she says. “The experience of aloha we show them is what people want and like and makes them want to come back to us. And a lot of them come back. They love this place, and I do too.”

—SHEILA GIBSON STOODLEY

Michele DeSilva is not psychic; she’s just very good at her job.

For the past twenty-some years, she’s worked as a barista-cashier at the Hualālai Trading Company, an entity at the Four Seasons Resort Hualālai that’s part gift shop, part convenience store, and part general store. During that time, she’s learned to anticipate the needs of those who come through the door.

“I try to be steps ahead,” says DeSilva, who is among the dozen-plus employees on the Hualālai Trading Company staff. “So many times, people come in and get certain drinks, and I start making them before they pay. They say, ‘That’s what I wanted!’ I remember what they get.”

Her quiet proactivity—sensing what is needed before being asked for it—helped win DeSilva the title of 2022 Employee of the Year. In addition to earning “a bunch of leis and being bombarded with employees hugging me,” she received an extra week of vacation and a bonus equivalent to a week’s worth of pay.

Hualālai Trading Company is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and its employees choose either the morning shift, which ends at 1:30 p.m., or the night shift, which spans noon to closing time. DeSilva has worked both but currently favors the night shift. The store also stands out for being one of the areas of the Resort that is open to everyone. “The

Every day, Hualālai’s John Novak confronts a challenge rooted in geography. The retail expert must please patrons who are accustomed to seeing overnight delivery as a given rather than a miracle, and he must do this on an island where overnight delivery is unavailable. The fastest that something can reach or depart the islands (unless the something is a medical sample that’s been hand-delivered to an airport before 11 a.m.) is via FedEx’s second-day air service. Novak knows what this means for his customers and how to help them despite the constraint. Though he can’t instantly deliver 200 bathrobes embroidered with the Four Seasons logo, he can work with you to obtain them in time for your conference.

Novak, who received his employer’s Manager of the Year award for 2022, has served as the Four Seasons Resort Hualālai’s retail sales and event operations manager for the past several years. He gets things done by making the most of what’s available. “Hualālai—it’s its own city. There are resources here,” he says. “You’ve got to know when and where to tap into the right ones.” Upon first coming to work at the Resort, “I thought my retail experience wouldn’t translate to hospitality, but it really did,” he adds. “World-class service is world-class service, whether you’re at a restaurant or behind a counter.”

Recently, when Novak encountered a guest who was unhappy with her rental car, he knew just what to do. She was a member of a wedding party that was staying at the Four Seasons, and she had sent the car to the airport to be detailed, but it didn’t come back clean enough to comfortably transport her friends and family in their gowns and finery. Novak solved her problem, arranging for a car detailer to tend to her rental car on-site.

Taking care of her need was an outgrowth of the ethos that drew Novak and his husband to Hawai‘i, first as loyal guests of the Four Seasons Resort Hualālai, then as island residents, and ultimately, for Novak, as a Resort employee. “I work with amazing people in a place I love,” he says. “My husband and I were married here. We were fortunate to be guests here. When you receive so much aloha, you’ve got to give it back. When you live on an island, you have to take care of the natural resources. The people are as important as the natural resources. We take care of the land, we take care of the water, we take care of each other.” icole Hollis’s Hualālai home is understandably in tune with the splendors all around it. The San Francisco–based designer understands refined island living, having created gorgeous yet grounded interiors for residential and hospitality clients in Hawai‘i, and she knows what she likes—and what she loves. Frequent work travel to the Big Island over the years had Hollis and her husband and business partner, Lewis Heathcote, “falling in love with the culture and beauty of the Kona Coast,” she says. So strong was their affinity to the place, in 2019 they bought a three-bedroom condo villa on Hualālai’s Waiulu Street and started renovations, working with the contractor Dowbuilt to take the 20-year-old structure down to the studs. Now complete, the 2,800-square-foot modern retreat is a seamless mix of finishes and textures, with local flair, that the couple enjoy with their two children when the family is in Hawai‘i for work or play or both. Comfortably elegant and inviting, the home “has only increased our love of Hawai‘i,” says Hollis. “With every visit, it becomes harder to leave.”

—S.G.S.

A Warm Welcome

In the entry foyer and entry hall (opposite and left, respectively), texture and warmth and pops of color usher the homeowners and their guests inside. The striking Le Lampade pendant light, made with hand-woven organic material, hangs above a Moroccan rug sourced by Hollis. A cold-rolled-steel peg rack from March provides a place to hang hats and whatnot, and the Tribe suar wood bench from Blaxsand affords a spot to set down shopping bags or take off shoes. The vibrant hue and lively texture of a commissioned painting by multimedia artist Bosco Sodi catch the eye, as do the stools, also by Sodi; the Lorentz console table, designed by Hollis for McGuire; and the Lantern table lamp, by Apparatus. These artful elements set the tone for the great room (previous spread), where Blaise Rosenthal’s charcoal and acrylic on canvas Everything Reminds You of Something (2016) takes center stage among such distinctive pieces as a Navone sectional from RH, with indigo throw pillows from New York’s Les Ateliers Courbet; a custom oak beam coffee table by Marlieke van Rossum; French rattan seating from Los Angeles–based Orange; and a ceramic side table by Psultan.

Rarefied Repasts

Style and substance are main ingredients in the kitchen and in the great room’s dining area. A hutch, procured by KailuaKona–based Jeanne Marie Imports and placed in the kitchen, imparts a vintage touch, while Richard Serra’s Weight VI (2013), mounted on the wall behind a custom ebonized oak dining table and benches designed by Hollis, brings contemporary gravity to the communal meal space. The dining room chairs are vintage—found by Hollis during a trip to Los Angeles—and boast cushions in a charcoal basketweave linen upholstery by Houlès Paris via Sloan Miyasato. From the cedar hip ceiling hangs a Planck light sculpture of oak and hand-blown glass by the French artist Jérôme Pereira. Back in the open-concept kitchen, craftsmanship continues with an eye toward function. Sleek appliances by Sub-Zero and Wolf mingle with a custom kitchen island, Blanco sink, Dornbracht plumbing fixtures, Concreteworks countertops, Sun Valley Bronze hardware, and cypress cabinets with a distinctive wirebrushed finish.