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Luxury property opens as eco-friendly retreat

The Hawaii Island Retreat at Ahu Pohaku Hoomaluhia is located on 50 oceanfront acres in North Kohala. (Photo courtesy of Hawaii Island Retreat)

The Hawaii Island Retreat at Ahu Pohaku Hoomaluhia is located on 50 oceanfront acres in North Kohala. (Photo courtesy of Hawaii Island Retreat)

MEDIA RELEASE

The Big Island’s newest luxury property is Hawaii Island Retreat at Ahu Pohaku Hoomaluhia, a boutique eco-friendly lodge and destination spa on 50 oceanfront acres in North Kohala near the birthplace of King Kamehameha the Great.

The architectural style of the sanctuary is reminiscent of royal Hawaiian summer palaces, and includes the welcoming 15,000-square-foot main lodge with elegant archways, a porte cochere, winding staircases and wood floors.  

All eight guest suites are appointed with large soaking tubs, and there are views of the Pacific Ocean through a grove of pine trees. Even the 1,200-square-foot yoga studio overlooks the ocean, and an outdoor amphitheater is meant for hula performances, luau, and inspired gatherings. 

Guests can unwind with body work, enjoy meals in the garden-side dining room, and hike the serene property. But it could be an undeniable presence of Hawaiian mana (divine power) that draws guests to this intimate spa lodge.

A walk around the 50-acre oceanfront property, reverently named Ahu Pohaku Hoomaluhia (Sacred Peaceful Stones) reveals a natural amphitheater within a hidden valley, where a cluster of boulders are shaded by mature noni and kukui trees. 

Elders from the area say this is where Hawaii’s greatest ruler, King Kamehameha the Great, often consulted with his advisors before he and his warriors set out to unify all the Hawaiian Islands under his rule in the early 1800s.

Ahu Pohaku owner, innkeeper and lead therapist Jeanne Sunderland, and her husband Dr. Robert Watkins, an emergency room physician, want to nurture their guests, but also nurture the land by being as sustainable as possible. 

Hawaii 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. 

Fields of tropical blooms and Polynesian healing plants such as ki and awa are harvested, and the land abounds with kukui nuts, which yield a remarkably light oil used in healing treatments, and noni, which many devotees insist relieves a variety of ailments. 

Hawai’i Island Retreat offers spa treatments inside and out. Customized retreats can include yoga, tai chi, hula, other healthful and cultural practices and getaways with an “ungenda” to relax, enjoy and breathe.

The entire eight-room lodge and 50 acres can be booked for wedding parties, and its Gold Penthouse, with its chocolate brown-and-white marble floors and majestic views of the ocean, is sequestered on the top level, complete with a staircase that leads to an elevated deck, perfect for a ceremony or reception. 

Special grand opening rates start from $250 to $450 per night, double occupancy, with a three-night minimum from April 1 to June 30.

— Find out more:

Hawaii Island Retreat: www.hawaiiislandretreat.com; info@hawaiiislandretreat.com; 889-6336

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