Perhaps my boss put it best: When he looked at my photos of The Lodge at Koele, he could barely believe it was Hawai‘i.

It’s true: The Lodge really looks like, well, a lodge. In the woods. And that’s what it is: more beautiful inn than hotel, surrounded by acres of Norfolk pines (and other trees), wild turkeys and axis deer. (Admittedly, I didn’t see any of said deer myself, but I am assured that they exist.) Like any other scene, it’s less than photogenic on an overcast day, but you still get a pretty good idea from these:

Clearly, this ain’t Waikiki – and that’s exactly what people like me are banking on when we go there.

When you exit the airport shuttle and enter The Lodge, the friendly staff greet you with a kukui nut lei, a warm face towel and a glass of pineapple juice. You’re then encouraged to have a seat in the fireplace-lit Great Room, where the staff joins you to go over the specifics of your stay, along with reminders about any reservations (spa or other activities) you’ve already arranged with the Four Seasons.

Despite the hotel’s rustic exterior (and its public areas’ resistance to letting go of the pineapple industry that has long since deserted the island), its rooms are roomy, modern and exquisite:

Most comfortable bed EVER. I could lie in it all day.

You can’t see it, but the couch faces a large LCD TV.

This little nook is so cute!

The windows let in a ton of natural light – or hardly any at all, if you keep the shades pulled closed. (But why would you come to Hawai‘i and do that?) And, all the bathroom amenities are L’Occitane en Provence, so you know they’re quality.

And far be it from me to not mention food! Now, like most other things at a Four Seasons resort, the food is a bit on the pricey side, but on the whole, you get what you pay for. Three words: lobster potato hash.

Huge chunks of lobster in this baby. I loved it.

I’m not that fond of Belgian waffles, but you carb-centric breakfast people out there will be delighted to know that, in keeping with the let’s-shove-it-down-your-throat pineapple theme, The Lodge serves their waffles with . . . pineapple syrup.

OK, so you can’t exactly see the pineapple gooeyness of the syrup  – but trust me, it was there.

The French toast is also cute:

Surprise #1: You can see the compote in this shot. Surprise #2: There’s no pineapple in it – those fruits are banana, strawberry and mango. I thought the toast looked better than it tasted, but Todd liked it.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the popcorn. Again, this is no movie theater bucket: This is popcorn with truffle oil and shaved parmesan.

Drool. It’s hard to capture the essence of such a great snack in a photograph, but believe me, it’s every bit as good as it sounds, and then some. We had it twice.

I hear they also do a pretty cool high tea at the resort, but we seem to have missed the opportunity to partake, perhaps because we were visiting on a holiday weekend – on Thursday, the Great Hall was fully devoted to setup for the Thanksgiving buffet.

But if you get tired of lounging around on the property (which offers clay-shooting, horseback riding, a spa and an 8-mile hiking trail among its activities, by the way) and sampling the food, you can catch the free shuttle to the Hotel Lāna‘i (which gives you access to “downtown” Lāna‘i City) or The Four Seasons Lāna‘i Manele Bay Resort.

So, see, you’d be crazy to go to Lāna‘i and not stay at The Lodge. My husband is already plotting our return, though, so don’t hog all the spots, OK? ;o)