Malu Kai O Makena, finished in 2003, is located in the middle of Hawaii's only ocean nature preserve, which means there is little development and extraordinary beauty. The pavilion is encircled by turquoise seas and is situated within the Ahihi-Kinau Marine Nature Preserve-swim, snorkel, scuba dive, and kayak directly from your home in waters filled with brilliantly colored reef fish. (This snorkeling bay was one of Jacques Cousteau's five favorite in the world.) In season, whale watch from your bedroom. Turtles and dolphins regularly swim by. The privacy is absolute, and yet only eight minutes from this property are The Shops at Wailea, the Four Seasons, and the other luxury resorts. The drive to Kihei for groceries or videos is around 10-15 minutes. There are several major golf courses and tennis courts within minutes, and Big Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches and best swimming spots in Hawaii, with its peach, white, and rose-colored silky sands amidst the lava rocks, is just next door.
Naturally cooled by breezes from the ocean or coming down from the crest of Haleakala Mountain, the house sits within 30-feet of the water. The lava rock forms a natural protective barrier. This property is unique in its authentic Polynesian feeling, a pentagonal Polynesian pole house, four sides of which open completely to the outside, bringing the beauty of Hawaii intimately inside. A lava rock infinity-edge pool comes within feet of the living room, and just beyond are gardens filled with Polynesian tropical plants.
Enter the property via a lava rock horseshoe drive, gates at either end. Pass a koi pond to the house. The home's walls are solid mahogany. Its downstairs floors are Mexican limestone, and those upstairs are of Santos mahogany. The decks are made of Brazilian Ipe wood. The Great Room-living room, dining room, kitchen-is anchored by a cylindrical salt-water fish tank that rises from floor to ceiling in the center of the house, filled with fish native to Maui's coast. The gourmet kitchen offers a gourmet Le Cornieu range made in France, a Sub Zero fridge, a 48-bottle U-Line wine cooler in a separate bar area, icemaker, and granite countertops.
The master bedroom upstairs comprises the entire penthouse level, with a media area, a lounging area, and wrap-around outdoor decks. As below, solid glass doors fully retract on all sides facing the ocean. There is a private office looking out over the ocean all the way around the house- a brilliant place for the person desiring inspiration amid peace and calm; the house faces west for perfect sunsets every night, and night skies decorated with millions of brilliant white stars, moonbeams shimmering on the sea. The Master Suite is beautified by two oils by Oregon painter Sidoni Caron. From the bedroom you look out over the ocean to Lanaii and Kahalavi Islands. Off the master suite are separate his and hers bathrooms done in Carrera marble from Italy. The second bedroom, featuring a Peter Mahle-designed queen bed, is in The Treehouse, a separate building with its own porch. As peaceful as a Zen monastery, timelessly beautiful, utterly contemporary, and a personal sanctuary that is in fact an architectural masterpiece, Malu Kai O Makena is a retreat and a fantasy in the loveliness of Maui.