The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea has filed for a county permit seeking $16.3 million in exterior renovations that would add new pools, two massage hale and expanded solar capacity while leaving its 383 guest rooms unchanged. The application is headed to the Maui Planning Commission on Tuesday morning, putting planned changes to the resort’s 14.59‑acre oceanfront campus up for public review.
The project is listed on the Maui Planning Commission calendar for a 9 a.m. Tuesday hearing in the Planning Department conference room at Kalana Pakui in Wailuku, per the county's meeting calendar. The commission will consider the application as a Special Management Area use permit and a Planned Development Step II approval, which triggers additional public‑review requirements.
Project details and site
As outlined in a public filing reported in the Star Advertiser, the plans — prepared by Munekiyo Hiraga on behalf of 3900 WA Associates LLC — focus work on already developed portions of the resort and identify the property at 3900 Wailea Alanui Drive. Proposed physical upgrades include a new leisure pool, a private pool for the "Lokelani" presidential suite, two new massage hale and a series of terrace, walkway and elevator improvements. The application also calls for solar photovoltaic arrays and other infrastructure work such as exterior paint and water‑meter replacement.
Neighbors raise view concerns; staff report says panels will be out of sight
One piece of written testimony came from long‑time Hoʻolei condominium owner Donna Upton, who wrote that the current roof "blends into the surroundings and any change to color or addition of solar panels will greatly affect our view of the ocean." The Planning Department staff report, in turn, concluded the arrays "will be screened from view from outside the property, and will not be visible from the roadway, shoreline or other public vantage points," and said the renewable‑energy benefit helps offset anticipated visual impacts. These points were summarized in reporting by Maui Now.
Timeline, conditions and next steps
Planning staff is recommending the commission approve the $16.3 million project subject to conditions, including that all exterior lighting be shielded to limit light pollution and seabird strikes, and that public beach‑access routes on the property be maintained throughout construction. The department's recommendation would require construction to begin by Sept. 30, 2030 and be finished in no more than five years, while the applicant anticipates the work could be completed within roughly two years after receiving all applicable permits. The commission will take public testimony and act on the permit at the scheduled hearing, per reporting from Maui Now.
If approved, the renovations would modernize guest amenities and increase on‑site renewable energy capacity at one of Wailea's highest‑profile resorts. Local owners and nearby condo residents will be watching the planning commission's decision closely as the public hearing gets underway.
