Architecture by Philip K. White & Associates
Interior Design by Philpotts & Associates
Photography by David Duncan Livingston and Tony Novak-Clifford

A visit to the remarkable Lodge at Moloka‘i Ranch is a step back into a simpler era. The locals call it "cowboy time," where life ambles along at a more natural pace, and the "real" world seems far, far away. Only six years old, this elegantly rustic paniolo inn looks like a piece of Ranch history. Along with its little sister the Beach Village, The Lodge provides an authentic Old Hawai‘i resort experience with genuine aloha, the kind that’s from the heart.

As you begin, the first thing you have to do is sign a release, acknowledging that you’ve entered a different place and time. "We give you permission to enter onto our property," it says, "if you agree that you know and understand the inherent risks and possible dangers." But the real risk here is not from animals or accidents; rather of wanting to stay, to never go back to the present.

The 22-room hotel is situated on a vast working ranch that dates back to 1918—a spread that still runs 500 head of cattle. Honolulu architects Philip K. White & Associates, notable for infusing their buildings with a Hawaiian sense of place, designed the total resort project, and worked hands-on with David Tamura, landscape designer, as well as worked on the nearby Beach Village, a rustic seaside haven.

"We wanted The Lodge to look like it had been there to begin with," says architect Pip White.

He succeeded. The Lodge is completely at home on the range, as if it pre-dated Moloka‘i Ranch, not the other way around. An unimposing hamlet of two-story wooden walk-ups, The Lodge resembles a manor house more than a hotel. It is a masterpiece of color, texture and thoughtful detail. Now part of the Ranch’s landscape, it is the perfect place from which to learn—and live—some of Moloka‘i’s history.

The Great Room, darkened in the afternoon, is a combination of Smithsonian paniolo retrospective and grandma’s house. A row of windows pulls in the sunshine, soft-focuses the lofty room with its two-story stone fireplace and tall ohia posts brought from the Big Island. There are leather sofas piled with pillows, stump tables, and deer-antler lamps. Weathered sideboards are filled with antique suitcases, shells, and a poi pounder. It begs to be explored.

Interiors were created by famed interior designer Mary Philpotts. "It was really fun," says Philpotts. "We had free reign. With that kind of trust, you do your best work—with spontaneity."

The result of Philpotts’ freewheeling approach is a charming mix of intricate, whimsical details that catch you by surprise everywhere you look. Older pieces, antiques, distressed furnishings, a myriad of quilts and color schemes, were culled from across the Islands—and, to a lesser extent, across the country.

Philpotts says her team searched "to find things people might have in their homes, from coconut to coral." Philpotts also worked with two talented artists, George Jones and John Dinsmore, who added murals to transform some walls that were conspicuously blank in an otherwise kitschy, cluttered building. "I turned them loose with their stencils," says Philpotts. The results are hand-painted mango murals in the ladies’ room, a family of mongoose in the corridor—and the legend "O ke aloha ke kuleana o kahi malihini" (Love is a host in strange lands) painted along the dining room ceiling.

Spontaneous design inspiration continued to add color to The Lodge right up until, and beyond, its official launch. Some local cowboys were hired to play Hawaiian music during the grand opening. When they came to set up their instruments in the Great Room, they kicked their boots off at the door. Philpotts loved the look. At her request, the musicians went home and returned with their old battered boots, even better for wear. She nailed the boots to the floor, creating a permanent work of art that says, "It’s cowboy time."

The marvelous guestrooms also speak of cowboy authenticity and charm. Each room is furnished with quilted beds, antique writing tables, flora and fauna prints. The baths have old-fashioned clawfoot tubs, rain drencher showers and pedestal sinks, a hand-hooked rug on the Moloka‘i red tile floor and a galvanized pail for a wastebasket. The Do Not Disturb signs are local-made kukui nut lei.

Informal gardens wander throughout, past the meandering infinity pool and shiny cool fitness center with its bowl of fresh fruit.

Moloka’i Ranch’s "last cowboy," Uncle Jimmy Duvauchelle, and his grandson run a string of horses for Lodge visitors. They put guests right into the saddle and let them amble over some of Moloka’i Ranch’s 65,000 acres. Duvauchelle is a living link to the spread’s past: his great-great-grandfather helped then-owner George Cooke found the Ranch nearly nine decades ago. Duvauchelle grew up here, and he remembers a life of community and hard work, shared celebrations at Christmas and Kamehameha Day, beach outings, rodeos.

To reach the neighboring Beach Village, you drive your car seven miles makai (seaward) down a long dirt road (they’ll give you a "clicker" to open the gate) or take the free shuttle. It’s a grouping of platform "tentalows" arrayed along the double-crescent beach at Kaupoa. The tents’ individual platforms have generous decking with picnic table and relaxing chaises, two separate tent bedrooms with zip-up windows, solar powered lights and ceiling fans. Open-air baths have self-composting toilet and hot water showers.

A different sort of time-travel happens at the Beach Village common area, which serves as the dining pavilion and gathering place. Here, Anakala "Uncle" Pilipo Solatorio educates guests using his Hawaiian cultural garden, Na Piko, as a teaching tool. Guests learn to make makana, a gift in ti-leaf wrapping. They also learn the proper protocols and chant affirming their identity and origin, requesting invitation to enter. "No matter who you are and where you are from, we are all climbing the same mountain from different sides," Anakala says, "But the view at the top looks the same."

Even a living-history resort has to make some concessions to modernity. An 18-hole oceanside golf course at Kaluako‘i, designed by Theodore Robinson, Sr., is available to Lodge visitors. But the resort offers plenty for the quieter-minded as well, including yoga and a range of body treatments on the premises by local Healing Arts therapists. Not to be overlooked, The Lodge and Beach Village’s very architecture offers the peace of a real retreat. Everywhere are nooks and niches, quiet spots to pause with a good book or conversation. And everyone here will stop puttering to say hello, look you straight in the eye and, with the slightest hint of invitation, pour out their stories and make you a friend.

The property’s general manager, Teri Waros, is an O‘ahu-born professional hotelier who has opened Ritz-Carlton properties worldwide. "My hotel echoes the island," she says. "This is the perfect place to jump off the edge of the world and just be."

Or as Mary Philpotts puts it: "The Lodge has a happy heart."

A heart that beats, perhaps, in cowboy time.