It was not an auspicious day when developer—and native Hawaiian—Jon McManus first treated designer Marion Philpotts-Miller to a site tour of the aged Maui motel that would become the Outrigger 'Aina Nalu. The 39-year-old Bay West/Ironwood Trading Company principal laughs when recalling the '70s pole-house construction that then housed 490 tiny, dilapidated guest rooms.

"We went into a hotel room and it was like going into the Honolulu Zoo," he jokes, "with every kind of animal you could imagine in the unit." He'd never worked with the San Francisco-trained designer before. "We weren't so sure she'd take the project."

But take the project she did, and last year Philpotts-Miller's efforts to remake 'Aina Nalu resulted in a coveted pair of statewide accolades as the Lahaina condo-hotel won both the Best Hospitality and Restaurant Project and the Grand Overall Interior Design Award from the American Institute of Interior Designers.

McManus had admired both the designer's residential and high-profile commercial projects in both Hawaii and Northern California. Philpotts-Miller designed Sonoma's Spa at Hotel Healdsburg and now is involved in a major overhaul of Oahu's storied Royal Hawaiian hotel. 

Philpotts-Miller, another native Hawaiian, "had that sensibility, and could bring that contemporary look to Hawaiiana," McManus says. "She really pulled it off for us. It's really rare to win the top two, and we were competing against the big guns. We were the little project that could."

McManus's firm had acquired the 10-acre property in March 2004; construction soon followed and by spring 2005 Phase One's first lot of 88 units had been snapped up. "We recycle properties," McManus explains, "and reposition them for another use that's not currently being served in the area. That was true of 'Aina Nalu. We loved the architectural tradition of Lahaina. That's where Marion came in, and she saw that this could be completely reworked within that tradition."

"It was taken down to the studs," Philpotts-Miller recalls of the old version of the Outrigger. "We removed it all including the plumbing, the whole thing, with the exception of some existing jalousie windows." Final build-out was in 2007, and by then every unit had been sold.

Naturally, those diminutive 490 units quickly became a thing of the past; as befitting a modern condo-hotel the number of units was drastically reduced to 190 units, all with kitchens, flat-screen TVs and wireless Internet. Other than a few dozen 250-square-foot studios and 550-square-foot one-bedrooms, 'Aina Nalu is all about ample two-bedroom/two bathroom apartments large enough for families. There are 165 of them and they clock in at 850 square feet.

Originally, the studios and one-bedrooms fetched $275,000 and $425,000, respectively, while the larger units sold for $550,000 and up. Owners were required to accept Philpotts-Miller's interior design package; most participate in the Outrigger hotel rental pool. Guests can take advantage of Expedia's concierge service to book lüaus, snorkeling and whale watching trips, as well as hiking, fishing, and mountain biking excursions.

The resort's top-tier construction and modern amenities are now informed by an authentically Hawaiian hale vibe. To cite the most prominent example of this return to roots, the formerly nondescript reception building has been transformed into a dramatic, open-air pavilion surfaced with heavily waxed basalt tile. With so much of Hawaii under redevelopment, air-conditioning “is a big topic," according to McManus, referring to the ‘70s and ‘80s high-rise condo style as "indoor cooling machine."

At this point, there is an emerging desire "to open up the walls and bring the outside in," he says, "and that's hopefully the direction that we're moving towards."

Fittingly, Philpotts-Miller has chosen to announce 'Aina Nalu's "green" lobby with an imposing, cast-concrete fire bowl—"instead of those predictable tiki torches"—at the property entrance. Polynesian tapa barkcloth is used throughout the lobby and lounges, serving as both wall decoration and for lampshades. "It's economical, references our host culture, and it was something I could use in large scale," Philpotts-Miller explains.

In the living spaces, rich, solid tones hold sway. The previous property's cliched tropical pastels have been jettisoned in favor of earth-toned fabrics and dark woods, for high contrast. Diamond-shaped weights, what Philpotts-Miller calls "contemporary, yet a nod to yesteryear," allow the raising and lowering of the sleek dual light fixtures that hang above the kitchen pass-thru. For those who choose to use said kitchen lightly, the restaurants of Lahaina are so close that owners and guests of 'Aina Nalu don't even need a car. "Guests enjoy being able to walk a block for a glass of wine and they're on the water," McManus says. 

"Lahaina is this very congested town, with this density," Philpotts-Miller observes, "and that's what makes 'Aina Nalu such an interesting property. It's this garden oasis." A free-form pool from the earlier hotel remains, but both developer and designer agree that the property's new 30-by-60-foot tension-edge pool, surfaced with puka lava mined from the Big Island, epitomizes 'Aina Nalu's sense of serenity. McManus calls the clean, floating rectangle "a canvas" for reflecting sunsets and fire features. Philpotts-Miller praises the pool's "respectful tone," as it is surrounded by Balinese daybeds and a wide, grassy border. "It's such a departure, really high-end."

The designer likes to joke that the pool pavilion "was conceived on a cocktail napkin," but it is one of the property's most roundly praised features. Even the pavilion's ceilings—with their herringbone-style amazulu ceilings that refer to indigenous thatched roofs—and its restrooms, featuring square Kohler sinks, black granite counters, and ivory split-face stone walls, are arrestingly beautiful. But the pavilion also earns high marks for its functionality.

When asked how a homeowner concerned about upkeep might borrow ideas from this indoor/outdoor space, the designer points to the "user-friendly" concrete floors, the ease of cleaning the wainscoted walls, and the comfortable furniture. The teak daybeds and ergonomically designed "lazy chairs" are indeed both sculptural and inviting. Guests of the resort are hereby reminded to sketch on their own cocktail napkins and study them on their overseas flights back to home base, as backyard nirvana is now a tad more accessible.