Tom Cruise: Starring Role in Secret Hawaii Island, Lanai

Far from being a casual visitor to Lanai, Tom Cruise is closely connected to “The Company” as it is called locally.

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46 thoughts on “Tom Cruise: Starring Role in Secret Hawaii Island, Lanai”

    1. Hi Kyle.

      Thanks. We appreciate the feedback and all of your comments over the last 2 ½1/2 years.

      Aloha.

      1
  1. Thank you, BOH, for this article on Lanai. Lanai is our favorite Hawaii island and we have been fortunate to visit there twice – for our 45th wedding anniversary in 2014 and for our 50th anniversary in 2019. In 2014, we stayed at the resort at Koele which has since been remodeled as a spa experience. In 2019, we stayed at the Four Seasons Resort at Manele. Our experiences at both resorts were beyond our expectations. The local people we met were kind and gracious and radiated a pride in their island home. We are definitely not “famous” like the people mentioned in your article, but we were always welcomed wherever we went. My husband and I love Lanai. For us, it is paradise. Thanks for reading.

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  2. Aloha! I live on Lanai. A desal plant was not built. It was turned down by the Lanai Planning Commission. Although not publicly stated, the members thought it would eventually increase the population on the island. Tom Cruise no longer has desires to build here although it’s rumored Elon Musk does.

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    1. The desal plant wasn’t “turned down”. The commission gave him a shorter time frame than he asked for, and he used that as an excuse to back out.

      1
    2. Correct!
      I understand from corporate, and hopefully I correct, that the 30 year permit to operate was denied- and 3 five year permits were approved- so- 15 years with County of Maui a right to pull the permit every 5 years-
      So- ….”you wait for the board of supervisors/commissioners to turn, and try again in the future”

  3. I’ve lived on Lanai for 30 years. Ellison has not built a (much needed) desalination plant. He promised one, then reneged. Unfortunately.

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  4. Ahhhhhh….I remember the days when…..We used to to to Lanai from out home on Maui, for every special celebration, anniversary, birthday, etc. It was just the best. even camped there at the beach a time or two. it was under $200 a night for kamaaina at the beach hotel. Now over $2000. No discount even tho we dont take his airplane but use the ferry. The local business are not flourishing from what we could see last year when we bit the big bullet and stayed at Sensi. The hotels remodeled – Sensi is beautiful but looks like a big “Pottery Barn”. Manelee bay hotel has lost all it’s comfy charm. $20 to take the bus unless you are hotel guest. Just not friendly to locals at all. very sad very sad…to lose a place so dear to us.

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  5. Tome Cruise is a member and promoter of the cult Scientology which has been known to kidnap people against their will.

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  6. Visiting Lanai is out of reach for most of us, most especially us residents. Perhaps you should read the article from Bloomberg least week. Ellison has set up businesses to compete with those owned by locals, priced the hotel for the White Lotus crowd, stripped resident housing leases down to 30 days, and filled what there is for rentals with workers and laborers for his company. The one home for sale was 7.9 mill. Who will care for the visitors when residents can’t live there? Will they travel with their private entourages? Ellison did to Lanai what he does to everything else…ruin it for everyone that is not his billionaire friend.

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    1. Many, many current residents cannot afford, literally, to leave the island. Where would they go If they had the funds to even move o off the island. So very many are captives on Lanai and, yes, those are the people who will continue to serve the filthy rich. Trust me, I know, from personal experience.

  7. We stayed at the resort by the bay and had a wonderful, brief stay. The upside was superior surface and we thought restaurants we great. We flew onto the island and check in at the resort table at the airport. They took care of bags and we boarded the bus to the resort. We were greeted by a personal concierge who arranged our dining. We went into “town” a couple of times and enjoyed talking to people. I swam with the wild dolphins off the beach. The downside, we felt a lot like we were out of our element, not mistreated by anyone, but there was more wealth floating around then we were comfortable with; we have made 55 trips to the islands since 99, and the only time it felt this way. We’ve stayed at the Four Seasons on the Big Island too.

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  8. Aloha BOH,
    Very interesting article – than you ! I first visited Lanai in 1978 while aboard the Trilogy.. was so impressed with the beauty, the people and the beaches.. we took a tour of Lanai town and met some of the kindest local people we’ve ever encountered throughout the islands. Will be interested in hearing your thoughts after your stay.
    Mahalo
    Cheryl

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