Imagine a cocktail created from a bespoke Maui rum with a hint of locally grown macadamia nuts and a twist of a glorious sunset. Or almost exclusively Hawaiian-grown, Maui-made vodka with local lilikoi juice and an order of sushi crafted with fish from the waters surrounding the island. The Fairmont Kea Lani’s staff at their newest lounge, Pilina, is ready to take you on a one-of-a-kind epicurean excursion of almost exclusively Hawaiian-grown or produced menu, from sips to bites.

The masterminds behind the revamped lounge scrapped anything they’d seen or experienced when reinventing this open-air space in the newly renovated lobby. Pilina’s recent opening is the finale of the Fairmont Kea Lani’s extensive, multi-year transformation project. Pilina, meaning relationship or connection in Hawaiian, replaces long-time favorite Luana and now offers the ultimate Maui-centric sensory experience. “We didn’t want to revamp Luana lounge. We wanted it to finish its time and create something new,” says Pilina General Manager Cameron Hall. The newness begins the second you walk into the resort. “It feels like a different lobby—it’s super open. You get bright light. The inspiration was the ahupuaʻa (a swath of land and community that reaches from mountain to sea) with beautiful water features around pillars representing the water coming from the land above and flowing to the ocean. The people coming here for years are blown away by it.”

The new offerings at Pilina will also leave you in awe, according to Hall. He had free rein from upper management to turn his visions for Pilina into reality. “During the concept stage, I traveled around the Islands to build connections with the people providing our products, so I have a personal connection to the products. My connection allows me to be proud of sharing these ingredients. I know they’re made in the right way. Sometimes, companies hide that they’re cutting corners. But doing the background research showed me the purveyors we’re working with are doing everything right.” The result is food and drink that you might never have seen on any menu in Maui, or all Hawaiʻi for that matter.

Hall admits Pilina had to keep a couple of old-school drinks on the menu, like the Mai Tai (albeit with a twist), but the rest is all new-school: Drinks, such as Red-Stained Fingertips and Volcano House, contain ingredients as delicious sounding as they are to sip and are created without precedent. One favorite is called Mauka, meaning toward the mountains. “We serve elevated, contemporary cocktails with great Hawaiian ingredients,” Hall explains. “Usually, when you see mauka on a menu, it refers to food from land-based animals—venison, something like that. I worked with [resident Hawaiian Cultural Ambassador] Kamahiwa Kawaʻa to present ingredients differently. We did a lot of research. The ʻōhiʻa lehua is the most predominant tree on the island, and it grows at high altitudes. We found the honey from it to form the basis of this cocktail.” Five Maui distillers produce base liquors for Pilina’s creative libations. Even the beer is unique, with Maui Brewery creating Pilina beer golden ale.

The food is elegantly casual, with categories of sushi, raw and slightly cooked, and hot stone. “The hot stone was a way for us to allow connectivity through food—connecting people at a table. We thought, ‘How do we get people interacting at the table?’ We have a big outdoor oven to heat our stones. They’re five or six inches wide. When someone orders it, it comes to the middle of the table. They order protein, and we provide a taro pancake. We wanted to do Hawaiian ingredients justice without throwing culture in people’s faces … to authentically use the ingredients with little touches here and there of the culture as well.”

Set amid some of the most stunning acreage in Maui, Pilina and its staff are eager to showcase their unique offerings. Cameron Hall guarantees it. “I’ve managed to be lucky, getting a team of people who are incredibly excited about the concept, and then the team shares the concept with the guests. What’s a great cocktail or meal without great service? Having a team that shares the passion as much as I do is probably the most rewarding part.”

Pilina opens at 11:00 a.m. and serves lunch, dinner and drinks seven days a week. It also features live music five nights a week from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Visit pilinamaui.com for more information.