The Cliff House at Montage Kapalua Bay has a new summer swag

Weekends on Maui just got better.

Montage Kapalua Bay has opened its gorgeous Cliff House to the public from now through September 3. Normally a private dining and event venue, it’s turned into a pop-up bar and lounge called the Champagne Hale, featuring Veuve Clicquot champagnes.

Built in 1940 as a recreational facility for the managers of the Honolua Pineapple Plantation, the renovated, two-story cottage sits oceanfront at the edge of a cliff, serving up some of the most unforgettable sunsets in Hawaii.

Across the ocean on the other side of the Auau Channel, Lanai’s eastern coast arches and bends from the ocean. In Hawaiian, auau means “to bathe,” likely a reference to the channel’s calm waters, which happen to be a migratory destination for humpback whales. To the right of Lanai, on the far side of the Pailolo Channel, the jagged edge of Molokai can be seen jutting into the sky. A nod to the rough waters of the 8.5-mile channel, Pailolo is thought to mean “lifting” (pai) and “overflowing” (oloolo), and hosts the Pailolo Challenge—a 26-mile outrigger canoe course between DT Fleming Beach and Kaunakakai, Molokai—every September.

Order a glass of NV Rose and an order of Osetra caviar with Molokai sweet and Yukon gold potato gaufrettes, creme fraiche and chives. Or, pair a chilled glass of Yellow Label with oysters on the half shell with champagne mignonette and calamansi. Then let the scenery do the rest.

Open Thursday through Sunday 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. from now until September 3. 1 Bay Dr., Lahaina, (808) 662-6600, montagehotels.com/kapaluabay.