I have booked my honeymoon ath the end of May with Classic Vacations through my travel agent.We are doing
Kuaui - 4 nights- hyatt-deluxe ocean view
with a jeep
Maui - 5 nights- Kea lani - ocean view
with a jeep
Oahu - 2 nights - Halekulani- terrace view
Any changes I should make, recommendations?
I wasn't sure if I should have booked the four seasons in Maui. Please help. How is Classic vacation packages?

Hi, there. I'll at hawaii for my honeymoon too but in early may. I suggest that you make only 2 isles, because you don't have much time. Instead you only be for 2 nights at Oahu. My honeymoon it'll be my first trip to hawaii so I don't know about hotels.
Bye.

I've booked with Classic Vacations on 3 separate occasions, and I've been happy everytime. You've picked really nice hotels. I do, however, recommend only 2 islands, because you lose a day traveling even though the islands are close together, because you have to check out of one hotel 11 a.m.'ish and
then can't check into the other one usually until 3 p.m., and all that, so at a minimum, you'll lose a half day.
Therefore, if you can possibly do it, I'd recommend ONLY TWO ISLANDS MAX!!!

The Kea Lani Resort is a great resort! You say you are staying at the Kea Lani five nights, although did you get the fifth night free?

By the way if you want to view the resort further you can actually contact the resort like I did and request a interactive CD-ROM, which gives you a virtual tour of the entire property as well as some of the attractions.

Enjoy your trip!

Hi Kathy,

This past September, my husband and I traveled to Hawaii for our honeymoon and booked with Classic Vacations, as well. Don't listen to the others...do the three islands!!

Originally, our itinerary was to visit only two islands; Oahu and Maui. This was my third trip to Hawaii and my husband's first. In Oahu, we stayed at the Hyatt for four nights and in Maui, we stayed at the Renaissance in Wailea for five nights. (We originally had reservations at the Ritz-Carlton in Kapalua; however, service was horrendous. They put us in a twin bed room and the rooms were infested with ants). The Renaissance was perfect, very casual and not too pretentious. However, we felt that our stay was too short, so we made reservations at the Hyatt in Kuaui for three nights. It was the perfect way to end a perfect getaway!! Classic Vacations were very accommodating! We had no problems in cancelling our reservations at the Ritz, and booking an additional trip to Kuaui.

Hi Kathy;
We've stayed at the Hyatt 3 times and I feel it's the nicest hotel in Hawaii. The staff is very accomodating and professional. Check out your room and it's location BEFORE you unpack. We have been put in the north forty and next to the public parking lot (very noisy at night) they are wonderful about changing your room if you are unhappy and we have ALWAYS had to change at least once. Our family is not a rush kind so we try to only do 1 island a vacation. When we've done more islands we never want to leave where we are to go on to the next place! Trust your instincts on how much to do based on your travel experience.
On Oahu we stayed at the Halekulani and it is absolutely wonderful, however, there isn't any Hawaiiana anywhere! I felt as it we could have been in a nice hotel in any tropical country. Also, every restaurant was very dressy and we did not have the clothes nor did my husband want to have to wear trousers to every meal. We did change hotels for those two reasons. Have a great trip!

Kathy

You have some great hotels selected and you will be happy in all...I agree that you may be doing too much island hopping but that is up to you...

Regarding the Hyatt. I stayed there this summer in a deluxe ocean view room and was frankly very disappointed ($495/night). First of all, all of the rooms (except the ones in Regency Club) are about the same...they are nice, but fairly standard upscale hotel rooms -- there is nothing particularly resorty about them (the bathrooms are very fancy, but the tub and the shower are one in the same). The biggest complaint I have is that ocean view is an overstatement...yes, you can see the ocean, but it if far far off in the distance. In my case the first room I was assigned (and I unpacked first!) was above a big lawn (full of teenagers playing touch football)...beyond the lawn was lots of landscaping and the ocean was beyond that...quite a distance away...I could not hear the ocean...I could hear the kids. The room was also a SERIOUS hike from the lobby and from the pool/beach area...it was closer to the spa.

The front desk was FAR from helpful about my request for a change (and there were several other people also requesting changes). They were not rude, just not helpful...it took two days of complaining to get moved...the second room had a better view (but it was much smaller - a different configuration because a different wing), but hardly deluxe ocean view by my previous Hawaii standards.

Based on the other posts to your message, it seems most people feel the need to change their room at the Hyatt...that tells you something about how they assign categories and how people expectations are set prior to arrival. It really felt like they knew the first room was sub-par, but that they keep pawning it off to newcommers and wait for people to complain and then give them the better rooms. At these prices I find that practice offensive.

The hotel is BEAUTIFUL, but it is all about the SPECTACULAR pools. I am more of a beach person, so although I appreciated the pools, I missed having a nice swimmable beach. I thought the Hyatt restaurants were OK, but not spectacular...you can do better off campus (Roy's and Pacific Cafe rule).

See Part 2

See Part ! (above)

...

At the KL, (regular) ocean view is off to the side...you do see the ocean but it is often across the adult pool...the deluxe ocean view rooms at KL are in front and afford a fuller view which you can enjoy from your bed as well as from the lanai.

Note that this hotel too, is not right on the beach, so there is lawn and landscaping between you and the ocean, but the full view (deluxe) is nicer.

The restaurants at KL are VERY good...although breakfast is a tad expensive for what you get. The location of KL, right in Wailea, allows you easy access to many other hotel restaurants and there is a new shopping center about 1/2 mile away, which has more places to eat and shop.

You definitely want a car on both Kauai and Maui. I'm not sure I would pay extra for a jeep or 4 wheel drive vehicle since the only place you might need it is driving back from Hana the "back" way. Otherwise you are OK with just a regular car.

Oahu is not my favorite island, but I have heard very positive things about the Halelulani (and have had drinks there -beautiful place)...Honolulu is a big city that happens to sit on a beach (not what I come to Hawaii to see)...do take the time to see the Arizona and the Cultural Center, but the island is a much more urban situation than your other hotel choices...Since I have already seen the attractions, now I only stop in HNL to make a connection if I cannot get a direct flight to Maui or Kauai.

I hope this ranting is somewhat helpful and congratulations on your wedding...have a great trip!

this paragraph should have been posted between parts 1 and 2... (Sorry!)

Regarding the Kea Lani...this is my FAVORITE hotel in all of Hawaii and I have stayed there 3 times in the last 3 years. The suite configuration is wonderful...wet bar with coffee maker and fridge, full living room with TV, CD, and VCR/DVD...nice (small) bedroom (also with TV) and a serious Hollywood bathroom. I did feel that the furnishings and carpet were in need of some updating the last time I was there. In addition both the LR and the BR have sliders to a full sized Lanai with a dining table and some other chairs...The KL also affords a beautiful sunset view (not so at the Hyatt).

Hi Kathy,

In my opinion, I highly recommend that you visit Oahu. By reading other responses, they disregard Oahu; however, I feel that to truly witness Hawaiian culture and experience the local flair, Oahu should not be ignored. I agree that Waikiki is overrated, but there are beautiful parts of Oahu, outside the Honolulu area, indulged with the culture and lifestyles of the Hawaiian people. I believe Oahu has kept their Hawaiian culture compared to Maui. Maui is such a fabricated island, overrun with transports from the "mainland" that cater only to tourists. Is it not one of the reasons people go away to experience and indulge the lifestyles of other cultures??? That's just my opinion...

Does anyone else have any suggestions on if I could call and request a specific part of the Hyatt Kuaui rooms? And which part

Good Morning Kathy --

I looked through my travel stuff to see if I had written down the Hyatt room numbers and I had not. But, the Hyatt deluxe ocean view room I didn't like was far to the right as you enter the hotel, down an elevator and then quite a long walk to the right...on the spa side. The deluxe ocean room I did like was more in the center of the building (to the left of the registration desk) with more of a center dead-on ocean view, but it was higher up...generally speaking the view is better the higher up you go (but the hotel is low rise)...aside from the kids on the lawn (see previous rantings), the room I didn't like was very nice and quiet (which might me nice for your honeymoon).

I did have the room numbers from Kea Lani...the deluxe ocean view rooms were on the 4th floor - 432 and 428 - both were full front view and very nice...again higher is better, but I don't think floors 5-6 were "non-smoking." The side (non-deluxe ocean view) was room 446, it was the same room/suite configuration and had a nice view of the ocean, but I liked the front view better (and would be willing to pay more for it).

Reagarding Oahu...I don't disagree with the poster who defended the island...once you get outside of the city, it is very beautiful and far less plastic and Disneyesque "perfect" than is the Wailea area of Maui or the Poipu area of Kauai. It really boils down to what you want on your vacation...I don't like dealing with HNL (it is big, loud and dirty, like all US cities) and I find in the resorts, I can just relax and tune out the real world...

Thank you all so much for your help. Hopefully I will call the Hyatt directly to find where the nice rooms are and request it directly. If anyone else has any suggestions please feel free to write down your comments.

Hi Kathy, I just booked our July Hawaii vacation with Classic and I was very pleased with the package price. We have stayed at the Kea Lani and generally liked it, however, in July we will be splurging on the Four Seasons. It just can't be beat! I agree that some areas of the Kea Lani are in need of some updating, mostly carpet in the rooms and especially in the hallways. The pool, spa and restaurants are great. If I stayed there again, I would probably get a full ocean view high up. Have fun!