July Maui Honeymoon Report!
Jul 28th, 2003 | 11:07 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 14
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July Maui Honeymoon Report!
Hi Everyone!
Just got back from a one week honeymoon in Maui. Words can?t do the trip justice, but we had an amazing time and the trip managed to EXCEED our expectations, particularly because of all the great tips and advice we received here! So a big MAHALO to all!
First, for background, my wife and I are in our late 20?s and from the midwest. We are definitely city-folk though and tend NOT to enjoy the outdoor-type activities many of our friends do. In any case, after many hours of deliberation we chose the Wailea area over Kapalua/Laihana mainly because we wanted the best weather possible. We also chose the four seasons over the fairmont and the grand wailea mainly because we wanted to be pampered and thought we should experience the legendary four seasons customer service for ourselves. We stayed in a mountain view room at the four seasons and also rented a car from Dollar.
HOTEL - The Four Seasons was absolutely amazing. The service there was impeccable and they managed to exceed our expectations. I did not believe some people's reports of employees remembering your name throughout your stay, but this happened to us on multiple occasions. The room itself was much larger than we anticipated (600 sq. ft) and the bathrooms truly were something to behold. Two CONS to this room, as the 4S is built in a U shape, the rooms are at the back of the hotel and the walk from the elevators is a solid five minutes. Not a huge deal, but something we did notice on occasion. Another downside was the view. Don't think of a pretty garden or mountain, you're really looking at basically the back street that leads into the hotel. Again though, for us, not a big deal.
All in all, we visited the Fairmont and the Grand Wailea and were happy with our decision. We thought the descriptions of these three hotels in this forum and in Maui Revealed were right on. Over than the legendary service, another huge benefit to the 4S was all the complimentary activities available. They truly do not nickel and dime you. Cabanas are free (although you do need to go early to reserve one), valet parking is free, snorkeling equipment is free for one hour each day as are a ton of fitness/exercise classes. It probably does come down to personal choice though.
CAR - We rented an economy car from Dollar for a total of $177 for the week. Not a bad price and everything was fine with the car (dodge neon). One surprise, gas is about $2.30/gallon, yikes!
ACTIVITIES - For activities, other than taking advantage of everything the hotel had to offer (snorkeling, kayaking, spa), we went to Warren and Annabelle's magic show and also visited the Feast of Lele. First, Warren's was so much FUN! I would highly recommend it to anyone as something you should not miss. Warren is a slight of hand magician, which means that he performs everything up close. The theater is small and there is really not a bad seat in the house (maybe 70 people total?). What makes his show great though is his sense of humor. We were laughing pretty much the whole way through while also being amazed at all of his tricks. One local at the show was on his FIFTH show and we considered going again before we left! Good for all ages and families (about half the audience were honeymooners), don't miss it!
Okay, the Feast of Lele was billed as the best tasting of all the luaus available. As my wife and I are BIG fans of great food, this seemed like the obvious choice. Overall, the show was great, but the food was only slightly above average. On the other hand though I guess you can't expect that much from a luau. One thing, the Old Laihana Luau (billed as the best luau on the island by Maui Revealed) does NOT have the fire dancers as that is from Samoa. However, personally I would not want to miss out on that. I thought the fire dancers at Feast of Lele were the best part of the show. Anyhow, we're glad we went because you have to do a luau in Hawaii, but we wouldn?t go again. Or if we had to do it over again, we'd pick a less expensive luau and focus mainly on the quality of the show as opposed to the food.
FOOD - Okay, the best part. First off, Maui Revealed does a very good job at identifying some of the can't miss restaurants. But we found that our concierge also had some recommendations of smaller places that Maui Revealed either missed or simply didn't have the time for. Here's a quick review of the restaurants we visited:
Sushi paradise, Saigon café, Mama's fish house, Peggy Sue's, Longhi's, Spago's, Ferraro's, General Store, Sansei
As you can tell from the list, we LOVE asian food, particularly SUSHI. Initially, we were reluctant to try Spago's and Nick's Fishmarket because we have those restaurants in Chicago. But, I'm SO glad we made it to Spago?s because that ended up being our favorite of the bunch! Absolutely amazing food, particularly if you like asian inspired yet very creative dishes. Our favorite dish was an appetizer of tuna sashimi in these sesame cones, WOW!
Closely following Spago's was Sansei's. This sushi restaurant lived up to billing. One interesting thing, we found that in general, the tuna in Maui was absolutely mind-boggling (like "chocolate" according to my wife), but the salmon while very good was only marginally better than what we've had in Chicago. In any case, Sansei is definitely the "in" restaurant on Maui right now and the wait it ridiculous if you don't have a reservation.
Biggest disappointment was easily Mama's Fish house. After all the raving here, perhaps our expectations were too high, but we went there for lunch and were thoroughly disappointed. Ordered the 'trio' appetizer plate along with two entrees and thought the dishes were bland, lacking creativity, and perhaps worst of all my wife thought my dish tasted "like chicken?!" Again, perhaps our expectations were too high. But particularly for $100 a meal, I expected a lot more and would recommend spending your money elsewhere.
OVERALL - AMAZING! WE LOVE MAUI! My wife and I are already planning our trip back. There's just something that happens on Maui that you can't describe. I am typically a person who cannot relax easily as I find it difficult to "turn my mind off". But within half a day of being in Maui, I could literally feel all the stress and tension leave my body. What a great experience, we can't wait to go back!
I almost forgot, our favorite tip? Getting a Safeway card and buying all our breakfast and snacks there! Saved a bundle which meant more $ for lunch and dinner!
Thanks again to all those who offered help and advice. We'd be happy to answer any questions! MAHALO!
Just got back from a one week honeymoon in Maui. Words can?t do the trip justice, but we had an amazing time and the trip managed to EXCEED our expectations, particularly because of all the great tips and advice we received here! So a big MAHALO to all!
First, for background, my wife and I are in our late 20?s and from the midwest. We are definitely city-folk though and tend NOT to enjoy the outdoor-type activities many of our friends do. In any case, after many hours of deliberation we chose the Wailea area over Kapalua/Laihana mainly because we wanted the best weather possible. We also chose the four seasons over the fairmont and the grand wailea mainly because we wanted to be pampered and thought we should experience the legendary four seasons customer service for ourselves. We stayed in a mountain view room at the four seasons and also rented a car from Dollar.
HOTEL - The Four Seasons was absolutely amazing. The service there was impeccable and they managed to exceed our expectations. I did not believe some people's reports of employees remembering your name throughout your stay, but this happened to us on multiple occasions. The room itself was much larger than we anticipated (600 sq. ft) and the bathrooms truly were something to behold. Two CONS to this room, as the 4S is built in a U shape, the rooms are at the back of the hotel and the walk from the elevators is a solid five minutes. Not a huge deal, but something we did notice on occasion. Another downside was the view. Don't think of a pretty garden or mountain, you're really looking at basically the back street that leads into the hotel. Again though, for us, not a big deal.
All in all, we visited the Fairmont and the Grand Wailea and were happy with our decision. We thought the descriptions of these three hotels in this forum and in Maui Revealed were right on. Over than the legendary service, another huge benefit to the 4S was all the complimentary activities available. They truly do not nickel and dime you. Cabanas are free (although you do need to go early to reserve one), valet parking is free, snorkeling equipment is free for one hour each day as are a ton of fitness/exercise classes. It probably does come down to personal choice though.
CAR - We rented an economy car from Dollar for a total of $177 for the week. Not a bad price and everything was fine with the car (dodge neon). One surprise, gas is about $2.30/gallon, yikes!
ACTIVITIES - For activities, other than taking advantage of everything the hotel had to offer (snorkeling, kayaking, spa), we went to Warren and Annabelle's magic show and also visited the Feast of Lele. First, Warren's was so much FUN! I would highly recommend it to anyone as something you should not miss. Warren is a slight of hand magician, which means that he performs everything up close. The theater is small and there is really not a bad seat in the house (maybe 70 people total?). What makes his show great though is his sense of humor. We were laughing pretty much the whole way through while also being amazed at all of his tricks. One local at the show was on his FIFTH show and we considered going again before we left! Good for all ages and families (about half the audience were honeymooners), don't miss it!
Okay, the Feast of Lele was billed as the best tasting of all the luaus available. As my wife and I are BIG fans of great food, this seemed like the obvious choice. Overall, the show was great, but the food was only slightly above average. On the other hand though I guess you can't expect that much from a luau. One thing, the Old Laihana Luau (billed as the best luau on the island by Maui Revealed) does NOT have the fire dancers as that is from Samoa. However, personally I would not want to miss out on that. I thought the fire dancers at Feast of Lele were the best part of the show. Anyhow, we're glad we went because you have to do a luau in Hawaii, but we wouldn?t go again. Or if we had to do it over again, we'd pick a less expensive luau and focus mainly on the quality of the show as opposed to the food.
FOOD - Okay, the best part. First off, Maui Revealed does a very good job at identifying some of the can't miss restaurants. But we found that our concierge also had some recommendations of smaller places that Maui Revealed either missed or simply didn't have the time for. Here's a quick review of the restaurants we visited:
Sushi paradise, Saigon café, Mama's fish house, Peggy Sue's, Longhi's, Spago's, Ferraro's, General Store, Sansei
As you can tell from the list, we LOVE asian food, particularly SUSHI. Initially, we were reluctant to try Spago's and Nick's Fishmarket because we have those restaurants in Chicago. But, I'm SO glad we made it to Spago?s because that ended up being our favorite of the bunch! Absolutely amazing food, particularly if you like asian inspired yet very creative dishes. Our favorite dish was an appetizer of tuna sashimi in these sesame cones, WOW!
Closely following Spago's was Sansei's. This sushi restaurant lived up to billing. One interesting thing, we found that in general, the tuna in Maui was absolutely mind-boggling (like "chocolate" according to my wife), but the salmon while very good was only marginally better than what we've had in Chicago. In any case, Sansei is definitely the "in" restaurant on Maui right now and the wait it ridiculous if you don't have a reservation.
Biggest disappointment was easily Mama's Fish house. After all the raving here, perhaps our expectations were too high, but we went there for lunch and were thoroughly disappointed. Ordered the 'trio' appetizer plate along with two entrees and thought the dishes were bland, lacking creativity, and perhaps worst of all my wife thought my dish tasted "like chicken?!" Again, perhaps our expectations were too high. But particularly for $100 a meal, I expected a lot more and would recommend spending your money elsewhere.
OVERALL - AMAZING! WE LOVE MAUI! My wife and I are already planning our trip back. There's just something that happens on Maui that you can't describe. I am typically a person who cannot relax easily as I find it difficult to "turn my mind off". But within half a day of being in Maui, I could literally feel all the stress and tension leave my body. What a great experience, we can't wait to go back!
I almost forgot, our favorite tip? Getting a Safeway card and buying all our breakfast and snacks there! Saved a bundle which meant more $ for lunch and dinner!
Thanks again to all those who offered help and advice. We'd be happy to answer any questions! MAHALO!
Jul 29th, 2003 | 01:17 PM
#5
Original Poster
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 14
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Thanks GinnyG! It's easy to write about such a beautiful place!
Dneilp, in response to your question the gardenview and moutainview room are the same. They are located at the back of the hotel, on the 6th and 7th floor. We did ask for an upgrade, but unfortunately we didn't get one. 4S was really nice about us asking though, in fact, they suggested we ask to be put on the waiting list in case something opened up during our stay. After we asked, the front desk left a message once a day giving us an update on our request. We didn't get it, but we weren't disappointed. The room is beautiful and my wife wanted to bring the bathroom back with us!
Dneilp, in response to your question the gardenview and moutainview room are the same. They are located at the back of the hotel, on the 6th and 7th floor. We did ask for an upgrade, but unfortunately we didn't get one. 4S was really nice about us asking though, in fact, they suggested we ask to be put on the waiting list in case something opened up during our stay. After we asked, the front desk left a message once a day giving us an update on our request. We didn't get it, but we weren't disappointed. The room is beautiful and my wife wanted to bring the bathroom back with us!
Jul 29th, 2003 | 01:22 PM
#6
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Dneilp, Opps! Just double-checked the 4S website and the gardenview and mountainview room are NOT the same. The gardenview rooms are on the 3rd and fourth floors. My guess though is the rooms are the same size and in the same location (still a bit of a walk). Sorry about that! Let me know if you have any other questions!
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