Maui Honeymoon... need advice???
 

I think we've finally decided to have our Honeymoon in Maui ( Jan 2004 ). Most likely we'll be staying at the Kapalua Bay Hotel. It's going to be our first time in Hawaii so I am hoping that I don't miss the must see, and must do on the island. Anyone have ideas, experiences, tips ??? Thank you...

Are you positive you want to be in Kapalua in January? I'd just hate to have you come to Maui for the first time, on your honeymoon, and have it rain the entire time. Not saying that's what will happen but chances are better of that in Kapalua than in Kaanapali or south Maui. If that doesn't bother you.... great! It's on the northern end of the island and a little out farther away from things. But it is a beautiful area with some great beaches. Just thinking for someone's first time here, I wouldn't necessarily recommend Kapalua. JUST THE AREA. Not saying anything bad about the Kapalua Bay Hotel.....nice place.

I have been reading some complaints about the weather around that area. Thanks for the concern. There are 2 reasons why we decided on it. The first, it's one of Starwood's properties and I am a member. Second, it's listed as a 5 star hotel, and it may be the only 5 star resort on this island that we got a good deal on. We're planning to just drive and visit the other areas. Both of us are not sun tan lovers anyway. We do want to experience snorkeling, and I heard that Kapalua has a nice beach for that activity. What do you think? Do you have any suggestions on where to stay?

Just spent a few days at the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua and saw your proposed hotel - it was just gorgeous and the glassed-in lobby area was wonderful. The beach looked great too, I did see a few snorklers.
I agree with Kolohegirl's concern on the weather in Jan. but if you are not planning to spend lots of time at the pool or on the beach sunning, you should be fine. Even in August, there were a few flash rainstorms and lots of wind in the Kapalua area. But to me that gives it more diversity - as opposed to the drier side of the island.

We drove a ways north on highway 30 (the main road that Kapalua branches off of) and there are a few supposedly great snorkling spots along there plus beautiful views. Once you hit the one-way road it gets a bit scary though. As for dining, there are a few great places right nearby Kapalua (Banyan Tree at the Ritz and the Plantation House) and you are not a far drive from Lahaina, where David Paul's is wonderful and there are also numerous less expensive options. And for a great cheap lunch you can't beat Maui Tacos.

do a helicopter trip to Molokai
boat trip to Lanai
road to Hana and take the dirt road part home
bike down the crater

Hi boogie. If you're getting a good deal on the Kapalua Bay Hotel...go for it. The hotel is beautiful and the staff is wonderful (I used to work there!). Doesn't sound to me like you're going to let rain ruin your vacation/honeymoon, so I'd stick with the Kapalua Bay Hotel.
Yes, there are some good snorkeling spots up in the Kapalua area...Kapalua, Napili and Honolua Bays. But there are great spots all over the island too. Try Black Rock (the beach fronting the Sheraton Kaanapali), Kahekili Beach (also known as Airport beach), mile marker 14 just south of Lahaina town (you'll see all the cars parked on the side of the road)Ulua and Keawakapu beaches in Wailea, Maluaka beach (fronting the Maui Prince in Makena) and La Perouse Bay (at the end of the road in south Maui). You'll need to have other places to snorkel because if it rains in Kapalua, this will affect visibility in the water and there are plenny times when it rains in Kapalua but south Maui is completely dry!
You will definetly need to drive to see other areas of the island, as Kapalua is a ways from things. You're a good hours drive to Kahului and the airport. Also an hour to the Wailea area. About 20 minutes away from Lahaina. But it's a gorgeous drive!
Have a wonderful honeymoon!

Thank you for the tips on places to go... we only have 5 days to roam around... so I guess we better plan things accurately or should I say use our time wisely...

Just to address the 5 star hotel rating issue, I would point out that while people may quibble about what constitutes a 5 star hotel, the Kapalua Bay Hotel was not one of the top 25 hotels in Hawaii in 2002, and just made the top 15 in 2003 in the Conde Nast Traveler rankings comprised of ratings from actual travellers.
If you can get it with points and save some $$ then the value factor may be an important advantage. Hawaiian resorts aren't cheap during winter.

We are big fans of the Kapalua Bay Hotel and it's fantastic beach(great and very easy snorkeling--it is one of our favorites in all of our travels). That being said, I don't believe that it qualifies as a true 5*, it's very nice, but I don't want you to set yourself up for a letdown. It is what it is---a great hotel-- but not really a 5*. JMHO

boogie7,

As to must sees and must dos on Maui, I think it would be best for you to check out Fodor's suggested 5-day itinerary, which you can access from the homepage. Also strongly consider getting the book Maui Revealed...an oft-mentioned resource here. See the beaches, activities and sites available on Maui; then choose among the ones that interest you the most.

Without knowing anything about you, very few of us would venture to list out "must sees" and "must dos" for you (other than see the whales in January). We wouldn't want to set you up for disappointments due to high expectations. Nonetheless, I wish you a joyous wedding and a fantastic HM on Maui!

Oops. I meant "read about" the beaches, activities and sites...NOT "see." Obviously, you won't be able to see them before you get there.

Thank you for all the tips. I will certainly look into those references. I am also assuming that Kapalua Bay Hotel is more romantic than the Kanapali area?

Have you considered the Four Seasons Wailea and/or staying a few nights at the Hotel Hana Maui? That is what we did this summer, and the contrast between the two places is what made our Maui experience so memorable . They are both luxurious and romantic in a very different way. The Four Seasons is an incredible full-scale luxury resort in the dry and reliably sunny area of Wailea, while the Hotel Hana is on the much more secluded rainforest side of Maui and has the feel of old Hawaii. The road to Hana is so beautiful, and if you stay there a night or two, you don't feel at all rushed. The Kapalua area is also very beautiful, but the weather can be EXTREMELY variable, with lots of wind and rain possible. It is also far from everything else on Maui except for Lahaina and Kaanapali, which are my least favorite places on Maui. Too junky and overcrowded. The Four Seasons Wailea deserves its reputation as one of the world's top resorts. It's gorgeous and elegant without being stuffy. The service and food are absolutely the very best. They also don't charge extra for parking or cabanas, etc. like most of the other resorts. Good luck with your plans!

Should I also consider Outrigger Wailea, compared to Kapalua Bay Hotel???

Boogie7,

I just stayed at the Kapalua Villas in early August. We had a great time. I could definitely see why people have told you that Kapalua is a more romantic setting than Kaanipali. As for the weather, we didn't have a problem. The only time it rained on us, we were at the KBH pool area at night. We ducked under an umbrella, and it was over really quickly.

Someone mentioned that the Plantation House was good (part of the Ritz). We went and didn't love it for the price. The views were spectacular though.

We did go snorkeling on Kapalua Beach and had a blast. It is very calm water with great underwater life. We also went to Molokini, but we had just as great an experience at Kapalua. If you drive north on 30 a bit, Honolua Bay is supposed to have outrageous snorkeling. We didn't have time to go but really wanted to. We talked to one couple that saw an octopus and a turtle while snorkeling at Slaughterhouse Beach as well.

If you get the Maui Revealed book (I highly recommend), it tells you a million things you can do north on Highway 30. The Nakele Blowhole is a site to see. The Olivine Pools are supposed to fun, too.

We went to Napili Shores one day. It's very close to KBH. The restaurant in the back of the place is called the Gazebo. It has famous macadamia nut pancakes. We really liked them. You might have to wait a while in line, but we thought it was worth it. Really cute little place.

I think your location is great. We spent the majority of our time near Kapalua, Kaanipali, and in Lahaina anyway. We never saw Wailea but would like to in the future.

Hope that helps! Have a great honeymoon!

I just read that KBH has a stay at one, stay at all plan with the Sheraton Maui and Westin Maui. If it is raining on Kapalua, I think if you head over to one of those places it won't be raining.

romance-
i just want to assure you that for romance, the isolated kapalua is the only choice (apart from the isolated hana maui) on maui. the hotels in kaanapalia are chock a block on top of each other one after the other. ditto the hotels in wailea. you made a great, great choice.
as for 5 * ratings, there is a hotel association and they offer a ratings criteria by which all the hotels are judged.
as a former travel publisher, i would not trust the opinions of the randomly selected readers or comped for their rooms editors of any travel pub lications, just carefully read between the lines of guide book reviews and trust your instincts of what you prefer.
if you prefer understated elegance and rockresort charm to high rise hotels and tour groups, you will prefer kapalua to kaanapali and wailea.

"having worked for"
a former travel publisher. i am not a publisher! woops sorry for confusion! :)

Hotandsweaty, what is the name of the hotel association that offers a ratings criterai by which all hotesl are judged? I was under the impression that there were almost as many rating systems as there are hotels, so that the star ratings become almost meaningless. I was not aware of one standard system that applies to all hotels.

We stayed at the KBH in May and thought it was wonderful! Very quaint, old-hawaiian feel to it...sooooooooo romantic! We wanted a *nice* hotel, but the Ritz and 4S are not our bag...it was more important *to us* to have that feeling of being in Hawaii (and KBH was right on) rather than the most well-appointed rooms and fancy atmosphere. The rooms at KBH seem to be what everyone gripes about...it's true, they aren't as snazzy as some true luxury resorts, but this did not bother us. If you feel it will ruin your honeymoon, then this is not the place for you. I still remember the moment we checked in...we were shown to our room and soothing Hawaiian tunes (coming from the bed side cd player) and cool breeze greeted us. I fell instantly in love and into relaxation mode. The room was spacious, as was the lanai and bathroom...and totally fit our needs. Yes, the rooms could use a little refurbishing...but the pros of this hotel far outweighed the cons. Service was excellent as well! We received wonderful personal attention especially from the chef whom I contacted by email before we left. He set up all our dinner resies (at the hotel as well as other places around Maui) - we always had the best tables! You can't ask for a more romantic, gorgeous, and peaceful setting...

And like a previous poster suggested, you can always visit the Westin or Sheraton Kaanapali if the weather is that bad. We took advantage of the plan..we're happy to see the sun and enjoy delicious coconut calamari at the Hula Grill, however, the crowds and kids made us quickly return to our little slice of heaven.

We are in our late 20's and although this was not our honeymoon, it felt like it. We spent 5 wonderful days on Maui and 5 on Kauai. On both islands we struck a nice balance between relaxation and adventure.

On Maui, we did sunrise on Haleakala (had breakfast at the Kula Lodge), The Road to Hana (late afternoon pupus at Mama's Fish House), did a lot of beaching/lanai lounging, drank more than our share of mai-tais, visited the Westin/Kaanapali Beach, and went to the Feast at Lele - which was awesome!

I knew we wouldn't be able to see and do everything. In fact, we ditched some of our plans when we were just content being at the hotel and gazing at Molokai across the channel. I guess we'll just have to go back to see the rest. ;-)

Aloha!