Maui/Kauai Wedding Trip Report Part 1
Jul 7th, 2004 | 03:06 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 43
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Maui/Kauai Wedding Trip Report Part 1
Hello,
First of all i would like to say thank you to everyone that helped me. I have been posting here and there on this board for the last 6 months to plan my wedding in Maui and we just got back on the 3rd. It was wonderful!
My last post was a poll to all of you, asking about beachy songs (songs that remind you of hawaii/the beach). After the poll, I made a cd full of "beachy" songs and mailed it out to my wedding guests about 2 weeks before we all left so they would have something fun to listen to while they pack/prepare for the trip. It was a HUGE hit! Thank you all for your recommendations. The CD will always remind me of my wedding trip.
I will break this down for easier read:
SUMMARY:
We flew to Maui on June 18 for our wedding, scheduled June 24th. We had 20 guests join us for our intimate destination wedding and we loved the whole experience from beginning to end! It was the best time in my life!
RENTAL CAR:
Ordered a Sebring Convertible from National with no problems. They were pretty laid back about minor scratches/dings/etc when we picked up the car, but now we know why. Those rental cars take a beating in Hawaii! Wow! We ordered directly from their website, can't remember the price but I think it was average.
COSTCO:
Yes, it is worth it to stop and we didn't even stay in a condo. We bought two crates of bottled water, jerky, Power Bars, granola, etc and it came in very handy throughout the trip. Another great find at Costco was a soft cooler. We bought it without much thought and REALLY used it throughout the trip. We brought our own water, Gatorade, etc everywhere we went. There is nothing like a cold beer on the beach while you are watching the sun go down
. The hotels did not mind at all that we brought some "supplies."
RENAISSANCE WAILEA:
Beautiful grounds and great location. We had a bumpy start, but once we got settled we were sad to leave. We stayed there from June 18-23rd and several of our guests stayed as well. We did not have the mold problem in our room that i have read about, but ironically, we did have another odor issue. Our room had a strong smell of onion when we walked in. We could not figure out what it was, but they were completly booked and did not have a room for us to change into. Needless to say, I had bridal anxiety issues and was not pleased. I can't tell you how strong it was! The next day, we discovered it was our TV cabinet! Someone must have ordered some food (Korean? Something strong with onion) and spilled it on the surface. Once we told the staff and they verified it (the housekeeper almost fell over when she put her nose to it), they were wonderful and moved a new TV cabinet in our room that day. I am not sure what they did with the "onion cabinet." We all were laughing about it, including the staff.
The staff at the Renaissance were so kind and the whole property had a laid back feel that made all of us feel "at home." (I WISH that was my home! ha ha). I recommend the property, especially at the Entertainment Card rate. I think we paid $220 a night for a garden view room. You could get a mountain view room for $180 a night with the card. Even though we had a garden view room, we actually had a view of the ocean from our lanai...Great Deal!!
My advice regarding the Renaissance..if you ever have any problems or concerns about your room, DO not hesitate to talk to the staff. They WILL help you if they can...they are extremely nice and accomodating. Oh yes, the Maui Onion Onion Rings ARE wonderful and so are the Lava Flows. The restaurant (Palm Court) in the Renaissance is good but a little pricy. The breakfast is also very good at the hotel (Palm Court). Bill Maher was at the hotel when we were there, with a different girl everytime we saw him. ha ha.
ROAD To HANA:
We did the Road to Hana on the 19th and it was wonderful. Having a convertible definetely added to the experience and I recommend having a convertible over a jeep because of the rain issue. There were times in Kauai that we wished we had a jeep though. We experienced a light shower (about 10 minutes) while doing the Road the Hana, and it was nice to put the top up quickly with a push of a button, rather than whatever you have to do with a jeep. We used Maui Revealed and stopped several times. Without the book, we would have missed everything. We saw the Lower and Upper Puohokamoa Falls (beautiful)and hiked down to the Upper Waikani Falls (Three Bears Falls) which was great. The waterfalls were flowing great, even though it was June. We went swimming in the cool, clear pond (?) with waterfalls falling all around us. I will never forget it.
We also visited/swam in Blue Pool and it was lovely. You hike along a beautiful beach to get there. Beautiful.
We then picked up some sandwiches and drove to Wai'anapanapa Black Sand Beach...another gorgous find that we would have never discovered unless we had Maui Revealed. We ate sandwiches and snuck a couple of cold beers...what a great lunch. Then we went swimming in the ocean and when we left, Eric bought me a fresh Plumeria lei at a local stand. It smelled incredible! We were so impressed that a lot of the fruit/flower stands on the road still utilize the "honor system"..no person, just a box for your money. We thought it was so lovely that there are still places in the world where this can happen.
I will continue this later..i am still a little jet lagged!
becca
First of all i would like to say thank you to everyone that helped me. I have been posting here and there on this board for the last 6 months to plan my wedding in Maui and we just got back on the 3rd. It was wonderful!
My last post was a poll to all of you, asking about beachy songs (songs that remind you of hawaii/the beach). After the poll, I made a cd full of "beachy" songs and mailed it out to my wedding guests about 2 weeks before we all left so they would have something fun to listen to while they pack/prepare for the trip. It was a HUGE hit! Thank you all for your recommendations. The CD will always remind me of my wedding trip.
I will break this down for easier read:
SUMMARY:
We flew to Maui on June 18 for our wedding, scheduled June 24th. We had 20 guests join us for our intimate destination wedding and we loved the whole experience from beginning to end! It was the best time in my life!
RENTAL CAR:
Ordered a Sebring Convertible from National with no problems. They were pretty laid back about minor scratches/dings/etc when we picked up the car, but now we know why. Those rental cars take a beating in Hawaii! Wow! We ordered directly from their website, can't remember the price but I think it was average.
COSTCO:
Yes, it is worth it to stop and we didn't even stay in a condo. We bought two crates of bottled water, jerky, Power Bars, granola, etc and it came in very handy throughout the trip. Another great find at Costco was a soft cooler. We bought it without much thought and REALLY used it throughout the trip. We brought our own water, Gatorade, etc everywhere we went. There is nothing like a cold beer on the beach while you are watching the sun go down
. The hotels did not mind at all that we brought some "supplies." RENAISSANCE WAILEA:
Beautiful grounds and great location. We had a bumpy start, but once we got settled we were sad to leave. We stayed there from June 18-23rd and several of our guests stayed as well. We did not have the mold problem in our room that i have read about, but ironically, we did have another odor issue. Our room had a strong smell of onion when we walked in. We could not figure out what it was, but they were completly booked and did not have a room for us to change into. Needless to say, I had bridal anxiety issues and was not pleased. I can't tell you how strong it was! The next day, we discovered it was our TV cabinet! Someone must have ordered some food (Korean? Something strong with onion) and spilled it on the surface. Once we told the staff and they verified it (the housekeeper almost fell over when she put her nose to it), they were wonderful and moved a new TV cabinet in our room that day. I am not sure what they did with the "onion cabinet." We all were laughing about it, including the staff.
The staff at the Renaissance were so kind and the whole property had a laid back feel that made all of us feel "at home." (I WISH that was my home! ha ha). I recommend the property, especially at the Entertainment Card rate. I think we paid $220 a night for a garden view room. You could get a mountain view room for $180 a night with the card. Even though we had a garden view room, we actually had a view of the ocean from our lanai...Great Deal!!
My advice regarding the Renaissance..if you ever have any problems or concerns about your room, DO not hesitate to talk to the staff. They WILL help you if they can...they are extremely nice and accomodating. Oh yes, the Maui Onion Onion Rings ARE wonderful and so are the Lava Flows. The restaurant (Palm Court) in the Renaissance is good but a little pricy. The breakfast is also very good at the hotel (Palm Court). Bill Maher was at the hotel when we were there, with a different girl everytime we saw him. ha ha.
ROAD To HANA:
We did the Road to Hana on the 19th and it was wonderful. Having a convertible definetely added to the experience and I recommend having a convertible over a jeep because of the rain issue. There were times in Kauai that we wished we had a jeep though. We experienced a light shower (about 10 minutes) while doing the Road the Hana, and it was nice to put the top up quickly with a push of a button, rather than whatever you have to do with a jeep. We used Maui Revealed and stopped several times. Without the book, we would have missed everything. We saw the Lower and Upper Puohokamoa Falls (beautiful)and hiked down to the Upper Waikani Falls (Three Bears Falls) which was great. The waterfalls were flowing great, even though it was June. We went swimming in the cool, clear pond (?) with waterfalls falling all around us. I will never forget it.
We also visited/swam in Blue Pool and it was lovely. You hike along a beautiful beach to get there. Beautiful.
We then picked up some sandwiches and drove to Wai'anapanapa Black Sand Beach...another gorgous find that we would have never discovered unless we had Maui Revealed. We ate sandwiches and snuck a couple of cold beers...what a great lunch. Then we went swimming in the ocean and when we left, Eric bought me a fresh Plumeria lei at a local stand. It smelled incredible! We were so impressed that a lot of the fruit/flower stands on the road still utilize the "honor system"..no person, just a box for your money. We thought it was so lovely that there are still places in the world where this can happen.
I will continue this later..i am still a little jet lagged!
becca
Jul 7th, 2004 | 06:47 PM
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
beccad71, you just stayed at my favorite resort ANYWHERE! (It has been sold and will become a W Resort/Hotel next year!
) You captured the mood there perfectly! It has it's own vibes, for sure............
And I love the Maui Onion and the breakfasts at Palm Court. Unfortunately, I won't get to go back before they do the changeover early next year!!!
So glad it was a wonderful wedding and honeymoon for you. My congratulations! Can hardly wait to hear the rest............
) You captured the mood there perfectly! It has it's own vibes, for sure............And I love the Maui Onion and the breakfasts at Palm Court. Unfortunately, I won't get to go back before they do the changeover early next year!!!
So glad it was a wonderful wedding and honeymoon for you. My congratulations! Can hardly wait to hear the rest............
