Maui Trip Report 12-10/17
Jan 5th, 2006 | 12:14 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 742
Likes: 0
Maui Trip Report 12-10/17
Trip reports are also a good way to save your travel memories, you can print them out and keep them!
This week in Maui was planned for our 30th anniversary, but our 19 year old Dear Daughter also came along as a needed break from college. It had been 7 years since just the 3 of us were in Hawaii, we had a great time.
Details:
Plane flight: LAX/OGG on ATA. I found a $383.00 bargain fare in October by spotting an ad in the L.A. Times. It only lasted a few days, I was very glad to get it for this close to Christmas.
Car: Budget with Costco discount, $167 for the week.
Lodging: One night at Hana Kai condo in Hana, $178.00 for a 1 BR w/sleeper sofa.
Sheraton Maui - $251.00 plus the resort fee (ugh!) by joining Starwood, we got upgraded to a nice oceanview in building 2.
Wailea Marriott - $269.00 for one night, but I had a certificate for the other 2 nights for free, w/breakfast.
Weather: 80-82, lows in the 60s, a bit too cool for morning snorkleling. Had 2 days of howling wind at Kaanapali, but more sunshine than we've ever seen in Hawaii, almost no clouds at all. The sea was very flat until our last day, the wind seemed to blow it flat.
We decided to split our time, 3 nights in Kaanapali and 3 in Wailea, with the very first night in Hana. Unpacking and changing hotels is for us no big deal, and we were glad not to have to drive each day up or down the coast.
After a flight with an unusual number of noisy babies, plus a kid in front of us who upchucked 3 or 4 times, we arrived around 2 p.m., Dear Husband got the car in record time while DD and I got the luggage, and we headed toward Hana under a FULL rainbow, ground to ground. We didn't stop much, saving all the waterfalls for another trip, and made it to the condo by dark, in about 2.5 hours. At that time of day, we had the road to ourselves! The condo at the Hana Kai was comfy and clean, a few teeny tiny ants in the kitchen, so what. It sits on a bouldery, rough water beach - no swimming here! Looks nice, though. Interesting spiders were spread about the grounds, cane spiders plus some little crablike ones that we only saw in the Hana area. They hang at just above face level and build larg webs - beware if you are tall! Dinner was appetisers at the Hotel Hana Maui, the place was deserted, just 2 other couples at the bar, no one in the dining room. This week before the big Christmas rush seems to be a very quiet time, a fraction of the usual visitors, Maui felt deserted!
Our first morning was spent hiking the Pipiwai trail upstream from Oheo Gulch. This is a gorgeous hike. 4 miles round trip, partly through a THICK bamboo forest. We didn't take a dip in the pools afterward, DD wanted to hit the road to Kaanapali and the beach. I swear, the drive past Hana toward Kipahulu was even prettier than Paia to Hana. Next trip will definitely include a couple nights at the Hana Kai, Hana is an incredibly beautiful place that we've missed on our last few stays on Maui. We hadn't been in 23 years, not since they improved the road! On the way we bought a coconut and bananas at one of those "honor" stands where you take what you want and stick your money in a jar.
The day was bright and sunny, almost zero clouds. We continued around on the "lower" road towards Kula. It was fun doing this once and seeing the "other" side, but I don't think we'd do it again. The pavement was extremely bumpy for miles, didn't let up until almost to the Tedeschi Winery. No traffic at all, just a few locals who really did give us the shaka hand sign. Next time, we'll just go back around thru Paia. There is a deli across from the Winery with a wonderful selection of food, but beware if you have small children, there are some creepy life-size cowboy sculptures on the porch that gave us the willies.
Our next 3 nights were at the Sheraton. I have nothing new to say about this place, all we wanted was a comfy room and blissful snorkeling around Black Rock with some turtles, we got what we wanted. DD got stung by an unseen jellyfish, she said it felt like a bee sting. It was nice being able to just walk to Whaler's Village. Don't bother with the Rusty Harpoon for breakfast, pretty bad. At the Hula Grill, the band included a guy who sounded like Eric Clapton on an electric ukelele, he was incredible. They sang a hilarious Hawaiian version of the 12 Days of Christmas, A Myna Bird in a Papaya Tree. We couldn't quite hear all the bits, but it was quite clever.
I won't do much restaurant reporting here, others do it better, and we are simple folks when it comes to food.
We had our anniversary dinner at Pacific O as a gift. I'm glad it was a gift, the prices were a bit much, but our beachside table was great.
Next trip, we are going to shop less in Lahaina and more in Paia! The Paia shops seemed to be a bit less junky, more artistic. Although, all the Hawaiian Christmas stuff for sale was a hoot! We'd never been to Hawaii around Christmas before, the decorations and the music seem so out of place there.
We snorkeled up at Honolua Bay, but the entry is just so difficult with the rocks and the murk, I'm not sure it's worth it. Other people love this place, maybe we've just had bad luck there. Looked at the Nahele Blowhole from up on the road, it was too windy to walk down there.
Tomorrow, Wailea.
This week in Maui was planned for our 30th anniversary, but our 19 year old Dear Daughter also came along as a needed break from college. It had been 7 years since just the 3 of us were in Hawaii, we had a great time.
Details:
Plane flight: LAX/OGG on ATA. I found a $383.00 bargain fare in October by spotting an ad in the L.A. Times. It only lasted a few days, I was very glad to get it for this close to Christmas.
Car: Budget with Costco discount, $167 for the week.
Lodging: One night at Hana Kai condo in Hana, $178.00 for a 1 BR w/sleeper sofa.
Sheraton Maui - $251.00 plus the resort fee (ugh!) by joining Starwood, we got upgraded to a nice oceanview in building 2.
Wailea Marriott - $269.00 for one night, but I had a certificate for the other 2 nights for free, w/breakfast.
Weather: 80-82, lows in the 60s, a bit too cool for morning snorkleling. Had 2 days of howling wind at Kaanapali, but more sunshine than we've ever seen in Hawaii, almost no clouds at all. The sea was very flat until our last day, the wind seemed to blow it flat.
We decided to split our time, 3 nights in Kaanapali and 3 in Wailea, with the very first night in Hana. Unpacking and changing hotels is for us no big deal, and we were glad not to have to drive each day up or down the coast.
After a flight with an unusual number of noisy babies, plus a kid in front of us who upchucked 3 or 4 times, we arrived around 2 p.m., Dear Husband got the car in record time while DD and I got the luggage, and we headed toward Hana under a FULL rainbow, ground to ground. We didn't stop much, saving all the waterfalls for another trip, and made it to the condo by dark, in about 2.5 hours. At that time of day, we had the road to ourselves! The condo at the Hana Kai was comfy and clean, a few teeny tiny ants in the kitchen, so what. It sits on a bouldery, rough water beach - no swimming here! Looks nice, though. Interesting spiders were spread about the grounds, cane spiders plus some little crablike ones that we only saw in the Hana area. They hang at just above face level and build larg webs - beware if you are tall! Dinner was appetisers at the Hotel Hana Maui, the place was deserted, just 2 other couples at the bar, no one in the dining room. This week before the big Christmas rush seems to be a very quiet time, a fraction of the usual visitors, Maui felt deserted!
Our first morning was spent hiking the Pipiwai trail upstream from Oheo Gulch. This is a gorgeous hike. 4 miles round trip, partly through a THICK bamboo forest. We didn't take a dip in the pools afterward, DD wanted to hit the road to Kaanapali and the beach. I swear, the drive past Hana toward Kipahulu was even prettier than Paia to Hana. Next trip will definitely include a couple nights at the Hana Kai, Hana is an incredibly beautiful place that we've missed on our last few stays on Maui. We hadn't been in 23 years, not since they improved the road! On the way we bought a coconut and bananas at one of those "honor" stands where you take what you want and stick your money in a jar.
The day was bright and sunny, almost zero clouds. We continued around on the "lower" road towards Kula. It was fun doing this once and seeing the "other" side, but I don't think we'd do it again. The pavement was extremely bumpy for miles, didn't let up until almost to the Tedeschi Winery. No traffic at all, just a few locals who really did give us the shaka hand sign. Next time, we'll just go back around thru Paia. There is a deli across from the Winery with a wonderful selection of food, but beware if you have small children, there are some creepy life-size cowboy sculptures on the porch that gave us the willies.
Our next 3 nights were at the Sheraton. I have nothing new to say about this place, all we wanted was a comfy room and blissful snorkeling around Black Rock with some turtles, we got what we wanted. DD got stung by an unseen jellyfish, she said it felt like a bee sting. It was nice being able to just walk to Whaler's Village. Don't bother with the Rusty Harpoon for breakfast, pretty bad. At the Hula Grill, the band included a guy who sounded like Eric Clapton on an electric ukelele, he was incredible. They sang a hilarious Hawaiian version of the 12 Days of Christmas, A Myna Bird in a Papaya Tree. We couldn't quite hear all the bits, but it was quite clever.
I won't do much restaurant reporting here, others do it better, and we are simple folks when it comes to food.
We had our anniversary dinner at Pacific O as a gift. I'm glad it was a gift, the prices were a bit much, but our beachside table was great.
Next trip, we are going to shop less in Lahaina and more in Paia! The Paia shops seemed to be a bit less junky, more artistic. Although, all the Hawaiian Christmas stuff for sale was a hoot! We'd never been to Hawaii around Christmas before, the decorations and the music seem so out of place there.
We snorkeled up at Honolua Bay, but the entry is just so difficult with the rocks and the murk, I'm not sure it's worth it. Other people love this place, maybe we've just had bad luck there. Looked at the Nahele Blowhole from up on the road, it was too windy to walk down there.
Tomorrow, Wailea.
Jan 5th, 2006 | 01:05 PM
#2
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 466
Likes: 0
gigib, you hurried all the way to Hana on your first night without stopping to enjoy the scenery? I am very surprised to hear that you did that. I thought the point of driving the Hana road was to stop and smell the flowers and enjoy the waterfalls, so to speak. You may have enjoyed your ride the next day more because you were not so tired from a flight, whatever the scenery was! I am glad that you enjoyed your trip.
Jan 6th, 2006 | 11:26 AM
#3
Original Poster
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 742
Likes: 0
This trip was beach oriented because our daughter was looking forward to as much snorkeling as possible; next trip will include much more time in the Hana area. We weren't the least bit tired, we figured that we at least got some jungle immersion on the 4 miles of trail. This was our fifth trip to Maui, we are fortunate to live in So.Cal. and have many Hawaii trips ahead of us. At age 19, Dear Daughter has already fallen in love with Hawaii and has many decades of visits ahead of her.
On to Wailea.
We had 2 free nights at the Marriott Wailea, which sits on the point between Ulua and Wailea beaches. There are some neat tidepools to explore, and both beaches are just a couple minutes away. There is some nice snorkeling off the rocks at the north end of Ulua. The hotel, even though they are doing some room upgrading, had a very dated '70s feel. The closeness to the ocean and the lawns are nice, and it was quite peaceful, but $269/night seemed a bit steep for what you get. Just not much of a resort feel, unlike the Sheraton.
One evening DH and I walked over to the Grand Wailea in search of a nice hotel bar, but were sorely disappointed by the lobby bar in the atrium, nothing to look at but building. GW is WAY too huge for our taste. It was funny, we walked behind the stage of a Luau between our hotel and the GW, we could see the performers from the back and into their staging area.
Found a nice little Japanese restaurant in Kihei, Hirohachi, located behind Sansei in the Foodland center. The sushi and udon noodles were delicious; it was recommended by the Maui DriveGuide online. For breakfast or lunch, there's a nice deli at the Whaler's General Store at the Shops at Wailea, walking distance from the Marriott.
Snorkeling alert: For those of you who head to Ahihi Cove down to the south, keeping driving another 200 yds., there is a dirt parking area to the right and a trail down to a GREAT area. Both days we went there was a ranger-type person in the lot with some info. There's a rocky trail down to a rocky beach, but if the water is calm entry is simple. I think we lucked out with some very flat water during our stay. If it's surgy, you may not want to enter here because it's tricky to find your exit place again. Snorkel around to the right, towards Ahihi Cove. We saw numerous turtles (honu),(DH even spotted one sad one with fishing line wrapped around its neck!) the water was the clearest we found on Maui, and the coral formations were exceptional. Don't do what we did, though, and snorkel around to the Cove figuring to exit and walk the road back to the car. It's a painful barefoot pick over rocks back to the shore, where your shoes and car keys are! We originally went looking for the trail to the Fishbowl mentioned in Maui Revealed. The trail looked incredibly difficult over very rough lava, and parking was a mile away. The ranger guy had some unkind words about MR! It's funny that the snorkel guides don't mention the dirt lot, just the Ahihi Cove.
Oh, I forgot to mention excellent snorkeling up at Kapalua Bay, very shallow reef with lots of fish and calm conditions, easy sandy entry, which is always nice.
On the plane ride home we had major turbulence for about an hour, DD was a bit frightened. Back to cold dirty air in L.A., and no immediate plans for another Hawaii trip yet! Maybe we can fit in an el cheapo 5 fall days in Waikiki...
On to Wailea.
We had 2 free nights at the Marriott Wailea, which sits on the point between Ulua and Wailea beaches. There are some neat tidepools to explore, and both beaches are just a couple minutes away. There is some nice snorkeling off the rocks at the north end of Ulua. The hotel, even though they are doing some room upgrading, had a very dated '70s feel. The closeness to the ocean and the lawns are nice, and it was quite peaceful, but $269/night seemed a bit steep for what you get. Just not much of a resort feel, unlike the Sheraton.
One evening DH and I walked over to the Grand Wailea in search of a nice hotel bar, but were sorely disappointed by the lobby bar in the atrium, nothing to look at but building. GW is WAY too huge for our taste. It was funny, we walked behind the stage of a Luau between our hotel and the GW, we could see the performers from the back and into their staging area.
Found a nice little Japanese restaurant in Kihei, Hirohachi, located behind Sansei in the Foodland center. The sushi and udon noodles were delicious; it was recommended by the Maui DriveGuide online. For breakfast or lunch, there's a nice deli at the Whaler's General Store at the Shops at Wailea, walking distance from the Marriott.
Snorkeling alert: For those of you who head to Ahihi Cove down to the south, keeping driving another 200 yds., there is a dirt parking area to the right and a trail down to a GREAT area. Both days we went there was a ranger-type person in the lot with some info. There's a rocky trail down to a rocky beach, but if the water is calm entry is simple. I think we lucked out with some very flat water during our stay. If it's surgy, you may not want to enter here because it's tricky to find your exit place again. Snorkel around to the right, towards Ahihi Cove. We saw numerous turtles (honu),(DH even spotted one sad one with fishing line wrapped around its neck!) the water was the clearest we found on Maui, and the coral formations were exceptional. Don't do what we did, though, and snorkel around to the Cove figuring to exit and walk the road back to the car. It's a painful barefoot pick over rocks back to the shore, where your shoes and car keys are! We originally went looking for the trail to the Fishbowl mentioned in Maui Revealed. The trail looked incredibly difficult over very rough lava, and parking was a mile away. The ranger guy had some unkind words about MR! It's funny that the snorkel guides don't mention the dirt lot, just the Ahihi Cove.
Oh, I forgot to mention excellent snorkeling up at Kapalua Bay, very shallow reef with lots of fish and calm conditions, easy sandy entry, which is always nice.
On the plane ride home we had major turbulence for about an hour, DD was a bit frightened. Back to cold dirty air in L.A., and no immediate plans for another Hawaii trip yet! Maybe we can fit in an el cheapo 5 fall days in Waikiki...
Jan 6th, 2006 | 01:11 PM
#4
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,344
Likes: 0
Thanks for the great trip report! DH and I are headed to Maui for the second time next summer, and are staying 5 nights at the Sheraton and 3 nights in Wailea (undecided as to where yet) before going to Waikiki for 5 nights. Any other comments about the Sheraton would be greatly appreciated! (Rooms, food, pool, beach, etc...) Thanks!
Jan 9th, 2006 | 11:07 AM
#6
Original Poster
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 742
Likes: 0
Beachgirl,
Have you looked at the reviews on TripAdvisor? This site gives many detailed guest reviews, positive and negative. My family loved the Sheraton mainly for its location. Silky soft sand next to Black Rock is paradise! Its spot on Kaanapali is the best, the swimming and the sand is not as nice as you go south towards the other hotels. I guess the beach gets a bit smaller in the winter. We never used the pool, never ate at any of the restaurants, and went in the jacuzzi only one evening. We are content to plop in the sand on our towels, so lounges and drink service are not an issue for us. The evenings there did seem a bit dead, though, there wasn't a fun bar out by the sand, just a formal-seeming lounge next to the dining room. The room was perfectly comforable for the 3 of us, no complaints. Can you tell that we aren't picky about hotel services? In Hawaii, who cares?
Have you looked at the reviews on TripAdvisor? This site gives many detailed guest reviews, positive and negative. My family loved the Sheraton mainly for its location. Silky soft sand next to Black Rock is paradise! Its spot on Kaanapali is the best, the swimming and the sand is not as nice as you go south towards the other hotels. I guess the beach gets a bit smaller in the winter. We never used the pool, never ate at any of the restaurants, and went in the jacuzzi only one evening. We are content to plop in the sand on our towels, so lounges and drink service are not an issue for us. The evenings there did seem a bit dead, though, there wasn't a fun bar out by the sand, just a formal-seeming lounge next to the dining room. The room was perfectly comforable for the 3 of us, no complaints. Can you tell that we aren't picky about hotel services? In Hawaii, who cares?
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Melissa5
United States
5
Jan 16th, 2005 06:11 AM
