Hawaii Trip Report May 30-June 9
Jun 14th, 2005, 11:15 AM
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Hawaii Trip Report May 30-June 9
Here is my trip report(first one ever!) for my honeymoon to Hawaii. We spent 6 days on Maui and 3 days on Oahu. Here is what my and my wife came up with for a report.
::::: Maui :::::
The Westin Resort & Spa:
Wonderful hotel except for the $18/day resort fee. Great location on Kaanapali. 5 pools and awesome waterslide were a big hit. Great location for shopping and restaurants (all within walking distance). Beach path was very nice. Request a garden view room that overlooks man-made waterfalls, ponds and lush vegetation. Workout facility was well above average. Nice treadmills. Dumbbells ranging from 5lbs to 50lbs. Benches for chest and shoulder workouts. Everything you need to keep in shape while on vacation, although the room gets quite hot and oxygen deprived when full of people. The hotel room was nice and the "heavenly bed" was so wonderful. My wife said I didn't snore the entire week, which was a first for me! Also the "heavenly shower" (2 shower heads) was to a nice touch. We will definitely stay at The Westin again when we return to Maui.
Tropicas(connected to the Westin hotel):
Very good breakfast buffet. Wonderful view of the ocean and beach path. Excellent made-to-order omelets. Was free with our stay at The Westin, but $23.99 for everyone else.
Hula Grill Barefoot Bar:
Crab & Mac Nut wontons excellent
Caesar Salad ok
Hamburger ok
Excellent mai tais
Expect long waits. Service needs improvement. Waitresses seemed more money hungry and less hospitable than at restaurants on Oahu and elsewhere on Maui.
Nice evening live music with hula shows.
Hula Grill Restaurant:
Mac nut crusted Mahi Mahi excellent but rich
Grilled Ono - very good and healthy
Reservations only
Good service compared to the Hula Grill Barefoot Bar (casual counterpart to Hula Grill)
Rusty Harpoon Bar and Restaurant(next to Hula Grill):
Horrible drinks, smelly place
Pacific Whale Foundation Molokini/Lanai Snorkel ECO Adventure:
Great snorkeling at Molokini, but didn't see any more fish than we did snorkeling for free at Honolua Bay. We were fortunate to have spotted dolphins chasing the bow of our boat. High winds kept us from snorkeling at Lanai, which was very disappointing. Very stingy on the food, especially breakfast. Had my wife and I not already had a breakfast buffet before the trip, we would have starved to death (or at least I would have).
Road to Hana:
We had more fun after Hana!! Rental car agreement is voided for the 10-15 miles past the 7 sacred pools, but we drove it anyways and it was bumpy but the views were well worth it. Waterfalls were almost non-existent in the summer time. Probably will never do the Road to Hana when we visit again.
::::: Oahu :::::
Outrigger Waikiki:
We were upgraded from city view to partial ocean view for free which was nice but the room was a "joining room" and we got stuck next to a loud family with a handful of children. The fact that it was a joining room made the noise from next door very easy to hear, and we were woken up at 530am to hollering children and parents. We immediately called the front desk and we were given another room with a partial ocean view (non-adjoining room) that made us very happy. Also, while we were out sunning ourselves, we met one of the hotel Managers named Barrett. He was so shocked by our dark tans and the fact we were from Wisconsin. After talking for quite sometime with him, he eventually found out that we were on our honeymoon and he promptly asked for our room number. About an hour later, while back in our hotel room, room service appeared with two bottles of champagne and a box of Hawaiian cookies. With it a small note from Barrett congratulating us on our new marriage. We were thoroughly impressed and will definitely stay at the Outrigger Waikiki again. The pool at this hotel was very bland, and the workout facility was a complete joke (although a new facility is "supposedly" going to be opening in spring of 2005, but as of June 8th it was NOT). Duke's is a restaurant located in the Outrigger Waikiki with both casual formal dining areas. This was a very very fun place to eat and even though it was packed, we got a table immediately and had incredible friendly and fast service. Dukes also has live music every Friday, Sat and Sunday evening.
Hike to Diamondhead:
Totally boring. The view wasnt as spectacular as I had thought it would be.
Overall, we loved Maui but didn't care for Oahu, but we didnt venture outside of Waikiki(other than to Chinatown) so we can't say much for the rest of the Island. We will never stay in Waikiki again as its "hardly" paradise. Too crowded, lack of locals(tons of Japanese people though). If you are looking for relaxing, Waikiki is NOT the place. It's like taking the city of Los Angeles or Chicago and sticking it on an island with a nice beach. My wife and I are 25 years old, so this is coming from a young couple. If we ever visit Oahu again we will get a car and stay as far away from Honolulu as possible. We are so glad we spent most of the time on Maui. I think Maui is probably the best island for a "Honeymoon". I've stayed on the Big Island before as well as Oahu and Maui wins out. In a few years we are going to visit Hawaii again and spend the majority of our time on Kauai and The Big Island/Maui.
I hope someone finds this useful. Pictures of our honeymoon will be available at my website:
http://www.holdren.org/honeymoon.htm
I can be reached via email at:
[email protected]
::::: Maui :::::
The Westin Resort & Spa:
Wonderful hotel except for the $18/day resort fee. Great location on Kaanapali. 5 pools and awesome waterslide were a big hit. Great location for shopping and restaurants (all within walking distance). Beach path was very nice. Request a garden view room that overlooks man-made waterfalls, ponds and lush vegetation. Workout facility was well above average. Nice treadmills. Dumbbells ranging from 5lbs to 50lbs. Benches for chest and shoulder workouts. Everything you need to keep in shape while on vacation, although the room gets quite hot and oxygen deprived when full of people. The hotel room was nice and the "heavenly bed" was so wonderful. My wife said I didn't snore the entire week, which was a first for me! Also the "heavenly shower" (2 shower heads) was to a nice touch. We will definitely stay at The Westin again when we return to Maui.
Tropicas(connected to the Westin hotel):
Very good breakfast buffet. Wonderful view of the ocean and beach path. Excellent made-to-order omelets. Was free with our stay at The Westin, but $23.99 for everyone else.
Hula Grill Barefoot Bar:
Crab & Mac Nut wontons excellent
Caesar Salad ok
Hamburger ok
Excellent mai tais
Expect long waits. Service needs improvement. Waitresses seemed more money hungry and less hospitable than at restaurants on Oahu and elsewhere on Maui.
Nice evening live music with hula shows.
Hula Grill Restaurant:
Mac nut crusted Mahi Mahi excellent but rich
Grilled Ono - very good and healthy
Reservations only
Good service compared to the Hula Grill Barefoot Bar (casual counterpart to Hula Grill)
Rusty Harpoon Bar and Restaurant(next to Hula Grill):
Horrible drinks, smelly place
Pacific Whale Foundation Molokini/Lanai Snorkel ECO Adventure:
Great snorkeling at Molokini, but didn't see any more fish than we did snorkeling for free at Honolua Bay. We were fortunate to have spotted dolphins chasing the bow of our boat. High winds kept us from snorkeling at Lanai, which was very disappointing. Very stingy on the food, especially breakfast. Had my wife and I not already had a breakfast buffet before the trip, we would have starved to death (or at least I would have).
Road to Hana:
We had more fun after Hana!! Rental car agreement is voided for the 10-15 miles past the 7 sacred pools, but we drove it anyways and it was bumpy but the views were well worth it. Waterfalls were almost non-existent in the summer time. Probably will never do the Road to Hana when we visit again.
::::: Oahu :::::
Outrigger Waikiki:
We were upgraded from city view to partial ocean view for free which was nice but the room was a "joining room" and we got stuck next to a loud family with a handful of children. The fact that it was a joining room made the noise from next door very easy to hear, and we were woken up at 530am to hollering children and parents. We immediately called the front desk and we were given another room with a partial ocean view (non-adjoining room) that made us very happy. Also, while we were out sunning ourselves, we met one of the hotel Managers named Barrett. He was so shocked by our dark tans and the fact we were from Wisconsin. After talking for quite sometime with him, he eventually found out that we were on our honeymoon and he promptly asked for our room number. About an hour later, while back in our hotel room, room service appeared with two bottles of champagne and a box of Hawaiian cookies. With it a small note from Barrett congratulating us on our new marriage. We were thoroughly impressed and will definitely stay at the Outrigger Waikiki again. The pool at this hotel was very bland, and the workout facility was a complete joke (although a new facility is "supposedly" going to be opening in spring of 2005, but as of June 8th it was NOT). Duke's is a restaurant located in the Outrigger Waikiki with both casual formal dining areas. This was a very very fun place to eat and even though it was packed, we got a table immediately and had incredible friendly and fast service. Dukes also has live music every Friday, Sat and Sunday evening.
Hike to Diamondhead:
Totally boring. The view wasnt as spectacular as I had thought it would be.
Overall, we loved Maui but didn't care for Oahu, but we didnt venture outside of Waikiki(other than to Chinatown) so we can't say much for the rest of the Island. We will never stay in Waikiki again as its "hardly" paradise. Too crowded, lack of locals(tons of Japanese people though). If you are looking for relaxing, Waikiki is NOT the place. It's like taking the city of Los Angeles or Chicago and sticking it on an island with a nice beach. My wife and I are 25 years old, so this is coming from a young couple. If we ever visit Oahu again we will get a car and stay as far away from Honolulu as possible. We are so glad we spent most of the time on Maui. I think Maui is probably the best island for a "Honeymoon". I've stayed on the Big Island before as well as Oahu and Maui wins out. In a few years we are going to visit Hawaii again and spend the majority of our time on Kauai and The Big Island/Maui.
I hope someone finds this useful. Pictures of our honeymoon will be available at my website:
http://www.holdren.org/honeymoon.htm
I can be reached via email at:
[email protected]
Jun 14th, 2005, 01:32 PM
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Thanks for the informative report--we were on Maui at the same time, but did some different things. Funny, we liked the drinks at the Rusty Harpoon, but the food was lacking. The Hula Grill, both iterations, looked too crowded to fuss with when we were there. We went part way to Hana just after a downpour, and the falls were great--good old Mother Nature has her little ways, I guess. I especially appreciate your review of the Molokini/Lanai snorkel, which BF wants to check out next time we go. Mahalo, and congratulations on your wedding!
.
Jun 14th, 2005, 03:34 PM
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Glad you honeymoon was all you expected. It's a shame you didn't get out of Waikiki..you missed many beautiful sites. But it was probably good to just kick back a few days. I just don't want people to judge Oahu by Waikiki although I like Waikiki for a few days when I get to the islands.
Jun 15th, 2005, 09:53 AM
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Thanks to everyone who replied.
Im quite excited to go back already. So many things to do yet. I'll try to reply to everyone individually:
likeswords,
I didnt think any of the waterfalls on Maui were that spectacular. My first trip to Maui was 2 years ago in January and the waterfalls were really going strong then. Some that we hiked to a few weeks ago were just barely going.
I agree that the Hula Grill seemed crowded, but it was only a 30 second walk from our hotel, and the book Maui Revealed(which came in sooo handy) gave it an "Ono" so we just had to try it.
Belle,
Yes, we did run into road construction in two places on the road to Hana. Once near Paia, we had to wait about 5 minutes. Then again we had to wait just after Naihiku(or was it before?) about 10 minutes, which really backed up traffic. We just made sure to pull over and let the cars go by us whenever we ended up having someone behind us. Considering we passed through Kahului around 730am, we still didnt have much traffic on the road to Hana.
crefloors,
Yes, it is a shame we didnt get out of Waikiki. We were so overwhelmed by the big city of honolulu that we decided to stay as close to our hotel as possible(we are from Wisconsin ya know..very slow paced people!) Maui fit us so well, and I just know Kauai is going to be an even better fit when we visit again. I deeply regret not renting a car on Oahu. Soooo many people on these forums told me not to rent a car, so we didnt. I wish I had studied up on Oahu as much as I did on Maui. We missed so much.
I have more pictures up on my website. Ill try to add descriptions asap. go here:
http://www.holdren.org/honeymoon.htm
Im quite excited to go back already. So many things to do yet. I'll try to reply to everyone individually:
likeswords,
I didnt think any of the waterfalls on Maui were that spectacular. My first trip to Maui was 2 years ago in January and the waterfalls were really going strong then. Some that we hiked to a few weeks ago were just barely going.
I agree that the Hula Grill seemed crowded, but it was only a 30 second walk from our hotel, and the book Maui Revealed(which came in sooo handy) gave it an "Ono" so we just had to try it.
Belle,
Yes, we did run into road construction in two places on the road to Hana. Once near Paia, we had to wait about 5 minutes. Then again we had to wait just after Naihiku(or was it before?) about 10 minutes, which really backed up traffic. We just made sure to pull over and let the cars go by us whenever we ended up having someone behind us. Considering we passed through Kahului around 730am, we still didnt have much traffic on the road to Hana.
crefloors,
Yes, it is a shame we didnt get out of Waikiki. We were so overwhelmed by the big city of honolulu that we decided to stay as close to our hotel as possible(we are from Wisconsin ya know..very slow paced people!) Maui fit us so well, and I just know Kauai is going to be an even better fit when we visit again. I deeply regret not renting a car on Oahu. Soooo many people on these forums told me not to rent a car, so we didnt. I wish I had studied up on Oahu as much as I did on Maui. We missed so much.
I have more pictures up on my website. Ill try to add descriptions asap. go here:
http://www.holdren.org/honeymoon.htm
Jun 15th, 2005, 10:27 AM
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Aloha ThomasJohn,
What a beautiful young couple you are! Your bride is lovely. Mahalo for the trip report... enjoyed it very much.
I loved your photo website. I also use a digital rebel and would like to ask you more about BananAlbum. I'll email you about the photography. Excellent work! Thanks for sharing.
What a beautiful young couple you are! Your bride is lovely. Mahalo for the trip report... enjoyed it very much.
I loved your photo website. I also use a digital rebel and would like to ask you more about BananAlbum. I'll email you about the photography. Excellent work! Thanks for sharing.
Jun 15th, 2005, 01:07 PM
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Mega Dittos. Enjoyed the report and photos. You're a nice looking couple. Hope your coupleness continues to bloom for a life time -- along with maybe some littleones along the way 
If you ever get back to Oahu, guess you'll get a rental car and check out the rest of the island some, huh? There really are some beautiful and interesting sites to take in there. It's puzzling that others would suggest to you not to get a rental car there????
If you ever get back to Oahu, guess you'll get a rental car and check out the rest of the island some, huh? There really are some beautiful and interesting sites to take in there. It's puzzling that others would suggest to you not to get a rental car there????
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