Trip Report: Kauai, BI, Maui, Molokai & Oahu
Oct 12th, 2004, 09:35 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 693
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Trip Report: Kauai, BI, Maui, Molokai & Oahu
Link to my vacation pictures:
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=r9z6gee...&x=0&y=-cx2qrt
Well now that I?ve gotten past our Luau to celebrate our Hawaiian wedding, I thought I?d get my trip report out here for those who are planning their own trip. First, let me just say we had a wonderful time. And we had NO rain on our entire 23 day trip. It rained during the night and we felt a mist 3 or 4 times but never did it rain on us. It was beautiful.
Because we went to 5 islands (during the month of September), I am going to write this in by Island/Hotel/Restaurants/activities. I will rate things from 1 to 10 just so you can get a feel of how well we liked something. At the end, I?ll give you my favorites and reason behind it. And a link to many of the photos we took.
KAUAI - 2 nights at the Hyatt; 5 nights at Secret Beach Hideaway
Hyatt ? This hotel was very nice. I would rate it a 7. Airy, tropical, awesome grounds, pools, lagoon. We had a beautiful partial oceanview room. My one complaint that the hotel front where the lobby is, sits wayyyy back from the beach and if you have an oceanview room you will walk a long way to your room. It was literally a 10 minute walk ? one way from the lobby to our room. This also made it difficult to get hot water in our room. I love to take baths and the water got to maybe 95 degrees. My fiancé used the coffee maker to make hot water to pour in the bath to make it warmer ? a really sweetheart. He was okay with the luke warm showers but it was not for me.
Secret Beach Hideaway - This gets a 10 and not just because we were married on the bluff right on the property. I cannot say enough about how beautiful this location is and how wonderful this little Hale Lani cottage was. We could not have chosen a better place for our private little wedding and honeymoon night place. You could actually have a pretty large wedding here if they?d allow it. You can see some of the grounds from our pictures. Here you really felt all by yourself. It was a 15 minute drive to Princeville so it wasn?t right in the center of the action, but it was just what we wanted and the place was upscale and spotless.
Princeville Hotel: We didn?t stay here but had lunch here and I had my hair and makeup done for the wedding in their beauty shop. And we had our private wedding dinner here on the beach. It was a very nice hotel in an awesome location. I would stay here if it was more going on vacation than my husband and I. Just the 2 of us is definitely a Secret Beach Hideaway vacation!!
Food:
Tidepools at the Hyatt. I would rate this a 7. It had a very cool, fun setting. It is built over the water and is open all around with Koi Fish in the lagoon at the edge of the tables.
Ilima Terrace: 7. We had breakfast both mornings at Ilima Terrace. It was buffet style and had lots to choose from. It was very nicely displayed and the setting beautiful with the swans swimming in the attractive lagoon right near your table.
JoJo?s shave Ice: Rated 10 Yummy. This was best shave we had although we didn?t have enough opportunities to get this yummy treat.
Brickoven Pizza: Rated 4. This place was just a typical ordinary pizza spot. Nothing special, parking was lacking and service was just so so. I would go here if I lived here if I had a weekday pizza urge, but I would NOT use this as a pick for a vacation dinner unless I had kids with me who can eat any pizza.
Café Hanalei: Rated 7. We had lunch here the day of our sunset wedding. It was typical 5 star restaurant lunch food. Good food, expensive but beautiful views of Hanalei Bay and mountains.
Private Beach dinner at the Princeville: Rate 9. This was our wedding dinner on the beach. When I booked this I was concerned about people walking the beach and bugs. We had neither. It was intimate, private and the food and service were wonderful. It was expensive $415 per couple ? but cheaper than a wedding reception.
Banana Joe?s Smoothies: Rated 6. The smoothies were good but the service people were moppy like they hated their job. They didn?t smile and barely talked. It was okay for a refreshing stop after a grueling day, but to make a special trip.
Kilauea Bakery: Rate 9. We would come here in the morning and get fresh baked goods. Then we?d take them back to our little hideaway and have breakfast on our lanei. It was heavan.
Sushi Blues: Rate 4. I had pork at this sushi restaurant on the second floor in the Hanalai shopping area. My husband had sushi and he said it was just okay. We only ate here because we could not get into Zelos or Post Cards without waiting an hour.
Nedia?s : Rate 7. This was a nice local Mexican and Brazilian food restaurant. This food was hot, plentiful and satisfying.
Ice Cream and Baked Goods: Rate 9. This place was in the Hanalei area and had great coconut macaroons dipped in dark chocolate. They were heaven. I just don?t remember the name of the place.
The other meals we made our own on our Secret Beach Hideaway Patio. We bought fresh veggies and fish from the local markets. Plus a little wine. And Yummy.
Activities:
Air Kauai: Rate 8. This helicopter ride was awesome for the views. The pilot, who was a pilot that does tours in New York City 9 months of the year, and then comes to Kauai to fish and fly the tour for 3 months. He was very experienced by just so so in commentary. But we went for the views anyway and they were spectacular. The pilot and 2 passangers sit in the front and 4 passengers sit in the back. Couples are never separated but the lightest couple general gets to ride in the front. The back seats are up higher than the front so it appears that the views are still very good from the back. It seems that the men, because of weight are seated in the middle rear and their wives, girlfriend etc sit by the window so as to even the weight. Martin and I sat in the front, with me in the middle to even the weight between the pilot and Martin. It was a good trip. We wanted to stay on the chopper when it landed and ride around again!!
Touring the island:
We hiked down to where the Blue Bible talks about the glass beach near Port Allen. There was very little glass on the beach at the time we were there but we hiked along the shore after driving a couple hundred yards east down the dirt road and spend a few hours poking around the coast. No one else was around and the lava bridges and holes were very cool. We hadn?t planned on doing this and staying so long and I didn?t have on sunscreen so I got burned (just great ? the day before the wedding too). This area is talked about in the book as the place where the old cars are melted into the side of the rock. Very interesting.
We decided not to go up though the Waimea Canyon. After flying though it in the helicopter it was the best view we could get so we skipped this drive.
Polihale State Park: We took this drive and followed the Blue Book exactly. It is important that you do this drive with those directions so you don?t get stuck in the sand but it was sooo worth the trip. We were hoping for a beautiful sunset but there were lots of clouds on the horizon and the sunset looked like a small fire on the water. We enjoyed the solitude of this place and with the Napali Coast in the distance it was very nice.
Kipu Zipline: Rating 3 for adults and 8 for kids. This trip was not what I expected and maybe that?s why I gave it such low marks. I was expecting a hike through the woods and then zipline across the gorges. Instead, we meet at the outfitters shop in Poipu and drove 15 minutes to a field near the forest. We walked about 3 minutes into the forest and came to a waterfall area with a rope swing and cliffs. When everyone took a turn or 2 jumping from the rope or cliff. Then we walked back to the van, had a fruit drink or water and then hike the other way for a few minutes until we got to the gorge where they had set up the zipline. They had big platforms on both sides of the gorge. Everyone got on their harnesses and then we took several turns zipping across the gorge, getting down the ladder, walking back to the other side over a bridge just to zip again. It was too much like a amusement park activity too me. But I?m certain that my 10 year old son would have loved it.
Hiking at the end of Ke?e Beach: Rating a 10!!. This 2 hour hike to the beach was wonderful. I have lots of pictures on the website from this hike. There were all ages of people doing this hike. It was long but the area is so pretty and you can stop and rest anytime. The footing is uneven making it hard and slow so you step in the right places but it isn?t strenuous as in steep inclines and drop offs.
Queens Bath: This was a neat lava pool by the ocean. It was nice to see and I got in for a little swim as the ocean was calm.
Snorkeling. We only snorkeled at Ke?e beach because we just ran out of time. But the snorkeling was very good here. I wish we had gotten over to Tunnels. Next time.
Captain Sundown: Rating 7. This was a nice boat trip and because it leaves out of Hanalei, it was easy for us to get too and didn?t leave so early in the morning so we did not have to get up extra early. Captain Sundown was great and his son told lots of little stories. He grow up on the island so he had lots of them. We snorkeled and had a nice little lunch. It was relaxing and the coast was beautiful.
By the way, each time we were going to fly or boat I took 2 Bonnie chewable tablets for motion sickness and I was fine. I have a tendency to feel sick but all went well. No one on any of our trips got sick.
Next: The Big Island????????
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=r9z6gee...&x=0&y=-cx2qrt
Well now that I?ve gotten past our Luau to celebrate our Hawaiian wedding, I thought I?d get my trip report out here for those who are planning their own trip. First, let me just say we had a wonderful time. And we had NO rain on our entire 23 day trip. It rained during the night and we felt a mist 3 or 4 times but never did it rain on us. It was beautiful.
Because we went to 5 islands (during the month of September), I am going to write this in by Island/Hotel/Restaurants/activities. I will rate things from 1 to 10 just so you can get a feel of how well we liked something. At the end, I?ll give you my favorites and reason behind it. And a link to many of the photos we took.
KAUAI - 2 nights at the Hyatt; 5 nights at Secret Beach Hideaway
Hyatt ? This hotel was very nice. I would rate it a 7. Airy, tropical, awesome grounds, pools, lagoon. We had a beautiful partial oceanview room. My one complaint that the hotel front where the lobby is, sits wayyyy back from the beach and if you have an oceanview room you will walk a long way to your room. It was literally a 10 minute walk ? one way from the lobby to our room. This also made it difficult to get hot water in our room. I love to take baths and the water got to maybe 95 degrees. My fiancé used the coffee maker to make hot water to pour in the bath to make it warmer ? a really sweetheart. He was okay with the luke warm showers but it was not for me.
Secret Beach Hideaway - This gets a 10 and not just because we were married on the bluff right on the property. I cannot say enough about how beautiful this location is and how wonderful this little Hale Lani cottage was. We could not have chosen a better place for our private little wedding and honeymoon night place. You could actually have a pretty large wedding here if they?d allow it. You can see some of the grounds from our pictures. Here you really felt all by yourself. It was a 15 minute drive to Princeville so it wasn?t right in the center of the action, but it was just what we wanted and the place was upscale and spotless.
Princeville Hotel: We didn?t stay here but had lunch here and I had my hair and makeup done for the wedding in their beauty shop. And we had our private wedding dinner here on the beach. It was a very nice hotel in an awesome location. I would stay here if it was more going on vacation than my husband and I. Just the 2 of us is definitely a Secret Beach Hideaway vacation!!
Food:
Tidepools at the Hyatt. I would rate this a 7. It had a very cool, fun setting. It is built over the water and is open all around with Koi Fish in the lagoon at the edge of the tables.
Ilima Terrace: 7. We had breakfast both mornings at Ilima Terrace. It was buffet style and had lots to choose from. It was very nicely displayed and the setting beautiful with the swans swimming in the attractive lagoon right near your table.
JoJo?s shave Ice: Rated 10 Yummy. This was best shave we had although we didn?t have enough opportunities to get this yummy treat.
Brickoven Pizza: Rated 4. This place was just a typical ordinary pizza spot. Nothing special, parking was lacking and service was just so so. I would go here if I lived here if I had a weekday pizza urge, but I would NOT use this as a pick for a vacation dinner unless I had kids with me who can eat any pizza.
Café Hanalei: Rated 7. We had lunch here the day of our sunset wedding. It was typical 5 star restaurant lunch food. Good food, expensive but beautiful views of Hanalei Bay and mountains.
Private Beach dinner at the Princeville: Rate 9. This was our wedding dinner on the beach. When I booked this I was concerned about people walking the beach and bugs. We had neither. It was intimate, private and the food and service were wonderful. It was expensive $415 per couple ? but cheaper than a wedding reception.
Banana Joe?s Smoothies: Rated 6. The smoothies were good but the service people were moppy like they hated their job. They didn?t smile and barely talked. It was okay for a refreshing stop after a grueling day, but to make a special trip.
Kilauea Bakery: Rate 9. We would come here in the morning and get fresh baked goods. Then we?d take them back to our little hideaway and have breakfast on our lanei. It was heavan.
Sushi Blues: Rate 4. I had pork at this sushi restaurant on the second floor in the Hanalai shopping area. My husband had sushi and he said it was just okay. We only ate here because we could not get into Zelos or Post Cards without waiting an hour.
Nedia?s : Rate 7. This was a nice local Mexican and Brazilian food restaurant. This food was hot, plentiful and satisfying.
Ice Cream and Baked Goods: Rate 9. This place was in the Hanalei area and had great coconut macaroons dipped in dark chocolate. They were heaven. I just don?t remember the name of the place.
The other meals we made our own on our Secret Beach Hideaway Patio. We bought fresh veggies and fish from the local markets. Plus a little wine. And Yummy.
Activities:
Air Kauai: Rate 8. This helicopter ride was awesome for the views. The pilot, who was a pilot that does tours in New York City 9 months of the year, and then comes to Kauai to fish and fly the tour for 3 months. He was very experienced by just so so in commentary. But we went for the views anyway and they were spectacular. The pilot and 2 passangers sit in the front and 4 passengers sit in the back. Couples are never separated but the lightest couple general gets to ride in the front. The back seats are up higher than the front so it appears that the views are still very good from the back. It seems that the men, because of weight are seated in the middle rear and their wives, girlfriend etc sit by the window so as to even the weight. Martin and I sat in the front, with me in the middle to even the weight between the pilot and Martin. It was a good trip. We wanted to stay on the chopper when it landed and ride around again!!
Touring the island:
We hiked down to where the Blue Bible talks about the glass beach near Port Allen. There was very little glass on the beach at the time we were there but we hiked along the shore after driving a couple hundred yards east down the dirt road and spend a few hours poking around the coast. No one else was around and the lava bridges and holes were very cool. We hadn?t planned on doing this and staying so long and I didn?t have on sunscreen so I got burned (just great ? the day before the wedding too). This area is talked about in the book as the place where the old cars are melted into the side of the rock. Very interesting.
We decided not to go up though the Waimea Canyon. After flying though it in the helicopter it was the best view we could get so we skipped this drive.
Polihale State Park: We took this drive and followed the Blue Book exactly. It is important that you do this drive with those directions so you don?t get stuck in the sand but it was sooo worth the trip. We were hoping for a beautiful sunset but there were lots of clouds on the horizon and the sunset looked like a small fire on the water. We enjoyed the solitude of this place and with the Napali Coast in the distance it was very nice.
Kipu Zipline: Rating 3 for adults and 8 for kids. This trip was not what I expected and maybe that?s why I gave it such low marks. I was expecting a hike through the woods and then zipline across the gorges. Instead, we meet at the outfitters shop in Poipu and drove 15 minutes to a field near the forest. We walked about 3 minutes into the forest and came to a waterfall area with a rope swing and cliffs. When everyone took a turn or 2 jumping from the rope or cliff. Then we walked back to the van, had a fruit drink or water and then hike the other way for a few minutes until we got to the gorge where they had set up the zipline. They had big platforms on both sides of the gorge. Everyone got on their harnesses and then we took several turns zipping across the gorge, getting down the ladder, walking back to the other side over a bridge just to zip again. It was too much like a amusement park activity too me. But I?m certain that my 10 year old son would have loved it.
Hiking at the end of Ke?e Beach: Rating a 10!!. This 2 hour hike to the beach was wonderful. I have lots of pictures on the website from this hike. There were all ages of people doing this hike. It was long but the area is so pretty and you can stop and rest anytime. The footing is uneven making it hard and slow so you step in the right places but it isn?t strenuous as in steep inclines and drop offs.
Queens Bath: This was a neat lava pool by the ocean. It was nice to see and I got in for a little swim as the ocean was calm.
Snorkeling. We only snorkeled at Ke?e beach because we just ran out of time. But the snorkeling was very good here. I wish we had gotten over to Tunnels. Next time.
Captain Sundown: Rating 7. This was a nice boat trip and because it leaves out of Hanalei, it was easy for us to get too and didn?t leave so early in the morning so we did not have to get up extra early. Captain Sundown was great and his son told lots of little stories. He grow up on the island so he had lots of them. We snorkeled and had a nice little lunch. It was relaxing and the coast was beautiful.
By the way, each time we were going to fly or boat I took 2 Bonnie chewable tablets for motion sickness and I was fine. I have a tendency to feel sick but all went well. No one on any of our trips got sick.
Next: The Big Island????????
!!!
Oct 12th, 2004, 10:22 AM
#3
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 226
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Nancy
WE just got back from Kauai too and your experience sure shows how people can have different expereinces at the same place.
We absolutely loved the Hayatt and would give it a 10. WE only ahd a 5 minute walk and plenty of hot water. We also ate at Tidepools and thought it was very romantic with great food and again would give it a 9 as it did not ahve a sunset view
WE had lunch at Cafe Hanalie too and thought it was great food adn the view to die for. But as fo Jojos it was OK a snow cone is a snow cone to me. People told me it was different but it sure looked at tased like a snow cone to me.
Our helicoper ride like yours was fantastic and in fact hte hightlight of the whole trip. but we went with Inter-island with only 4 passengers, no doors and a waterfall landing and picnic WOW and WOW!
We would love to stay at Secret bEach maybe next time we go it sounds ideal for a wedding and honeymoon. I can't wait to see your pictues. Mine are not developed yet
WE just got back from Kauai too and your experience sure shows how people can have different expereinces at the same place.
We absolutely loved the Hayatt and would give it a 10. WE only ahd a 5 minute walk and plenty of hot water. We also ate at Tidepools and thought it was very romantic with great food and again would give it a 9 as it did not ahve a sunset view
WE had lunch at Cafe Hanalie too and thought it was great food adn the view to die for. But as fo Jojos it was OK a snow cone is a snow cone to me. People told me it was different but it sure looked at tased like a snow cone to me.
Our helicoper ride like yours was fantastic and in fact hte hightlight of the whole trip. but we went with Inter-island with only 4 passengers, no doors and a waterfall landing and picnic WOW and WOW!
We would love to stay at Secret bEach maybe next time we go it sounds ideal for a wedding and honeymoon. I can't wait to see your pictues. Mine are not developed yet
Oct 12th, 2004, 10:36 AM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 693
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
John for underwater it was just one of the disposables. But with a flash. They didn't turn out as well as the real thing though. I absolutely loved seeing the turtles and I saw octopus too but it camoflauged so well with the sand that you could see it in the picture. I got some pics of a few morey eels which were also kind of cool. Don't know if I put them on the web or not. We had a great time. I'll tell more about our diving experience when we get to the Maui portion of our trip. We actually swam with a large school of dolphins that swam into the cove below Kaanapali Resort. They just swam in the cove and kind of played with the 6 of us that were snorkeling there. About 200 of them. It was so cool. They were everywhere and the water was soo clear. And I DIDN'T BRIND THE UNDERWATER CAMERA!! But the memories of that 5 minutes will last forever.
Oct 13th, 2004, 04:29 AM
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
I would love to see your photos, but everytime I type the link in...it says the page I am looking for in unavailable..it's from ofoto, not the iternet thats telling me that...perhaps someone can tell me what I am probably typing wrong///like?or & signs??
i2
i2
Oct 13th, 2004, 04:32 AM
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 693
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
JohnD: I liked Kaua'i for the beauty and the ease of getting around the island. I liked Maui for the food and the nice hotels. I wasn't impressed with the BI. It didn't have anything to offer that I couldn't find on another island. We didn't see any lava flow so that made a difference. Every island has waterfalls and beautiful valleys. BI had acreas of old black lava but it's not enough of a draw for me to go back there. Next time we go to Hawaii, we would take a day trip to see the lava if it were flowing but I wouldn't stay there for 5 days again. Molokai was nice for this trip because we needed a rest but that's all it really has to offer - relaxation. Oahu is fine, but I could skip it. Again, it has valleys and waterfalls and a beautiful north shore that looks alot like Kauai's northshore except Kauai has less telephone poles etc in the way of your view. Honolulu is just full of highend shops and touriest shops and office buildings. You can see that at any big city. Waikiki is a very nice beach. My 10 year old would love it there - But for me - it's too close to the Florida scene. I'm glad we did all the islands but if we did it again it would be 1 week on Kauai's Northshore for hiking and snorkeling and 1 week in Wailea on Mauai for activities and food.
Oct 13th, 2004, 04:54 AM
#10
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,348
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Appreciate your candor and agree about Maui and Kaua`i, however differentially my wife and I are also drawn back to the B.I. on our return trips & anniversaries and still find new things to do there.
Mahalo nui loa for sharing!
Mahalo nui loa for sharing!
Oct 13th, 2004, 05:03 AM
#11
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,558
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nancy, I looked at every one of your 300+ photos! Makes me feel like I just had a mini-trip back to the islands. We took so many of the same pictures, it's eerie. North shore Kauai is one of our favorite places too! Ke'e Beach snorkeling, Kalalau Trail, Kilauea Bakery, amen to it all. So jealous of your dolphin encounter though. Thanks for taking the time to share your photos and trip report. Looking forward to reading more. And congratulations on your wedding!
Aloha, Maggi
Aloha, Maggi
Oct 13th, 2004, 05:40 AM
#12
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,348
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Reply to iceeu2, suggest you don't type anything, but instead (left)click and drag your mouse over Nancy's link until it becomes highlighted.
Next click on "edit" and "copy" to copy the link on to the clipboard. Click your mouse on the browser internet address line, delete what is currently showing there (e.g. www.fodors.com) and left click "edit" then "paste" and hit "enter" to redirect the browser to Nancy's website. Click view photos button. Hope this helps.
Next click on "edit" and "copy" to copy the link on to the clipboard. Click your mouse on the browser internet address line, delete what is currently showing there (e.g. www.fodors.com) and left click "edit" then "paste" and hit "enter" to redirect the browser to Nancy's website. Click view photos button. Hope this helps.
Oct 13th, 2004, 06:35 AM
#13
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 967
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for sharing your very personal pics! I can't wait to go back to The BI and Maui again next Sept. Your pics are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen posted here. I can't WAIT to here about the other islands, especially Molokai, as we have no plans to go there but it looks interesting. Did you consider the Lanai vs Molokai debate? I'm sure you did. What made you pic Molokai? The obvious ones - more to see of "old" Hawaii there, or is it something else?
Anxiously awaiting your future reports
Steve
Anxiously awaiting your future reports
Steve
Oct 13th, 2004, 09:11 AM
#15
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 241
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wow! Fantastic and beautiful photos! I especially loved the ones taken from your helicopter ride. And it looked like your wedding was beautiful too! My sister is looking for a place like that - let me know if you can give me any info.
Oct 13th, 2004, 10:30 AM
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 693
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I finally titled my pictures and put them in a better order for those of you who are looking at a particular place.
Now I have to get busy putting together the rest of my trip report.
Now I have to get busy putting together the rest of my trip report.
Oct 13th, 2004, 11:30 AM
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 693
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Big Island????????
Let me first say that our airline flights were great. None were ever crowded and I was sitting with the luggage waiting for my husband to come with the car rental. We travel around 1 each time and it worked out perfectly. We?d get up and eat a big breakfast, get packed between 10 and 11 , skipped lunch and were at the next island by 3 pm ready for a welcome drink at our next hotel. A little relaxation before a 7 pm dinner. It worked great and didn?t feel like we lost a whole day on the travel day.
Okay, the Big Island
Rainforest Retreat 2 nights ? rate 9. This place was wonderful. Much like the design of the Secret Beach Cottage only the living-room was twice the size and it would sleep a family of 4 no problem. Plus it was just outside the VNP in Volcano Village. They had delivered to our cottage very nice muffins and fruit the evening before for breakfast the next morning. There are 4 cottages on the property but with the rainforest surrounding us you could not see the others. And absolutely NO BUGS. We could leave our windows open. Again ? this was a wonderful place to feel alone but so close to everything. We ate that night at the Kilauea Lodge. It was a 10. Wonderful gourmet food. Yummy. The restaurant was rustic but the food was wonderful. Service was topnotch.
Kona Village ? 3 nights. Rate this a 5. Don?t get me wrong, this is a very cool place to stay. I rate it a 5 because of price. Our room was $900 a night and included all the food ? lots and lots for wonderful food. Huge lobster, extravagant lunch buffet, anything you want for breakfast, but the cottage on the lava beach, if compared to the other places we stayed, was worth about $350 per night. So no matter how much food you eat, I don?t think I could spend another $600 each day ? not even if I ate on Mama?s Fishhouse everyday. The cottages were very neat. But no A/C, no TV, no clock or alarm clock, the place was very spread out (which is good for privacy since you have to leave your windows open for a breeze). The paths from the cottages to the beach and common areas like the restaurants were a long distance and unpaved, so wearing sandals to dinner and walking the path made for yucky toes and sweating. I like to walk but not to a fine dining establishment. There were turtles feeding right in the little cove that the Kona Village sits on. They had some free activites which was nice, but again, we could never justify the cost. One of the waiters told us the place had just been purchased by the man who owned Beanie Babies. I wonder what changes he?ll make? Service was wonderful through out the resort. The pools were nice, but we are from Florida and have a pool in our back yard. In the whole 23 days in Hawaii, I got in a pool twice for a total of about 30 mins. So if all the hotels had no pools ? we?d be fine.
Restaurants:
Kilauea Lodge ? I spoke of this above. Very Good
Thai Restaurant in Volcano Village: Rated 7. This was a small family restaurant and the thai food was very good. I ordered mild on recommendation from our host at the Rainforest Retreat and I?m glad I did. It was very spicy but good.
Malasadas: I read a lot about these Portuquese Donuts. To me they were no big deal, just big donut holes with filling. I was looking for something special.
Kona Village: Rate food a 10. I like a said above, the food was wonderful. I had my first MacNut/Banana Pancakes here with coconut syrup. I was hooked. I brought home 2 bottles of the syrup and plan to make the pancakes at home to take my mind and mouth back to Hawaii. Maybe this weekend.
Activities:
We took a kayak trip with Ocean Safari. We went in some lava caves, anchored in a little cove and did some cliff jumping and snorkeling. The guide brought fresh fruit, drinks and snacks. It was only a 4 hour trip from 8 ? noon. Just right so that we could drive around the west part of the BI during the afternoon and visit a coffee farm and the Place of Refuge which were both really nice. I did say earlier that we didn?t have any rain but I forgot that we had some at the Place of Refuge. It rains 275 inches there a year and just 30 minutes north at the Kona Village it only rains 20 inches a year.
While we were on the Big Island there was an article in the little ?faxed? NY Times that said the VNP service had issued a statement the Mauna Loa was rumbling again for the first time in 20 years. It said is the big mountain waking up? That there had been hundreds of small tremors under it?s base in the last several months. The article just below that was about Hurricane Ivan getting ready to hit our home state.
The most beautiful single waterfall we saw on our trip was Apaka Falls near Hilo. If you go there ? don?t miss it. The Waipio Valley was not as spectacular as the valleys of Kauai but beautiful just the same. I wouldn?t visit them both again.
Massage at Mauna Lani: This place was beautiful and the massage at their spa in the little hale was wonderful. We had a Lumi Lumi hula couples massage ? you gotta do this once in your lift time ? at the least.
We left BI on Hawaii Air Taxi. Just a 6 seater plane out of the commuter terminal. No lines, no waiting. Just arrive at the airport and go. The flight was uneventful and nice to just grab our bags as we departed the plane in Maui and we were on our way to the 4 Seasons????????
Let me first say that our airline flights were great. None were ever crowded and I was sitting with the luggage waiting for my husband to come with the car rental. We travel around 1 each time and it worked out perfectly. We?d get up and eat a big breakfast, get packed between 10 and 11 , skipped lunch and were at the next island by 3 pm ready for a welcome drink at our next hotel. A little relaxation before a 7 pm dinner. It worked great and didn?t feel like we lost a whole day on the travel day.
Okay, the Big Island
Rainforest Retreat 2 nights ? rate 9. This place was wonderful. Much like the design of the Secret Beach Cottage only the living-room was twice the size and it would sleep a family of 4 no problem. Plus it was just outside the VNP in Volcano Village. They had delivered to our cottage very nice muffins and fruit the evening before for breakfast the next morning. There are 4 cottages on the property but with the rainforest surrounding us you could not see the others. And absolutely NO BUGS. We could leave our windows open. Again ? this was a wonderful place to feel alone but so close to everything. We ate that night at the Kilauea Lodge. It was a 10. Wonderful gourmet food. Yummy. The restaurant was rustic but the food was wonderful. Service was topnotch.
Kona Village ? 3 nights. Rate this a 5. Don?t get me wrong, this is a very cool place to stay. I rate it a 5 because of price. Our room was $900 a night and included all the food ? lots and lots for wonderful food. Huge lobster, extravagant lunch buffet, anything you want for breakfast, but the cottage on the lava beach, if compared to the other places we stayed, was worth about $350 per night. So no matter how much food you eat, I don?t think I could spend another $600 each day ? not even if I ate on Mama?s Fishhouse everyday. The cottages were very neat. But no A/C, no TV, no clock or alarm clock, the place was very spread out (which is good for privacy since you have to leave your windows open for a breeze). The paths from the cottages to the beach and common areas like the restaurants were a long distance and unpaved, so wearing sandals to dinner and walking the path made for yucky toes and sweating. I like to walk but not to a fine dining establishment. There were turtles feeding right in the little cove that the Kona Village sits on. They had some free activites which was nice, but again, we could never justify the cost. One of the waiters told us the place had just been purchased by the man who owned Beanie Babies. I wonder what changes he?ll make? Service was wonderful through out the resort. The pools were nice, but we are from Florida and have a pool in our back yard. In the whole 23 days in Hawaii, I got in a pool twice for a total of about 30 mins. So if all the hotels had no pools ? we?d be fine.
Restaurants:
Kilauea Lodge ? I spoke of this above. Very Good
Thai Restaurant in Volcano Village: Rated 7. This was a small family restaurant and the thai food was very good. I ordered mild on recommendation from our host at the Rainforest Retreat and I?m glad I did. It was very spicy but good.
Malasadas: I read a lot about these Portuquese Donuts. To me they were no big deal, just big donut holes with filling. I was looking for something special.
Kona Village: Rate food a 10. I like a said above, the food was wonderful. I had my first MacNut/Banana Pancakes here with coconut syrup. I was hooked. I brought home 2 bottles of the syrup and plan to make the pancakes at home to take my mind and mouth back to Hawaii. Maybe this weekend.
Activities:
We took a kayak trip with Ocean Safari. We went in some lava caves, anchored in a little cove and did some cliff jumping and snorkeling. The guide brought fresh fruit, drinks and snacks. It was only a 4 hour trip from 8 ? noon. Just right so that we could drive around the west part of the BI during the afternoon and visit a coffee farm and the Place of Refuge which were both really nice. I did say earlier that we didn?t have any rain but I forgot that we had some at the Place of Refuge. It rains 275 inches there a year and just 30 minutes north at the Kona Village it only rains 20 inches a year.
While we were on the Big Island there was an article in the little ?faxed? NY Times that said the VNP service had issued a statement the Mauna Loa was rumbling again for the first time in 20 years. It said is the big mountain waking up? That there had been hundreds of small tremors under it?s base in the last several months. The article just below that was about Hurricane Ivan getting ready to hit our home state.
The most beautiful single waterfall we saw on our trip was Apaka Falls near Hilo. If you go there ? don?t miss it. The Waipio Valley was not as spectacular as the valleys of Kauai but beautiful just the same. I wouldn?t visit them both again.
Massage at Mauna Lani: This place was beautiful and the massage at their spa in the little hale was wonderful. We had a Lumi Lumi hula couples massage ? you gotta do this once in your lift time ? at the least.
We left BI on Hawaii Air Taxi. Just a 6 seater plane out of the commuter terminal. No lines, no waiting. Just arrive at the airport and go. The flight was uneventful and nice to just grab our bags as we departed the plane in Maui and we were on our way to the 4 Seasons????????
Oct 13th, 2004, 11:51 AM
#19
Hi Nancy- I'm enjoying your report, and loved the photos. I gotta go back to look again now that they're in order- It was throwing me off seeing lava vents in the middle of kauai pics!
Btw- real malassadas don't have filling in the middle. The real ones are just the dough, and served hot off the line, and rolled in sugar & nutmeg. Next time you come, either get one at Champion Malassadas or the Punahou Carnival. Then you'll be hooked!
So glad you had a good trip. Are we going to hear how the florida luau goes too?
Btw- real malassadas don't have filling in the middle. The real ones are just the dough, and served hot off the line, and rolled in sugar & nutmeg. Next time you come, either get one at Champion Malassadas or the Punahou Carnival. Then you'll be hooked!
So glad you had a good trip. Are we going to hear how the florida luau goes too?
Oct 13th, 2004, 11:55 AM
#20
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 693
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
By the way - The sparerib recipe you gave me was a real hit at my Luau this weekend. I gave the recipe to my caterer and she made them exactly like the recipe for 90 people. They were such a hit that I'm sure it will become one of the items on her catering menu. Thanks a bunch.
