One thing we value is work life balance. After a busy 2010, we decided to put that into practice and set off for a little R&R on the west side of the Maui to a resort called Honua Kai on Kaanapali Beach.
The resort is gorgeous. It’s a brand-new beachfront property, & according to Trip Advisor, it’s the highest rated place in the area. This means a lot since Kaanapali appeared to be one of the fairly swanky parts of the island. Even though beach access is so convenient, they still provide big, warm pools & plentiful lounging areas. This was the first time I’ve seen those lounge chairs in the pool (I don’t go out much).
We both did a lot of swimming, but the studious Cindy loved to take in the sun & lounge with her Kindle in hand.
Between the pools & the beach was Duke’s Restaurant, an open-air food hole with an outstanding happy hour. A good place to get cheap bar food like tacos & ribs.
We check in & the receptionist says that we’re upgraded from a 1-bedroom/1-bathroom to a suite double that size. I mentioned that we’re a married couple, so I’m not quite sure why the extra bedroom was necessary. I suppose I shouldn’t complain about getting a bigger place. At least we could take simultaneous showers in our separate bathrooms.
Of course, the reason we booked a suite at a beachfront property is for the views. We were promised a partial ocean view, so for those moments when it wasn’t raining, we kicked it on the patio (or as Cindy calls it, the lanai). Again, Cindy curled up with her trusty Kindle & I took advantage of our free wi-fi with my MacBook Air.
Our second night was pretty intense. Maui was storming like crazy. Never has a storm woken me from my sleep, but the constant thundering & the pouring rain drilling our bedroom window got me out of bed at 3:30am. The next morning, many parts of the resort was flooded, including the well-manicured footpaths.
We didn’t let the rain bother us much when it came to pool time.
We got tired of Duke’s real fast, & since we rented a car, we explored our neighboring areas like Downtown Lahaina. A friend recommended visiting Ululani’s Shave Ice, because, in his words, the owner “was originally from Oahu and learned there, which is why it’s as close to Matsumoto’s as you can get on Maui.”
For those who have been to Hawaii know that Japanese cuisine has a huge presence. We took advantage of that & had our share of ultra-tasty ramen & kaiten-zushi at a chain Cindy used to frequent back in Japan.
When we got tired of always going out to eat & had our fridge stacked with leftovers, Cindy did her magic & re-purposed the food into a brand new meal. Cooking on vacation? She thinks it’s relaxing & therapeutic. I just nod in agreement & accept that I’m a lucky husband.
Like I mentioned earlier, we did a lot of swimming. I’m kinda bummed that we didn’t get to go snorkeling (I even packed my snorkel), but since the pools were so nice & warm, I didn’t mind it too much. Oh well, I’ll snorkel next time.
Visiting the beach was probably the most adventurous thing we did on the trip. Even still, all we did was lie on the sand while Cindy — you guessed it — read books on her Kindle. Yep, nothing too adventurous for us!
To complete our relaxing vacation, we drove down to Wailea to the Grand Wailea Hotel & Spa to get treatments in their world-renowned facility. The resort itself was quite impressive, but the treatments were even better. To start you off and get you into relaxation mode, you go through a series of baths similar to some onsen facilities in Japan with water of different temperatures containing therapeutic minerals and salts. Though quite expensive, worth every penny.
The only other part of Hawaii I’ve visited is Oahu. Would I visit Maui again? Absolutely. Would I recommend it to anyone who is visiting Hawaii for the first time? If you’re a city guy/gal, stick to Oahu & Honolulu/Waikiki areas (which I love). For those who want to get away, live it up in luxury & can spare the expense, you’ll love the Lahaina/Kaanapali area.
See the rest of the photos in this Flickr album »