Destinations

One of the best times to go to Maui is the first two weeks of December. The Thanksgiving crowd is over and the Christmas crowd has yet to arrive.  My husband I were in Maui  15th-18th December.  The weather was beautiful. It was sunny, warm and, well, perfect.  We stayed in Wailea, at the Fairmont Kea Lani,  www.kealani.com.  This resort is one of the most beautiful places in which I have ever stayed.  It is very elegant and timeless.  The Kea Lani is right on the beach. They have all kinds of water sport activities available. 

We loved our room. Well, okay, it was a 1 bedroom suite, but then, all the rooms are one bedroom suites. I had mentioned we were celebrating our 25th anniversary, and we were upgraded to an ocean view suite. The view from our spacious balcony was incredible, especially when the sunset over the ocean.  I hardly wanted to leave the room, it was that wonderful.  I insisted that we spend one whole day just at the resort, and not do anything else.

This resort is great for families as well as couples. There is a vast pool area, complete with a water slide in the children’s area.  There is also an adults only pool.  There are lots of activities that the kids will enjoy doing.

We had been to Maui a few times before, but had never driven up to the top of  Haleakala. If you go, make sure you take a wrap of some kind. You will be over 9000 feet above sea level, and it gets pretty chilly up top. This outing is well worth a day trip, half day at a minimum. It takes quite a while to drive up to the entrance into the national park.  Don’t be discouraged if it looks gloomy when you get to the park entrance, just go on up. You will be well rewarded. At some point you emerge from all of the cloud cover and are above the clouds. This is truly an awesome experience.

At the top of Haleakala, you can glimpse the Observatory, walk around a bit and check out the National Park Service’s display. On a clear day you can see Kona and Oahu.

When you head down the mountain, drive very carefully. Don’t wait until it gets dark, as there are no street lights or reflectors on the narrow road. Watch out for cattle too.  It’s a fantastic drive, as long as you pay attention to what you are doing.

For our Anniversary treat, we went out to dinner.  We chose a restaurant called Café O’lei in Kihei, www.cafeoleirestaruants.com.  This is a very popular place. Even though it was busy, we did not have long to wait for our table.   It is a mid range price restaurant.  Entrees start in the mid $20.00’s. A glass of wine will cost you $9.00, minimum. This is typical for a steak and seafood restaurant.  They were able to cook my steak well-done, without ruining it. The seafood was also quite tasty. It is a good value for a special occasion.

Wow!  What an improvement!  It now feels like you are in Hawaii, not Atlanta.  Colors, furniture art work all Hawaiian - they even consulted with a local historian on artifacts and choices for
decor.  The spa is spectacular!!!

Pictures can’t do it justice, a true retreat with an atmosphere of serenity.  Waiting area is relaxing and beautiful.  Treatments are quite varied.  The Virtuoso ammenity of breakfast is a generous added value.  The buffet theme changes daily and you can have anything cooked to order.  There are 4  restaurants on property including a cozy sushi bar.

This has to be one of the best hotels in Hawaii and there are lots of very attractive offers to
encourage clients to make the trip!
 
Aloha!

The refurbished rooms are very nice with a Hawaiian feeling.  The spa is spacious and offers treatments in  hales in the gardens with views of the ocean in the distance.  Brown’s is still the favorite restaurant on the beach.  For an activity fee of $65 per week,you can have access to aquatic toys and a ride on the outrigger canoe.

There is a show and dinner two nights a week which is sort of a luau but improved food and entertainment.  The Virtuoso ammenity of breakfast is a wonderful surprise, you can have anything cooked to order.  This is a value of about $25 or more per person!  Restaurants are limited to two;fine dining has been closed (sign of the times).