Hawaiian Dream Vacation

The Hyatt Maui Resort and Spa is a sprawling property, complete with penguins, Black and white swans and flamingos.

We had a partial ocean view, king room that was perfect for us. The room faced the mountains and golf course, but if you went out to the lanai, you could see the ocean from it. There is a walk-in closet with a safe, robes, and an iron with an ironing board. They have a coffee maker with coffee that they replenish each day and there was even a hair dryer.

The bedroom had a great king bed, with small work desk and a couch plus coffee table that made the room seem much bigger. We really liked the shampoo, conditioner and lotion that were supplied.

There is a small fridge stocked with the usual mini bar things, but it wasn’t very cold. We took everything out, to put our water and beer in it, and it wasn’t cold at all. More like cool.

The pool was great and there is a waterfall that you can swim thru. There you will find the Grotto bar. It’s not an actual ‘swim up’ bar, meaning you have to get out of the water to order your drinks. We didn’t have any trouble getting lounge chairs at the pool, but I’ve heard that depending on the time of year, you have to get up pretty early to get chairs.

The kiddie pool area is really cute, with turtles to play on, water that sprays up from the ground, a swinging rope bridge and a sandbox.

You can rent cabana for the beach and there are hammocks spread thru the property, to relax on. They have a spa and a gym that we didn’t visit, but we did jog on the beach path, that runs from one end of Kaanapali beach, to Black Rock and beyond. The lobby and courtyard are very Hawaiian themed and open air. The penguins have a home, off the lobby. There is a shopping area but with most hotels, the merchandise was expensive. You can find the same thing at various shops at Whalers Village and other shopping areas.

It’s a 15 minute walk to Whalers Village where you can eat and shop.

The first day of valet parking is free, after that, it’s $12.00 a day, not including tip. We stayed in the Lahaina tower and there is a very small parking area for rooms in that wing. Beware: if you try to park there between 5pm and 9pm, good luck! The Drums of the Pacific Luau is in that area and the parking lot is full. After the luau, the spots open up. So either park there before the luau and don’t drive anywhere, or wait till after 9 to park.

This is a large property (40 acres) and no matter what tower you stay in, there will be quite a walk to get to your room.

The Sheraton Maui Resort is on one prime piece of Kaanapali Beach, located right next to Black Rock.

The lobby is open air and you can see the beach and Black Rock, only a few feet away.
We had a king size bed in a deluxe ocean view room. The room was large and had a great view of the beach and pool. There is a small, empty fridge in the room for your waters, beer, etc. The bathroom was huge, but lacking in counter space because the counter curves in and out. If it was the same width for the entire counter, there would be plenty of space. The shower was enclosed by a curved shower curtain rod, making the shower much bigger. There is a coffee maker in the room and a small safe in the closet. The room came with robes, which are a cotton blend, but not bulky, like terrycloth. LOVED the robes.
The lanai had a small table with 2 chairs, so you can enjoy the sunrise or sunset in comfort.

We didn’t eat at any of the restaurants, but we did have snacks and drinks at the pool which were, of course, expensive.
The pool was great. It wound around the property lazy river style and had some hidden areas with lounge chairs…but you have to get up early to get those. That’s too much work for me...I like to sleep in and take my time when I’m on vacation. But the Sheraton has a 20 minute rule..if you put a towel on a chair to hold it and you’re not back in 20 minutes…they will take your stuff off and offer it to someone else. I did like that. I’ve heard horror stories about other resorts where people put towels or books on lounge chairs, then don’t come back until late in the day, which I think is RUDE.

You can rent a cabana on the beach for the day for $35.00. We rented one so we could just hang out in some shade and privacy as well as somewhere to put our stuff when we snorkeled. There is a hut near the pool where you can rent snorkel gear, but it’s EXPENSIVE. It was $20.00 a day per person to rent goggles, fins and snorkels. Save your money...there is a place on Front Street next to Aloha Mixed Plate that had snorkel gear for $2.50 a day. There was also Boss Frogs, further down Front that had snorkel gear for $1.50 a day. We made the mistake of NOT renting from Boss Frogs and paid the 20bucks at the hotel. I was so mad when I found out how much it cost at the hotel, but at that point, you’re stuck unless you want to get dressed, drive back to Front Street and waste a bunch of time...so we got suckered.

All in all, this hotel was okay, but I preferred the Hyatt.

This is a secret place that has been let out of the bag! The Gazebo has wonderful inexpensive breakfasts, lunches and a one of a kind view! The hours are from 7:30am until 2pm and the line does start at 7am. This is the place you definitely have to get up early for, unless you like standing in line.

Just go North on Hwy 30, (The LOWER part of Honoapiilani Rd) to the Napili Shores resort. Drive straight to the back of the complex until you come to a dead end. Park and walk thru the pool and it’s right there.

There are about 20 tables inside here, and service is pretty good, so tables turn relatively fast and he (Jerry, the owner) usually has a coffee station set up at 7am, to help wake you up.

Just so you know, the combo pancakes (macadamia nut, banana and pineapple) are to die for and you absolutely have to have at least a short stack to share. You would be doing yourself a huge injustice if you skipped them. They come topped with this wonderful whip cream concoction of Dream Whip, butterscotch and maple syrup. It sounds really sweet, but it’s perfect. I had it on the side because I wasn’t sure if I would like it, but it really made the dish. The coconut syrup that was on the table was good, but the dream whip really was perfect with the pancakes.

My other favorite dish (because I share the pancakes) is the Popeye omelet. It’s loaded with fresh spinach, Maui onions, cheese and topped with hollandaise sauce. YUMMY!
Hubby tends to get the Portuguese sausage omelet.
They have POG if you’re interested and even the coffee is yummy.

We’ve never had lunch here, but they have some interesting looking salads. Maybe next time we come, we’ll have lunch, but breakfast is a must!

Skip the $25.00 breakfast buffets and make the short drive thru a very quaint community to the Napili Shores Resort and the Gazebo restaurant. You might get a chance to ring the ‘Whale bell' that sits poolside.

Do yourself a favor and visit this place while you’re here.
Okazuya has been consistently voted best take-out and I can vouch for it. If you get a chance to eat here, do it, you won’t regret it.
It’s very inexpensive, so when you get tired of paying 40 bucks per entrée, you’ll think twice about it.

I suggest stopping by and picking up a menu, while you’re out and about one day, because the place gets very busy and it can take a while to get your food, so if you can call it in first, it will save you a ton of time waiting around, outside this tiny place.
There are a few stools inside and a couple small tables outside, but we prefer to take it back to the hotel, or to the beach to eat it. This is definitely not a sit down restaurant.

The signature dishes here are the ono or mahimahi with capers, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms in a lemon sauce and the Thai chili salmon. That’s not to say that everything else isn’t good, because trust me it’s ALL good!
The mahimahi with capers is SO good, it’s impossible to believe that it came from a take out place. The teriyaki steak is cooked to temperature and is wonderful and the Thai chili salmon, melts in your mouth. You will be amazed at the food they serve.

With entrée’s you get a choice of macaroni salad or stir fried veggies. Both are excellent. Everything is served with rice, but you can substitute that for an extra 95 cents.
There is a small glass fridge with drinks in it, but no fountain drinks and they recently started selling desserts, also.
There are burgers, sandwiches and pasta on the menu as well as other Chinese dishes, but I think you should skip all that and go for the gold!

Trust me, add this place to your ‘must do’ list. It’s a wonderful change of pace and has great, great food.

It's about a 6 minute drive, North of the Kaanapali beach resort area.

Driving thru the cute town of Paia, there are galleries, shops and a gas station, but the real draw is the food at Mama’s Fish House. Don’t fret if you don’t see it right away... you have to drive completely thru the town, up a hill, then you will see a boat with the name written on it, on the left hand side.

Mama’s is set on a beautiful stretch of beach that is breathtaking at sunset. The window seats are literally 50 feet away from the ocean. The bartender told us that the restaurant works with about 30 local fishermen that they get their fresh fish from and they never know what the daily catch will be, until the fishermen show up in the morning. They also change the menu twice a day to reflect the freshest fish. This particular day, the Ahi was only 2 hours old, so we ordered the sashimi and an order of the Maui onion soup to start off with.

To our amazement, we were brought an amuse’ of lobster bisque. Now THAT was good... It was both creamy and sweet. Our sashimi came out next and it absolutely melted in our mouths. The only other time I’ve had fish that fresh, was when I caught it myself in Key West.

My onion soup was really good as well. It’s their version of French onion soup, but the crouton is topped with Vermont cheddar. It was really, really good. The sweetness of the onions, mixed with the saltiness of the broth were a perfect combination.

On to the Piece de resistance, our entrées. Hubby had the signature dish of Macadamia nut encrusted, stuffed Mahi mahi. It was served with a side of steamed asparagus and was out of this world. The lobster and crab stuffing was never too salty or overbearing, it let the sweetness of the lobster shine thru. Yummy!

I took a risk and ordered the sugar cane grilled Ahi with a green papaya salad. When my plate came out, it looked like grilled pork chops because the sugar cane was skewered right thru the tuna (see my picture, below). Wow this was good! Cooked to rare, of course, it was wonderful. The papaya salad was excellent as well, really complimenting the tuna.

I was stuffed, but knew I had to have dessert, so we chose the Kuau pie, which is a chocolate pie, baked in a caramel crust. To die for! The sunset was awesome, as was the food and the atmosphere.

It was a really long drive back to Lahaina and had we not been on that side of the island, I can’t say that I would have driven all the way over there, just for dinner, but it was really good.

It cost us $170 before the tip and really was an event for us.

If you want to try local ‘plate lunch’, then the place to do it is Da Kitchen. There is a location in Kahului, by the airport and one in Kihei at the Rainbow Mall.

The one in Kahului, is great because you can stop there on the way to Lahaina or Kihei and get something to munch on before you head out for the drive. Just follow the road out of the airport and stay on Haleakala Highway, to the right (don’t go towards Lahaina) and take your first left on Koloa St. It’s in the strip mall on the right hand side.

We had a couple appetizers consisting of Lumpia, which are basically egg rolls and an order of Shrimp Shumai. Both were wonderful! The lumpia were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The shrimp were sweet and the cabbage added a nice crunch to them. For our main dishes, hubby had the tuna sandwich and soup combo. The soup was seafood chowder that was out of this world! The tuna was served on whole wheat bread and was pretty good. I had the teriyaki beef plate lunch and it was served with rice and macaroni/potato salad. The beef was good, but I wasn’t too thrilled with the salad. I LOVE macaroni salad, and the potatoes in it, ruined it for me. We got to the restaurant right at 11am, when they open, and by the time we ordered our food, the place was full and there were people waiting for tables.

This is a quirky little place, with a wave coming out the wall and restrooms that were down the hallway, outside. The keys to the restrooms hang by the cash register and there is a spatula for the women’s room and a huge spoon for the boys room.

We really enjoyed our lunch here, but we ordered way too much food. We should have forgone the appetizers, but they were SO good! If you get a chance, stop by Da Kitchen and have something to eat… you won’t regret it.

Now this is a good time!

Not for the faint of heart or those afraid of heights. Zip lining Haleakala Crater is pretty darn cool. I know most people go to Maui, to sit on the beach or scuba dive, but this is something completely different and exciting.

If you’re staying in the Lahaina area, the drive really isn’t that bad. You have to head back towards the airport and take a right on Highway 37 all the up the mountain. You’ll turn off, right before you see the sign for the Haleakala Crater onto Hwy 378 and drive 2 and half miles till you see the 3 red and white buildings on the left hand side.

You’ll suit up and get a quick lesson on how the equipment works then the short hike starts. The first line is short and each one gets longer. The last one is an amazing 750 feet long and 200 feet in the air! WOW! You have to take a running leap to get some speed for the last one. It’s a RUSH! There’s a short, 2 minute drive back to the headquarters after the last line.

There are always 2 guides for each group, one at the start of the line and one to help you get unhooked at the other end.

The hike isn’t bad, not real steep or anything, but there is an area with some wooden stairs. Halfway through, there is a swinging rope bridge that you have to cross and it’s pretty wobbly, but very exciting. (make sure you hold on with both hands)

TIPS: If you want to take a camera, they do have fanny packs that they will lend you, for free, so you can put your camera or whatever in it. There is no water served, so take a small bottle if you’re the type to get thirsty. I suggest a Camelback, which is a backpack that carries water and has a drinking tube, so your hands are free. We got one at Costco for 20bucks. There is also no indoor plumbing anywhere on the property, only porta-potties, so if you have a phobia of them...make sure you go beforehand.

Our tour took about an hour and a half, but it depends on the group size and if there are any chickens in the group. Don’t sign up if you think you might chicken out...they won’t give you a refund. The day that we went, it was raining and they didn’t cancel. The rain went down to a drizzle after a short burst, then it was nice and cool out. Max was our guide and he was not at all enthusiastic or funny. We still enjoyed ourselves, but he didn't seem very happy. Just an FYI

If you’ve never been to Hawaii, you HAVE to attend a luau…it’s almost a law. (kidding)

I had heard very good things about the Old Lahaina one, so I made a reservation 10 months before our trip.

Seating is assigned by when you make your reservation, so don’t make it the day before and expect to be in the front row. There really isn’t a bad seat in the house, so don’t worry about being behind a wall or something. You have the choice of either traditional mat seating or table seating. You will be sat at a long table that holds 6 to 8 people, so if you don’t like to socialize, this isn’t the luau for you.

After checking in and getting shown to your table, you have time to stroll the beautiful grounds and see some local craftsman make and sell their wares. You can see the covered imu, which is the pit where they cook the pig. All cocktails and beers and included in the price, and there is a list of all the ‘island’ cocktails they make on the back of your seat card. The glasses are pretty much rocks glasses, so don’t expect a 10 oz Mai Tai, but at the same time, you can have as many as you like.

There is a big ceremony, to uncover the pig, but we missed it because there was never an announcement, nor did our waiter tell us…I guess you just have to know. So we were kind of bummed that we didn’t get to see it. After that, they start letting tables go to the buffet. Your server will tell you when it’s your tables’ turn.

The buffet was rather large consisting of the pork from the imu, lomi lomi salmon, chicken, beef, salads, sushi, poi, the list goes on. I had been looking forward to the food for months and was sadly disappointed. The food was mediocre at best, maybe because it’s a buffet? I’m not sure what it was, but I wasn’t impressed and I LOVE buffets!

The entertainment was nice. There is a story being told by the emcee, and the dancers come out and perform the story. Hula dancers are always great to watch!

All in all, this luau cost us over $200.00 for 2 people and I don’t feel satisfied at all. I had very high expectations because I’ve heard really good things about it and it was listed as the best luau on Maui, but I didn’t see it. Next time, I will save my money and go to a restaurant, instead.

On Puunene Avenue, in Kahului is the Maui swap meet which is a great place to get gifts and knick-knacks. Parking is free at either the swap meet grounds or thru the next stoplight, on the left hand side. There’s a lot of territory to cover and I suggest getting there EARLY because no matter what time of year you go, it starts getting HOT out around 10:30am.

Every Saturday, the swap meet starts at 7am and ends at noon and cost 50 cents to get in. There are rows and rows of vendors hocking their wares. Jewelry, t-shirts, fruit, sarongs and other Hawaiian themed clothes, paintings, ceramics, almost anything you’re looking for can be found here. I found the prices to be competitive with say, ABC or other shops along the beach. We bought a handmade, pearl rosary for my mother in law that she just loves!

There are only porta-potties here, but there is a gas station on the other side of the post office that has an indoor restroom.

ABC stores are wonderful! I bought almost all of my gifts from here. The prices are great and you can find them all over the place. I saw 3 in Kona on Alii Drive alone, within a 2 mile radius of each other and in Maui, they were on practically every corner. I think ABC is my favorite store, next to Nordstrom on the Mainland.

This is a great place to get souvenirs, sunscreen, snacks, beer (at some locations), beach towels, smokes (at $7 a pack!), Kona coffee, Christmas ornaments, jewelry, knick-knacks, chocolate covered macadamia nuts, beach sandals, t-shirts, caps, sarongs and almost anything you can think of. The best part is, every one that I went into, had a slightly different variety of gifts. I personally don’t like the real high end stores when purchasing gifts, but ABC had me covered, literally from head to toe. And every time I saw one… I had to stop in and see what I was missing. Silly, huh?

The little beach sandal necklaces are nice and I bought quite a few, for friends. A 6-box pack of chocolate macadamia nuts were $11 and came in a handy carry pouch. I bought a couple pairs of shorts and sweatpants that say "Maui" on the butt and some really cute, flowered sandals that I paid 7bucks for.

ABC is a not-to-miss store, they have it all!