Starwood Preferred Guest - Mosquitos at Sheraton Molokai Lodge Hawaii?

The Mrs. and I are trying to decide where to take a family vacation in late February -early March 2003. We are deciding between two place on opposite sides of the planet, Italy and Hawaii.

I have been to Maui and Oahu before so I want to try some of the other islands. I am looking at the Sheraton Molokai Lodge and Beach Village. The Lodge has received pretty decent reviews here on FT. Since the lodge appears to be up in a wooded area "At the Beach Village, we feature the best in outdoor living with fully furnished canvas bungalows that are perfect for families and romantic couples", are there any mosquito/bug problems? Are there any other things that anyone has wished they had done/brought with them that I need to be prepared for at this hotel?

Also, does the hotel have any type of club floor/lounge where as a Platinum, we would have access for breakfast or snacks? I understand that the area is pretty expensive for food wise and so any opportunity to cut down on food costs helps!!

Also, what is the weather like in late February - early March?

Thanks for the help.

Thanks,

[This message has been edited by onedog (edited 12-08-2002).]

There was no bug problem at the bungalows or lodge, but we got heavily bit up when we went hiking on the island. But there are always lots of mosquitos when you go tramping through the vegetation on tropical islands. So yes, bring mosquito spray. There is a mouse problem on the island. Would you be staying in the tentalows or the lodge? If in the tentalows, don't bring any food inside that you don't put in the provided ice chest. A mouse broke into an unopened bag of chips we had. To be honest, the mouse thing would get to me if I had a baby along because we found droppings in the tentalow every morning - food or not. In the lodge rooms you could let the pupster crawl around without concern.

Breakfast is included as are cookies and sodas if you stay in the tentalows. They are very rustic though and unless you're used to camping, you might prefer the lodge (I do).

Food is expensive at the resort, but not very pricey at the restaurants on the island. There isn't a lot of choice though as there are only a handful of restaurants on the island. They're all very casual - pizza, Asian food, etc. - and inexpensive. There is also a little market across the street from the lodge where you can buy snacks and stuff reasonably.

February should have lovely weather (I'm going then too) and it's peak whalewatching season. The Sheraton's beach is supposed to be a great spot to sit and watch the whales from.

The lodge is not in a wooded area, BTW. It's on former ranch land.

As for things I wish I had brought, gloves and pads for mountain biking. Unfortunately, they rent bikes there but don't sell or rent gloves and pads. Had we have brought my son's they would have saved us a trip to the emergency room.

Feel free to email me if you have other questions.



[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 12-08-2002).]

When I moved to Hawaii I was told that an effective mosquito repellant is Bounce. Take a sheet of that and rub it on exposed skin - I guess the stupid little bloodsuckers don't like the smell.

Letiole gave you a very accurate assessment of the resort. Generally speaking, you'll find more mosquitoes wherever there are more trees and rainfall (e.g., the windward side of the islands). The Moloka'i resort is on the leeward (western) side, so it doesn't get as much rain.

If you've already been to Maui and O'ahu, and want to see another Hawaiian island, you might also want to consider Kaua'i. It is the norternmost of the main islands, and it gets a fair bit of rain in the winter, but, IME, has the least problem with mosquitoes (despite the fact that it's really really green). It's a lovely island, and the Sheraton in Po'ipu is definitely a kid-friendly place. There's a lot more to do and see on Kaua'i than on Moloka'i for someone who hasn't been to Hawai'i too many times already.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by VolleyballFerd:
When I moved to Hawaii I was told that an effective mosquito repellant is Bounce. Take a sheet of that and rub it on exposed skin - I guess the stupid little bloodsuckers don't like the smell.</font>

Did the Bounce work or is it just urban (wooded? forest?) legend like Avon Skin-So-Soft lotion was a really good mosquito reppelent. A while ago I read a Consumer Reports article on bug repellent where they tested all the standard bug juice and then also tested Skin-So-Soft. If I recall correctly, they found the Skin-So-Soft to be a non-effective lotion and the pleasant smell sometimes even attracted the mosquitos!

Basically, they said to use Deet.

The effectiveness of Avon Skin-So-Soft as a mosquito repellent isn't exactly urban legend. And if your child is under 2, it's recommended they don't use DEET.

http://www.azstarnet.com/destinations/outdoors/deserttips/outdoors_mosquito.shtml

http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Health/WestNileVirus/wnvdeet.html

[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 12-09-2002).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by letiole:
February should have lovely weather (I'm going then too) and it's peak whalewatching season. The Sheraton's beach is supposed to be a great spot to sit and watch the whales from.</font>

When are you going and which resort are you planning on staying? Someone told me that feb-mar is peak whale migration season?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by letiole:
The effectiveness of Avon Skin-So-Soft as a mosquito repellent isn't exactly urban legend.</font>

I believe that the Consumer Reports article I am thinking of did their study on the regular Skin-So-Soft, not the recently reformulated attempt by Avon to capitalize on the urban legend. The article I read was years ago, before Avon came out with the recentSkin-So-Soft Bug Guard Plus IR3535 (http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Health/WestNileVirus/wnvdeet.html) version.

Q: Is IR3535 an effective alternative to DEET?
A: IR3535 is the most recently marketed chemical repellant in the U.S, although it has been used in Europe for over 20 years. Presently, this repellant is only available through Avon as Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard Plus IR3535.

Comparative information on its ability to repel insects is sparse. One study by the US Department of Agriculture showed that IR3535 is not as effective as DEET in repelling mosquitoes.

Q: Is Skin-So-Soft bath oil an effective mosquito repellant?
A: Studies have shown that Skin-So-Soft bath oil has a very minimal repellant effect and is at least 10 times less effective than 12.5% DEET.

I hate mosquitos. My mosquito bites swell up huge and become super itchy. We have tried to avoid applying bug repellent to the Pupster before he was two years old. Basically, we just stayed away from places where there were bugs, or we just stayed indoors at dawn and dusk, and made sure that he was wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts whenever possible/practical.


[This message has been edited by onedog (edited 12-09-2002).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by onedog:
Did the Bounce work or is it just urban (wooded? forest?) legend like Avon Skin-So-Soft lotion was a really good mosquito reppelent.
</font>

I believe that it did work. However I never really had a mosquito problem after the first month I lived there. I got bit so much that first month that I think I must have developed some kind of immunity or tolerance. But my friends used Bounce when we went camping, and I think there is some truth to it.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">When are you going and which resort are you planning on staying? Someone told me that feb-mar is peak whale migration season?</font>

I'm going Feb. 5-11 and spending the whole time at the Molokai Sheraton. Yes, Feb and March are peak whale times. You generally start seeing them in mid-December and there are a few straglers in April. Maui and Molokai are the best islands to see them from, but you can take whalewatch boats out from all the island.