bocastephen
Oct 12, 04, 2:57 pm
Hawaii 2004 Trip Report
Maui
------
Hotel 1 - Grand Wailea - This hotel was absolutely stunning. A beatiful location, superb rooms, awesome breakfast buffet. We had an oceanview room in the wing beside the Napua Tower. Highly recommended, but very expensive unless you are there for a meeting and get a special rate. The hotel was very quiet when we were there. The pool is a must-do. A multi-level huge pool connected by waterslides that was really fun. Many of the other folks around the pool area were Kanaka Maoli (native Hawaiian) visiting from other islands and alot of Hawaiian was spoken - especially by the younger kids, which was very good to hear. It's so important that the Hawaiian language and culture is continually passed to the younger generations.
Hotel 2 - Westin Maui - We were there using points and received an auto-upgrade to an oceanfront room. We requested and received a transfer to the Beach Tower when our Ocean Tower room was not yet ready for occupancy. The view overlooked Black Rock and the ocean (although the view directly down overlooked the back of whalers village). The hotel was very busy, but not chaotic. The Beach Tower (actually the tower closest to the ocean) did have larger rooms and was more comfortable - but, something I can't figure out about the Westin - why in the world are the shower heads so low? I had to do a cirque du soleil style contortion to shampoo my head!
Restaurant 1 - Pacific'O - what can I say about this place, but it's one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. Perfect location, excellent service and very tasty food. I know some feel it's over-rated, but I have never had a bad time there and it remains on my must-eat-at list. I highly recommend it.
Restaurant 2 - Aloha Mixed Plate - always a good place for lunch, they serve a tasty plate lunch that is sure to please. Located in Lahaina, it's about a 5 minute drive from the Kaanapali resorts.
Restaurant 3 - Sam Sato's - a new try for us, Sam Sato's is considered one of the original plate lunch and noodle standards in Maui. It is not open for
dinner, so get there well before 230pm. They are located in an industrial park in Wailuku, and make a perfect spot for lunch after a visit to the I'ao
Valley. The restaurant is full of local residents (we were the only visitors during our lunch) who frequent the place often. I recommend either the plate
lunch or the dry noodles - better yet, get one of each and share. Don't forget a turnover pastry on your way out.
Restaurant 4 - A Saigon - excellent vietnamese food located in Wailuku. I am from florida, so my opinion on what is great vietnamese might not be the same as the opinion of someone from Orange County or Houston, but I still recommend this place as a worthwhile visit. The flavors were crisp and distinct, the beef pho was superb and the rolls were filled with aromatic herbs, shrimp and pork. Very tasty and very affordable.
Activity 1 - U'lelena Show - some historical inaccuracies and Capt. Cook must be rolling in his grave, but if you like abit of Cirque Du Soleil style interpretive dance movements and some excellent percussion music, this is a good way to spend an evening. Don't view the show as a realistic portrayal of Hawaiian history, just sit back and enjoy some very innovative movements, costumes, music and a great cast.
Activity 2 - Spontaneous Hula rehearsal - After walking back from dinner at Pacific'O, we were treated to a Hula rehearsal by some local teens who were practicing at the tennis courts. The music was great, the dancing superb, and the fact it was a spontaneous and unstaged treat made it even more special - watching young Hawaiians who really love the Hula practice their routines was one of the highlights of the trip. I can't promise that you will see this on your trips, but if you do happen to encounter a group practicing outdoors, stop for awhile and enjoy.
Activity 3 - Snorkeling - Ahihi Bay and Black Rock. Rather than pay high prices for tourist laden boats going to Molokini, we usually opt for finding quiet and secluded spots for snorkeling. After finding Makena was a no-no and the beach near Lahaina had shark warnings (thanks to Snorkel Bob's tip sheet for updates not found in guidebooks), we did our traditional visit to Black Rock and a morning snorkel at Ahihi Bay. Ahihi was an excellent choice, full of bright and colorful coral and lots of fish. The further out you go, the nicer it is. Park your car on the side of the road, and use the northern corner for the easiest entry into the water.
Activity 4 - A day in the mountains - After getting abit overheated, we decided to take in some cool mountain air. A nice drive to Makawao was followed with a drive up the Olena Rd to the very end, enjoying cool breezes and the smell of fresh eucalyptus.
Activity 5 - A drive around the West Maui Mountain coast from Kaanapali to Kahalui - This was an awesome drive along some beautiful coastline. I highly
recommend it. The entire road is now paved, but there are some cliff-hugging narrow and curvy spots. A good map will point out the places to stop and view the scenery, including a blowhole near the top of the island. There is a small town with a beautiful church that you see as you drop down from the hills - the view is breathtaking.
Activity 5 - Kaanapali to Hana via the Piilani Hwy. Thanks to the FTers who wrote this route was OK to take. We drove through some nice upcountry towns, down past the winery and along a road that was absolutely stunning with its clear views of the water and cliffs. The fun began when we found the "bumpy" part of the road, which lasted abit longer than our Sebring would have liked :) That was followed by a few miles of choppy gravel highway, but for those visitors unsure about their rental cars, I can say that 70% of the cars we passed on this road were rentals. The views were spectacular, and the quiet remoteness of this part of Maui was so refreshing. We stopped at the Seven Pools for some photo ops and to watch the sunset. The interesting part was watching the tourists who took the Hana Hwy southbound from Paia get ready to continue along the Piilani Hwy back into town at night - not sure they knew what was in store for them, as I would not want to drive that road at night :) The drive was just awesome and I am really glad we did it.
Hawaii - The Big Island
-----------------------
Hotel - Hilton Waikola Village - This is the hotel everyone either loves or hates. Frankly, I love it. It is huge, but you can mitigate the size by choosing
a tower that matches your activity plans. We planned on spending most of our time off property, so we opted for the newly renovated lagoon tower, which was a short walk to the main lobby. The room overlooked the small bay and the dolphin lagoon. I was greeted on the balcony by a curious dolphin from the lagoon below who swam over to give us a look. I did not realize how shallow the pool is for them, and I am not at all pleased with the Dolphin Quest setup, the number of routines they do with the dolphins each day, or the fact that they have limited room to swim around in. That shallow water
must be super warm too, which is not good for the atlantic bottlenose dolphins. I am not sure if the hotel has received any complaints about their program setup, but I might voice my concerns with the Hawaiian SPCA to see what open issues there are. Anyway, if staying at the hotel, just choose the tower closest to where you need to be and the size of the property won't be a big deal. Take some time to stroll the covered walkways and enjoy their collection of Polynesian art.
Restaurant 1 - Izakaya Kai - the perfect setting for a tasty and fun meal of Japanese delights. The sashimi platter was awesome, the chicken katsu perfect, and the service friendly and helpful. I think this place is fairly well known to frequent BI visitors, so I will add my kudos to the list of satisfied
customers. I wish they would open for lunch.
Restaurant 2 - Kona Mixed Plate - a decent solid mixed plate lunch, frequented by locals - but the portions are HUGE - somewhat "out of proportion". I was still full the next day. The food didnt have the flavor of Sam Sato's or Aloha Mixed Plate, so we were abit disappointed, but it seems to be the best place to get local lunch food in the Kailua area.
Restaurant 3 - Pahu i'a at the Four Seasons Hualalai - What can be said about this place....perfect setting, perfect service, impeccably crafted dishes....in a nutshell, just perfect. We were there at night and the atmosphere was quiet. I imagine dinner during sunset would be very nice, but it would probably be quite busy. The prices are abit high, but it's well worth the experience. Just an example of the level of service this restaurant offers; when you are seated at night, your server will provide a small flat credit card size flashlight (with a neat Polynesian art design) to help illuminate the menu. If you have one special spare-no-expense meal during your visit to the BI, this should be it. Try the Bento Box to sample each of the evening's signature dishes.
Activity 1 - Hawaii Forest and Trail tour to the summit of Mauna Kea - This tour outfit is highly recommended and I concur with the great experience of
others. An excellent tour led by our guide Lisa. The tour picked up from the Hilton hotel, then headed up Saddle Rd to an abandoned sheep station where a tasty catered dinner was served under a tent. The sheep station was at 6500 ft and allowed everyone to get used to the altitude and the cooler temperatures. The sheep station had some resident horses who happily posed for photos while dinner was being setup. After dinner, we headed straight up the Maun Kea Access/John Burns Rd to the summit. A long, winding drive definately not recommended for 2 wheel drive rental cars, offered an awesome view of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Kohala, Hualalai, and even Haleakala. We passed cinder cone craters and other fascinating natural formations on our way up. The sunset was spectacular and watching the observatories open up for the night was an incredible sight. After the sunset, we headed back down to the visitors center at 9,000 ft to stargaze. HF+T set up in a private area below the VC, and served hot chocolate and macademia cookies while Lisa gave a very informative talk on the stars, and allowed us to view them through their high powered telescope. We saw shooting stars, satellites passing overhead, distant galaxies and literally clouds of stars making up our Milky Way. I am always amazed at the view from the VC and everytime I visit, I see new things I never noticed before.
I highly recommend this trip. HF+T supplies dinner, snacks, transportation, and warm clothes. When at the summit, we saw one 2wd SUV and one Mustang convertible show up - definately not recommended! Take the tour - it's well worth it.
Activity 2 - Kahalu'u Beach - (content taken from my Konaweb post) We went to Kahalu'u beach on a Saturday. I must say, it was a very busy place with alot of tourists and locals and boisterous kids. I am more used to quiet spots with fewer people, but its location to town and the excellent snorkeling cannot be beat. The clearest water, best coral and fish are away from the beach, further out to the break wall. Be prepared to swim abit to get the best experience, although there were alot of fish close to shore (I think they get fed, so they might crowd around snorkelers). Our experience was abit humurous. There were alot of kids splashing about, including one little Japanese boy, no more than 5, all done up in his arm band floaters and life vest who swam the front crawl like a little maniac, screaming at the top of his lungs (the entire sub fleet of the western pacific could hear him), who basically knocked my friend and I out of the way before crashing into a not-so-pleased looking lady...where he did a wide 360 degree turn and repeated the assault. We got out of his way (he was coming back for thirds), and my poor friend then drifted over some rocks, one of which turned out to be a turtle who leaned up and whacked my friend in the chin. Ouch. I think the turtles are used to the people and noise. One of them blocked my entry into the water and wouldn't budge, another just munched aimlessly on the grasses below while I took some photos...then the most hyper turtle was up near the rocks on the shore - when a swimmer got in his way, he
put out his flipper and gave them a solid whack upside the head. It was hysterical to watch....but again, the whole experience was way to busy for us. Maybe it was because we went there on a Saturday - perhaps weekdays are quieter. It is still probably the best bet for a snorkel without getting too far from Kailua and the ships.
Activity 3 - Dolphin Swim - My story about this is very long, so please visit konaweb.com and look for my post called "As Promised: A Report on my Dolphin Swim Experience" (linked here:post (http://www.konaweb.com/forums/visiting.cgi?read=21162) ) for a full read. It was a remarkable experience and I will remember it forever. I know alot of passions are stirred on this subject, so read my konaweb post to learn about my experience and how you can also enjoy a chance at an ethical, safe, and respectful interaction with wild dolphins.
Activity 4 - Kileaua - Well, Madame Pele has decided that each year she will show me exactly the same amount of lava and make sure it is out of reach :) I am not sure what she is afraid of, perhaps she feels I might dip my toe in it. Every time I visit, roughly a month before I arrive, whatever lava is flowing
will suddenly disappear and a small cluster of glow only visible at night will remain on the pali. The hike up the pali was 3 hours up and 2 hours down - we didnt arrive at the park until after 3, so we decided to skip the hike and visit the Thurston tube and some other sites we missed last time. Hopefully next year there will be some lava flowing and I promise to bring some gin for Pele if she would just let me get abit closer. The park is still a must-visit
regardless of how much lava is flowing. There is alot to see and do there.
Activity 5 - Waikoloa to Hilo Road Trip - Another casual drive to view the scenery on the Hilo side. We viewed the Waipio Valley lookout, the Scenic 4 Mile Drive (think of a mini version of the Hana HwY), had excellent smoothies at What's Shakin, walked (and sweated) through the Hawaiian Botanical Tropical Garden, looked around downtown Hilo and the waterfront, stopped by the Boiling Pots and finished it off with a totally surreal drive back to Waikoloa on Saddle Rd at dusk. We watched the sunset light up Mauna Kea, and drove across barren lava fields covered with milky clouds. The drive, although it might be abit scary for some in the dark, was just incredible and another highlight of the trip.
Maui
------
Hotel 1 - Grand Wailea - This hotel was absolutely stunning. A beatiful location, superb rooms, awesome breakfast buffet. We had an oceanview room in the wing beside the Napua Tower. Highly recommended, but very expensive unless you are there for a meeting and get a special rate. The hotel was very quiet when we were there. The pool is a must-do. A multi-level huge pool connected by waterslides that was really fun. Many of the other folks around the pool area were Kanaka Maoli (native Hawaiian) visiting from other islands and alot of Hawaiian was spoken - especially by the younger kids, which was very good to hear. It's so important that the Hawaiian language and culture is continually passed to the younger generations.
Hotel 2 - Westin Maui - We were there using points and received an auto-upgrade to an oceanfront room. We requested and received a transfer to the Beach Tower when our Ocean Tower room was not yet ready for occupancy. The view overlooked Black Rock and the ocean (although the view directly down overlooked the back of whalers village). The hotel was very busy, but not chaotic. The Beach Tower (actually the tower closest to the ocean) did have larger rooms and was more comfortable - but, something I can't figure out about the Westin - why in the world are the shower heads so low? I had to do a cirque du soleil style contortion to shampoo my head!
Restaurant 1 - Pacific'O - what can I say about this place, but it's one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. Perfect location, excellent service and very tasty food. I know some feel it's over-rated, but I have never had a bad time there and it remains on my must-eat-at list. I highly recommend it.
Restaurant 2 - Aloha Mixed Plate - always a good place for lunch, they serve a tasty plate lunch that is sure to please. Located in Lahaina, it's about a 5 minute drive from the Kaanapali resorts.
Restaurant 3 - Sam Sato's - a new try for us, Sam Sato's is considered one of the original plate lunch and noodle standards in Maui. It is not open for
dinner, so get there well before 230pm. They are located in an industrial park in Wailuku, and make a perfect spot for lunch after a visit to the I'ao
Valley. The restaurant is full of local residents (we were the only visitors during our lunch) who frequent the place often. I recommend either the plate
lunch or the dry noodles - better yet, get one of each and share. Don't forget a turnover pastry on your way out.
Restaurant 4 - A Saigon - excellent vietnamese food located in Wailuku. I am from florida, so my opinion on what is great vietnamese might not be the same as the opinion of someone from Orange County or Houston, but I still recommend this place as a worthwhile visit. The flavors were crisp and distinct, the beef pho was superb and the rolls were filled with aromatic herbs, shrimp and pork. Very tasty and very affordable.
Activity 1 - U'lelena Show - some historical inaccuracies and Capt. Cook must be rolling in his grave, but if you like abit of Cirque Du Soleil style interpretive dance movements and some excellent percussion music, this is a good way to spend an evening. Don't view the show as a realistic portrayal of Hawaiian history, just sit back and enjoy some very innovative movements, costumes, music and a great cast.
Activity 2 - Spontaneous Hula rehearsal - After walking back from dinner at Pacific'O, we were treated to a Hula rehearsal by some local teens who were practicing at the tennis courts. The music was great, the dancing superb, and the fact it was a spontaneous and unstaged treat made it even more special - watching young Hawaiians who really love the Hula practice their routines was one of the highlights of the trip. I can't promise that you will see this on your trips, but if you do happen to encounter a group practicing outdoors, stop for awhile and enjoy.
Activity 3 - Snorkeling - Ahihi Bay and Black Rock. Rather than pay high prices for tourist laden boats going to Molokini, we usually opt for finding quiet and secluded spots for snorkeling. After finding Makena was a no-no and the beach near Lahaina had shark warnings (thanks to Snorkel Bob's tip sheet for updates not found in guidebooks), we did our traditional visit to Black Rock and a morning snorkel at Ahihi Bay. Ahihi was an excellent choice, full of bright and colorful coral and lots of fish. The further out you go, the nicer it is. Park your car on the side of the road, and use the northern corner for the easiest entry into the water.
Activity 4 - A day in the mountains - After getting abit overheated, we decided to take in some cool mountain air. A nice drive to Makawao was followed with a drive up the Olena Rd to the very end, enjoying cool breezes and the smell of fresh eucalyptus.
Activity 5 - A drive around the West Maui Mountain coast from Kaanapali to Kahalui - This was an awesome drive along some beautiful coastline. I highly
recommend it. The entire road is now paved, but there are some cliff-hugging narrow and curvy spots. A good map will point out the places to stop and view the scenery, including a blowhole near the top of the island. There is a small town with a beautiful church that you see as you drop down from the hills - the view is breathtaking.
Activity 5 - Kaanapali to Hana via the Piilani Hwy. Thanks to the FTers who wrote this route was OK to take. We drove through some nice upcountry towns, down past the winery and along a road that was absolutely stunning with its clear views of the water and cliffs. The fun began when we found the "bumpy" part of the road, which lasted abit longer than our Sebring would have liked :) That was followed by a few miles of choppy gravel highway, but for those visitors unsure about their rental cars, I can say that 70% of the cars we passed on this road were rentals. The views were spectacular, and the quiet remoteness of this part of Maui was so refreshing. We stopped at the Seven Pools for some photo ops and to watch the sunset. The interesting part was watching the tourists who took the Hana Hwy southbound from Paia get ready to continue along the Piilani Hwy back into town at night - not sure they knew what was in store for them, as I would not want to drive that road at night :) The drive was just awesome and I am really glad we did it.
Hawaii - The Big Island
-----------------------
Hotel - Hilton Waikola Village - This is the hotel everyone either loves or hates. Frankly, I love it. It is huge, but you can mitigate the size by choosing
a tower that matches your activity plans. We planned on spending most of our time off property, so we opted for the newly renovated lagoon tower, which was a short walk to the main lobby. The room overlooked the small bay and the dolphin lagoon. I was greeted on the balcony by a curious dolphin from the lagoon below who swam over to give us a look. I did not realize how shallow the pool is for them, and I am not at all pleased with the Dolphin Quest setup, the number of routines they do with the dolphins each day, or the fact that they have limited room to swim around in. That shallow water
must be super warm too, which is not good for the atlantic bottlenose dolphins. I am not sure if the hotel has received any complaints about their program setup, but I might voice my concerns with the Hawaiian SPCA to see what open issues there are. Anyway, if staying at the hotel, just choose the tower closest to where you need to be and the size of the property won't be a big deal. Take some time to stroll the covered walkways and enjoy their collection of Polynesian art.
Restaurant 1 - Izakaya Kai - the perfect setting for a tasty and fun meal of Japanese delights. The sashimi platter was awesome, the chicken katsu perfect, and the service friendly and helpful. I think this place is fairly well known to frequent BI visitors, so I will add my kudos to the list of satisfied
customers. I wish they would open for lunch.
Restaurant 2 - Kona Mixed Plate - a decent solid mixed plate lunch, frequented by locals - but the portions are HUGE - somewhat "out of proportion". I was still full the next day. The food didnt have the flavor of Sam Sato's or Aloha Mixed Plate, so we were abit disappointed, but it seems to be the best place to get local lunch food in the Kailua area.
Restaurant 3 - Pahu i'a at the Four Seasons Hualalai - What can be said about this place....perfect setting, perfect service, impeccably crafted dishes....in a nutshell, just perfect. We were there at night and the atmosphere was quiet. I imagine dinner during sunset would be very nice, but it would probably be quite busy. The prices are abit high, but it's well worth the experience. Just an example of the level of service this restaurant offers; when you are seated at night, your server will provide a small flat credit card size flashlight (with a neat Polynesian art design) to help illuminate the menu. If you have one special spare-no-expense meal during your visit to the BI, this should be it. Try the Bento Box to sample each of the evening's signature dishes.
Activity 1 - Hawaii Forest and Trail tour to the summit of Mauna Kea - This tour outfit is highly recommended and I concur with the great experience of
others. An excellent tour led by our guide Lisa. The tour picked up from the Hilton hotel, then headed up Saddle Rd to an abandoned sheep station where a tasty catered dinner was served under a tent. The sheep station was at 6500 ft and allowed everyone to get used to the altitude and the cooler temperatures. The sheep station had some resident horses who happily posed for photos while dinner was being setup. After dinner, we headed straight up the Maun Kea Access/John Burns Rd to the summit. A long, winding drive definately not recommended for 2 wheel drive rental cars, offered an awesome view of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Kohala, Hualalai, and even Haleakala. We passed cinder cone craters and other fascinating natural formations on our way up. The sunset was spectacular and watching the observatories open up for the night was an incredible sight. After the sunset, we headed back down to the visitors center at 9,000 ft to stargaze. HF+T set up in a private area below the VC, and served hot chocolate and macademia cookies while Lisa gave a very informative talk on the stars, and allowed us to view them through their high powered telescope. We saw shooting stars, satellites passing overhead, distant galaxies and literally clouds of stars making up our Milky Way. I am always amazed at the view from the VC and everytime I visit, I see new things I never noticed before.
I highly recommend this trip. HF+T supplies dinner, snacks, transportation, and warm clothes. When at the summit, we saw one 2wd SUV and one Mustang convertible show up - definately not recommended! Take the tour - it's well worth it.
Activity 2 - Kahalu'u Beach - (content taken from my Konaweb post) We went to Kahalu'u beach on a Saturday. I must say, it was a very busy place with alot of tourists and locals and boisterous kids. I am more used to quiet spots with fewer people, but its location to town and the excellent snorkeling cannot be beat. The clearest water, best coral and fish are away from the beach, further out to the break wall. Be prepared to swim abit to get the best experience, although there were alot of fish close to shore (I think they get fed, so they might crowd around snorkelers). Our experience was abit humurous. There were alot of kids splashing about, including one little Japanese boy, no more than 5, all done up in his arm band floaters and life vest who swam the front crawl like a little maniac, screaming at the top of his lungs (the entire sub fleet of the western pacific could hear him), who basically knocked my friend and I out of the way before crashing into a not-so-pleased looking lady...where he did a wide 360 degree turn and repeated the assault. We got out of his way (he was coming back for thirds), and my poor friend then drifted over some rocks, one of which turned out to be a turtle who leaned up and whacked my friend in the chin. Ouch. I think the turtles are used to the people and noise. One of them blocked my entry into the water and wouldn't budge, another just munched aimlessly on the grasses below while I took some photos...then the most hyper turtle was up near the rocks on the shore - when a swimmer got in his way, he
put out his flipper and gave them a solid whack upside the head. It was hysterical to watch....but again, the whole experience was way to busy for us. Maybe it was because we went there on a Saturday - perhaps weekdays are quieter. It is still probably the best bet for a snorkel without getting too far from Kailua and the ships.
Activity 3 - Dolphin Swim - My story about this is very long, so please visit konaweb.com and look for my post called "As Promised: A Report on my Dolphin Swim Experience" (linked here:post (http://www.konaweb.com/forums/visiting.cgi?read=21162) ) for a full read. It was a remarkable experience and I will remember it forever. I know alot of passions are stirred on this subject, so read my konaweb post to learn about my experience and how you can also enjoy a chance at an ethical, safe, and respectful interaction with wild dolphins.
Activity 4 - Kileaua - Well, Madame Pele has decided that each year she will show me exactly the same amount of lava and make sure it is out of reach :) I am not sure what she is afraid of, perhaps she feels I might dip my toe in it. Every time I visit, roughly a month before I arrive, whatever lava is flowing
will suddenly disappear and a small cluster of glow only visible at night will remain on the pali. The hike up the pali was 3 hours up and 2 hours down - we didnt arrive at the park until after 3, so we decided to skip the hike and visit the Thurston tube and some other sites we missed last time. Hopefully next year there will be some lava flowing and I promise to bring some gin for Pele if she would just let me get abit closer. The park is still a must-visit
regardless of how much lava is flowing. There is alot to see and do there.
Activity 5 - Waikoloa to Hilo Road Trip - Another casual drive to view the scenery on the Hilo side. We viewed the Waipio Valley lookout, the Scenic 4 Mile Drive (think of a mini version of the Hana HwY), had excellent smoothies at What's Shakin, walked (and sweated) through the Hawaiian Botanical Tropical Garden, looked around downtown Hilo and the waterfront, stopped by the Boiling Pots and finished it off with a totally surreal drive back to Waikoloa on Saddle Rd at dusk. We watched the sunset light up Mauna Kea, and drove across barren lava fields covered with milky clouds. The drive, although it might be abit scary for some in the dark, was just incredible and another highlight of the trip.