GreatBritishBAECOff

So I've seen that this place is opening back up from February, and it looks really nice... They're also offering 4th night free and some decent resort credits for rooms and suites for bookings.

We've got our Honeymoon coming up in June, and currently have 4 nights booked in both Maui and Kona at Hotel Wailea and Hualalai respectively.

Would people recommend even considering changing (probably Maui) to Lana'i? Will Manele Bay and Hualalai be too similar? The FS seems to have some pretty good rates, but the travel element is putting me off slightly. The currently-booked Hotel Wailea also seems a nice Honeymoon option on Maui (any opinions?) Never been to Hawaii before so very willing to listen. I'm guessing I would need to change my LAX-OGG to LAX-HNL, and then work out a way to get from Lana'i to KOA as well (I'm guessing back via HNL).

jandj

First - you have planned a great honeymoon - both of those hotels will treat you with great care and know how to make your time very special.

Lanai is a completely different "feel" from Maui, the Grand Wailea is a huge mega resort and one of our favorites but you will have kids and options to explore restaurants and night life and things to do all over the island -

Lanai is really quiet - and the manale bay is a great hotel with a picture perfect beach. You will have much more alone time and it will seem more private

There is no need to redo your air portion, getting from OGG to Lania can be just as easy as HNL - there is even a ferry service you can use

If I wanted a quiet, serene romantic honeymoon - I would switch - If I wanted to party a little before I went to the quiet serene beautiful place, I would keep what you have

GreatBritishBAECOff

Thanks for the guidance, although it's actually Hotel Wailea (http://www.hotelwailea.com) that we've booked on Maui, not the Grand Wailea. I'm tempted to stick with that, as our flight arrives into OGG at around 9pm and I'm not so sure it'll be easy to transfer to Lana'i that night. Hopefully that hotel will allow us to experience the good things about Wailea/Maui while having a bit more of a 'Honeymoon' time than some of the huge hotels.

needmorevacay

Would anyone have info on the new FS Lanai after renovations? Pictures would be great. What's new like pools, restaurants? There are LOTS of room categories - recommendations? TIA!

hannisen

There's some information here: http://www.travelweekly.com/Hawaii-T...-Feb-reopening

MTGKJ

We have never stayed at Hotel Wailea (and we wouldn't ever consider not staying on the beach. However, I can understand how it might not be important to others). We really like FS Hualalai, FS Maui, FS Manele Bay. You are traveling a long way and you will be way out of your time zone.. so it will take you a couple days just to feel normal.... plus you will waste most of a day moving to the next island. If I were you, I would pick one of those 3 and stay at the same place all 8 nights. If you don't care about swimming in the ocean, and you want a beautiful resort, then Hualalai is a no brainer. If you want great ocean access with lots of dining options and other activity nearby then FS Maui. If you want ocean and dolphins and really quiet with not a lot of other stuff going on then FS Lanai. I hope that helps!

bhrubin

I concur that your current plans sound lovely...and that you may be overthinking this! I also concur that each of the islands is quite different in feel.

With only 8 nights to play with, I think flying nonstop to Hawaii is a smart way to minimize your travel and maximize your honeymoon time. Getting to Lana'i makes the transit more annoying, especially if you arrive OGG at 9 pm. You don't want to transfer to Lana'i that same night...and there isn't any nonstop onto Lana'i from the West Coast.

I almost always recommend Honolulu or Maui for a first time visitor to Hawaii. They have more things going on outside the hotel in case you decide you want some activity/action. So your Hotel Wailea stay affords you that. That wouldn't be my hotel choice, but it looks like it's still a lovely hotel. If you want a more luxe stay, consider the FS Maui or the Grand Wailea or the Montage Kapalua (especially if you want a more serene Maui experience). But stick with Maui as you already have planned.

I do understand that some people prefer 1 stay for a week or 8 nights as you have, but I also understand the want to see something more. I would do the same thing you're doing in splitting the 8 nights into 2 4 night stays. If you decide you like a bit more relaxation and don't need beach that you can swim, then you could always shorten your Maui stay to 3 nights and extend your FS Haulalai stay to 5 nights. The FS Haulalai is considered by many to be the absolutely best hotel in all of the Hawaiian Islands, so it's a great place to end your honeymoon.

You have only 8 nights. Don't try to do too much. Wherever you stay, you're still in Hawaii! So enjoy it...and know you'll have a fabulous time with your current plan for a Maui-Big Island itinerary. Don't bother with Lana'i for this one.

sweetsleep

Congrats on your upcoming nuptials and you chose a wonderful place for a honeymoon.
I just returned from 12 day land trip on Maui, did a day sail with Trilogy to Lanai-highly recommend that company as they are #1 in Maui for a good reason.
Had a very informative short tour up to the Lodge at Koele(part of the 4 Seasons properties on Lanai. It is really TOO quiet, and the lodge is having a soft opening in March-not sure all of the bugs will be worked out very quickly. Manale Bay was open but the golf course and the pool up at The Lodge was not. They were housing contractors and construction workers in The Lodge at Koele in order to complete the renovation there.
The beach at Manale Bay is actually a public beach(all are in Hawaii) and it is not directly in front of that resort. Kaanapali and Wailea beaches are nicer and more accessible than the beach next to Manale Bay.
Maui and the Big island are both so wonderful with so many great things to do that Lanai was really just meh. Have been to both islands many times and you chose great places on both of those islands. Lanai is just not a very pretty island compared to Maui,Oahu and the Big Island. Just my opinion. Little to no lush vegetation-it is a very dry and windswept island since the mountains are not high enough to trap clouds for rainfall. The only reason that it was a great place for pineapples to grow is because they need very little water. Larry Ellison owns most of the island and he managed to get approval to build a desalination plant there to support all of his proposed development-houses,more resorts,organic farming,etc.
It is not easy to get to Lanai either-take a ferry boat from Lahaina(Maui) but NOT available at night or fly on a questionable prop plane from OGG or HNL which I doubt will get you in at night. I wonder how good food will be on Lanai as they only get barge service each Wednesday and the food is all imported according to our tour guide.
Hope this helps give you more information about that island and property.

GreatBritishBAECOff

Thank you for all of the replies, I didn't expect another one to pop in after a whole month! Very valuable information.

We've decided to stick with our original plans and go for 4 nights in Wailea and 4 nights at Hualalai. Quite a few of our rates, including Hualalai, have actually dropped quite a bit since I wrote the original post, so I've been pestering our Virtuoso agent for rate matches, I'm sure I'm a pretty annoying customer!

I know there is a whole host of conflicting advice regarding Honeymoons and staying in less places for longer/experiencing more locations etc. As a bit of background, my Wife-to-be has never been to the US before, so we've tried to fit a good number of locations into our time, taking 3 or 4 days in each. Hopefully this will give us some good relaxation time while allowing us to see lots too! I've also tried to arrange all the internal flights (mainly Hawaii and back) for sociable times so that we don't arrive in places feeling completely dead for a day.

Full itinerary is now:
BA F to SFO
2 nights at Ritz Carlton SFO
3 nights in an Aria Sky Suite
4 nights at Hotel Wailea on Maui
4 nights at Hualalai
3 nights at the Peninsula in Beverly Hills
3 nights at the Grand Del Mar near San Diego
BA F home

Thanks again for the advice. Full trip report will follow some time after!