josephstern

I think travelers have become, in part, price-insensitive. They/we decide where they're going and when, and that's it. Yeah, there's some sticker shock sometimes, but they get over it.

That said, I do still find it surprising that people paid $1600/night last time I was there. And I was paying attention to see who it all was - no trends stuck out to me. Seemed like the regular crowd.

jch636

I'm in disbelief that there are people willingly paying $1k or $1,600+/night for the Andaz, even with pent-up demand and international travel being difficult. Even the nearby Wailea Marriott has nightly rates in the $1k range this summer, which totally does not seem worth it. Is there anyone in the FT community willing to pay that much in cash?

josephstern

LOL - not only paying that but admitting it on FT? Seems unlikely.

Eke2k6

I kinda get it. I�ve been traveling nonstop for the last year, ever since my hospital had us first in line for the vaccine.

I don�t think I would ever EVER pay that much for the Andaz. But that�s because I know of a dozen plus destinations where I could get truly exotic experiences for the same or less. Hell, Bora Bora is only a two hour longer flight from the west coast. Most others can�t seem to even imagine destinations other than Hawaii or Mexico. Basically hotels like the Andaz are as good as it gets.

Kacee

In what alternate universe? OGG is 5.5 hours from SFO. PPT is 8.5 hours. As I trust you know, if you fly UA, you must then overnight at PPT before connecting onward to BOB. So 24 hours of travel. Take the morning flight to OGG, you can be on the beach that afternoon. Oh, and roundtrip in F to OGG can be had in the $1500 range, whereas SFO-PPT in J is more like $5000.

Is Maui ridiculously expensive right now? Yes. But there's good reason . . . the beaches are great, the food is great, it's safe, no international borders to cross, and the travel is quick and easy enough to make a long weekend feasible.

Eke2k6

apologies. I meant French Polynesia/Tahiti. Furthermore I�m more than fine flying United Premium. My point still stands however.

platbrownguy

I'm not, but I know not-crazy-rich people who do.

Heck, my barber here in Maine just took a weekend trip and paid $700/night for a place in Maine. Barber. He does fine for a barber, but the point is people aren't going on international trips because of the testing requirement, and people generally are eager to travel, so domestic demand is way up and prices are eager to match.

VegasGambler

RT in F for $1500 is not bad (I think the best I ever got pre-pandemic was a little over $1200 on a 752 on UA). But if the hotel is $800 or $1000 per night it doesn't really matter.

Also, I like Maui, but where is the food great? This is a serious question; the one thing that I don't like about it is that I've never really had good food there.

beachfan

I'm guessing you don't like fish. The food in Maui is not as good as SF, NY, Chicago or LA but it's as good as Vegas. The Four Seasons restaurants, the ones at the Andaz are all quite good albeit expensive.

canyonleo

Unless you're speaking of fine dining, there is a ton of food/restaurant suggestions all over posts up-thread. Joey's, poke, Thai, vegetarian, Vietnamese, of course fish and seafood!

josephstern

Tamura's, Tin Roof, Havens, Lineage, Star Noodle, Sam Sato's, Nuka, Maui Kombucha, Marlowe - all excellent and casual.

Other places I like: Broth Cafe, Eskimo Candy, Ichiban Okazuya, Cafe O 'Lei, Mill House, Akamai, Joey's, Sansai, Miso Phat.

And I really think dinner at Ka'ana kitchen is seriously underrated. I think it's better than Morimoto and any other resort restaurant in Wailea (although I did once like Spago a lot, but I kinda got sick of the slick attitude over there).

platbrownguy

I could eat 3 meals a day at the poke counter in the back of Tamura's (the liquor store). My wife could eat 3 meals a day at Ululani's (the shave ice joint).

Morimoto is good. Expensive maybe but the black cod rivals Sakagura's in NY.

Spago at 4S is essentially the same as the one in Beverly Hills but with a view of the crappy 4S pool setup. The tuna cones are memorable.

mixmastermark

Maui has excellent food, though it doesn't always come cheap. While you don't have the diverse range of options of Oahu, one can eat and drink quite well on Maui if you either know where to look or are willing to pay. There are some solid recommendations above.

But that's the critical variable to consider with food & beverage in general; it is a highly subjective experience. An incredible meal or beverage or ambiance for one person, may not resonate at all with you. Such is life.

Although the state government covid did some serious damage to the hospitality industry in Hawaii, at least pre-covid, the F&B program at the Andaz Wailea was, without question, one of the best in the state.

One bonus of the Four Seasons Maui (near the Andaz) is that you're more likely to see Chef Wolfgang touching tables at Spago during dinner service, since he loves the island.

slippahs

We've been dining at Kaana Kitchen since it opened, and it's gone downhill a bit for us since then. It was by far my favorite place to eat in the entire Hawaiian chain back in 2013-2018, but not so much anymore (and we're always in a quest for the best food in the islands). Not sure if it's just a repeat of menu items, or the departure of prior chefs (see, e.g. https://nz.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-pasion-93889956).

josephstern

Interesting. Have you been to KO since he's been there?