My First Trip Report
Sep 8, 1999 | 9:47 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Cambridge MA, United States
Posts: 69
My First Trip Report
I know for sure this post will be on the right board (sorry to pgupta for posting my previous organization query in the wrong forum and not on The Buzz).
Sep. 4. My friend Chris and I were booked on an Island Air flight from HNL-Kapalua leaving at 10:30 am. When checking in we were told that the flight had been closed and were asked if we had heard the announcement for those passengers to come forward. We probably were in line when they announced the flight was closed because we heard something, but the speakers in the HNL commuter terminal were really bad, just like the MTA. The next flight would be at 12:30 and we would get a o/w Island Air coupon for compensation.
So we went to wait by the gates and while we were watching the Dash 8's and Otters, I figured out that the Four Seasons Wailea was closer to OGG than Kapalua while looking at the maps in all of the tourist coupon books! When making the reservations, the agent said that Kapalua was closer but it was my fault that I hadn't checked up on this myself and paid more attention. Went up to the agent and got booked on an AQ Aloha Air HNL-OGG #244 leaving at 2:25 pm.
Took the Wiki Wiki shuttle to the Interisland Terminal and checked in at the gate. There were three HNL-OGG flights before the one we were booked on but we couldn't get confirmed and Chris needed two seats because of his weight. We spent about 20 min. at the counter because the AQ agent had to figure this out and call Island Air to make sure Chris had paid the extra $35 fee they require.
Preboarded a full flight #244 which was uneventful. There was a beautiful view of some mountains (W. Maui I think) as we descended into OGG on time.
Called for an airport shuttle which arrived instantly at waiting area 3. $22 fare for two people to Wailea and we had the van to ourselves with a really friendly and informative driver. There were a million cars on the road. Saw the sugar mill that will be the only one left operating on Maui next year after the other remaining one closes.
The Four Seasons was amazing. We were greeted upon arriving by smiling greeters with orchid lei and smiling valets and smiling managers. The greeter escorted us to the front desk. Chris had won a two night certificate for guessing the most number of Oscar winners at First Hawaiian Bank's Oscar party. Our room was upgraded to a full ocean view from a partial mountain view. We got a tray with oshibori towels before we went upstairs.
Howard Roarke would hate the place and I never imagined myself spending time on a resort, but I really enjoyed the place. The best feature of course was being right on Wailea Beach. It's the type of beach where instead of the waves just lapping gently at the shore, one can be walking ten feet away from the edge of the water and then the wave will come in and go ten or 15 feet past you up to your knees or more and then go all the way back out again. Sunday, the waves were calm and the you could see the sand at the bottom with the sun making beautiful patterns since the water was so clear. Monday, it was much rougher and the sand was all stirred up.
The other thing I enjoyed was the health club and the steam room after swimming on the beach. The Four Seasons shampoo, conditioner, and body wash smelled really good I thought, and there were robes, towels, and all the other toiletries. I was pretty much the only person using the place most of the time so it was quiet.
There were lots of little problems with the keys and the drain not working but the staff were extremely professional, courteous, and eager to solve every problem. Walking around, every staff member would greet me and many of them knew my name (I was amazed--how did they do that? Do they brief each other on the guests?) I started to feel really comfortable.
Got to try risotto and a shrimp/mushroom/pasta dish at Ferarro's which is outside by the pool and they have some classical musiciams playing which was nice. I didn't care much for the food but the staff was incredibly happy and sincere. The waitress had just moved from Florida a few months ago because "life's too short." I had the breakfast buffet at the Pacific Grill the next day where I had my first delicious bagel since May with dill cream cheese and the waiter there said he moved to Maui from Hamburg ten years ago after meditating in Colombo. Do I see a pattern here?
Monday morning I took a two hour yoga class on the beach at sunrise which was incredible. You can see the W. Maui mountains, Kahoolawe and Molokini (uninhabited), and Lanai from the beach. Kamala the instructor had come from San Francisco in the 1970's and she had the most incredible and unique body. She was older, but in better shape than anyone I know and with an intense serenity and mental focus.
Sep. 6. Checked out and left my bags with the Concierge. Chris left early so I saw him off and started talking to this fascinating Neurologist/Paper Cut Artist from California. We started talking and her favorite airline is Virgin which she said was "unbelievable" although she takes UA to Maui and uses Amex. She doesn't manage her FF accounts so I made sure to let her know UA miles no longer expire and to get points accelerator for Amex. I also told her what I learned about Diners Club on Flyer Talk since she could use those points on UA. She thanked me and went off the airport, then it was time for one last swim in that great ocean, the steam room, and a shower before I had to leave.
I was booked on AQ #225 leaving at 6pm but the shuttle was late and I got there at about 5:40. OGG was super busy and there were two very long lines to get through security. The AQ lady was tired and frazzled and couldn't get me on #225 which was boarding and totally full so she got me preboarded for #233 leaving at 6:35. I had never done this before, but I just asked if I could wait in the lounge and she said "Sure" and gave me the code to punch in before she went out to smoke. I was exhilarated! Thank you Flyer Talk and Flyer Talkers for telling me about that kind of thing!
The unstaffed lounge was tiny and empty except for one nice family. No bathroom so I left my stuff there and came back to fill up on guava juice and Sprite. It actually was really nice to stay in the lounge. There was air conditioning, beverages, lots of seats, no smoke, and very little noise. I called my Mom so she could pick me up, relaxed a bit, and went to board. I wonder if AQ will have to expand/renovate this lounge when they start offering the OGG-Oakland service later. . .
#233 was uneventful and also totally packed but it turned out to be really nice taking the later flight because the sun was setting and it was gorgeous. I was on the left side of the plane and saw Lahaina and Maui's northwest shore and Molokai all with the beautiful sunset in the background.
Then it was back to HNL. You can really hear and smell the difference between HNL and Maui when you just arrive. There are a few minutes where you feel the heat, smell the fumes, and hear the noise intensely before you adjust. Mom picked me up and we went to my Grandmother's for dinner.
All in all, a great long weekend!
Sep. 4. My friend Chris and I were booked on an Island Air flight from HNL-Kapalua leaving at 10:30 am. When checking in we were told that the flight had been closed and were asked if we had heard the announcement for those passengers to come forward. We probably were in line when they announced the flight was closed because we heard something, but the speakers in the HNL commuter terminal were really bad, just like the MTA. The next flight would be at 12:30 and we would get a o/w Island Air coupon for compensation.
So we went to wait by the gates and while we were watching the Dash 8's and Otters, I figured out that the Four Seasons Wailea was closer to OGG than Kapalua while looking at the maps in all of the tourist coupon books! When making the reservations, the agent said that Kapalua was closer but it was my fault that I hadn't checked up on this myself and paid more attention. Went up to the agent and got booked on an AQ Aloha Air HNL-OGG #244 leaving at 2:25 pm.
Took the Wiki Wiki shuttle to the Interisland Terminal and checked in at the gate. There were three HNL-OGG flights before the one we were booked on but we couldn't get confirmed and Chris needed two seats because of his weight. We spent about 20 min. at the counter because the AQ agent had to figure this out and call Island Air to make sure Chris had paid the extra $35 fee they require.
Preboarded a full flight #244 which was uneventful. There was a beautiful view of some mountains (W. Maui I think) as we descended into OGG on time.
Called for an airport shuttle which arrived instantly at waiting area 3. $22 fare for two people to Wailea and we had the van to ourselves with a really friendly and informative driver. There were a million cars on the road. Saw the sugar mill that will be the only one left operating on Maui next year after the other remaining one closes.
The Four Seasons was amazing. We were greeted upon arriving by smiling greeters with orchid lei and smiling valets and smiling managers. The greeter escorted us to the front desk. Chris had won a two night certificate for guessing the most number of Oscar winners at First Hawaiian Bank's Oscar party. Our room was upgraded to a full ocean view from a partial mountain view. We got a tray with oshibori towels before we went upstairs.
Howard Roarke would hate the place and I never imagined myself spending time on a resort, but I really enjoyed the place. The best feature of course was being right on Wailea Beach. It's the type of beach where instead of the waves just lapping gently at the shore, one can be walking ten feet away from the edge of the water and then the wave will come in and go ten or 15 feet past you up to your knees or more and then go all the way back out again. Sunday, the waves were calm and the you could see the sand at the bottom with the sun making beautiful patterns since the water was so clear. Monday, it was much rougher and the sand was all stirred up.
The other thing I enjoyed was the health club and the steam room after swimming on the beach. The Four Seasons shampoo, conditioner, and body wash smelled really good I thought, and there were robes, towels, and all the other toiletries. I was pretty much the only person using the place most of the time so it was quiet.
There were lots of little problems with the keys and the drain not working but the staff were extremely professional, courteous, and eager to solve every problem. Walking around, every staff member would greet me and many of them knew my name (I was amazed--how did they do that? Do they brief each other on the guests?) I started to feel really comfortable.
Got to try risotto and a shrimp/mushroom/pasta dish at Ferarro's which is outside by the pool and they have some classical musiciams playing which was nice. I didn't care much for the food but the staff was incredibly happy and sincere. The waitress had just moved from Florida a few months ago because "life's too short." I had the breakfast buffet at the Pacific Grill the next day where I had my first delicious bagel since May with dill cream cheese and the waiter there said he moved to Maui from Hamburg ten years ago after meditating in Colombo. Do I see a pattern here?
Monday morning I took a two hour yoga class on the beach at sunrise which was incredible. You can see the W. Maui mountains, Kahoolawe and Molokini (uninhabited), and Lanai from the beach. Kamala the instructor had come from San Francisco in the 1970's and she had the most incredible and unique body. She was older, but in better shape than anyone I know and with an intense serenity and mental focus.
Sep. 6. Checked out and left my bags with the Concierge. Chris left early so I saw him off and started talking to this fascinating Neurologist/Paper Cut Artist from California. We started talking and her favorite airline is Virgin which she said was "unbelievable" although she takes UA to Maui and uses Amex. She doesn't manage her FF accounts so I made sure to let her know UA miles no longer expire and to get points accelerator for Amex. I also told her what I learned about Diners Club on Flyer Talk since she could use those points on UA. She thanked me and went off the airport, then it was time for one last swim in that great ocean, the steam room, and a shower before I had to leave.
I was booked on AQ #225 leaving at 6pm but the shuttle was late and I got there at about 5:40. OGG was super busy and there were two very long lines to get through security. The AQ lady was tired and frazzled and couldn't get me on #225 which was boarding and totally full so she got me preboarded for #233 leaving at 6:35. I had never done this before, but I just asked if I could wait in the lounge and she said "Sure" and gave me the code to punch in before she went out to smoke. I was exhilarated! Thank you Flyer Talk and Flyer Talkers for telling me about that kind of thing!
The unstaffed lounge was tiny and empty except for one nice family. No bathroom so I left my stuff there and came back to fill up on guava juice and Sprite. It actually was really nice to stay in the lounge. There was air conditioning, beverages, lots of seats, no smoke, and very little noise. I called my Mom so she could pick me up, relaxed a bit, and went to board. I wonder if AQ will have to expand/renovate this lounge when they start offering the OGG-Oakland service later. . .
#233 was uneventful and also totally packed but it turned out to be really nice taking the later flight because the sun was setting and it was gorgeous. I was on the left side of the plane and saw Lahaina and Maui's northwest shore and Molokai all with the beautiful sunset in the background.
Then it was back to HNL. You can really hear and smell the difference between HNL and Maui when you just arrive. There are a few minutes where you feel the heat, smell the fumes, and hear the noise intensely before you adjust. Mom picked me up and we went to my Grandmother's for dinner.
All in all, a great long weekend!
