Maui time!
We took the 8:00 a.m. morning flight from San Jose (aboard
Hawaiian Airlines) HA45 to Kahului, Maui (OGG), arriving in Maui at 11:30 a.m. Hawaiian time. The flight lasted four and a half hours and went smoothly, without much turbulence. I was surprised that Hawaiian Airlines actually provided lunch on the plane. Most airlines charge for food and only offer peanuts or crackers.
Once we landed and collected our belongings, we went to pick up our
Enterprise Rental Car. There are two separate
Enterprise locations; only one is serviced by an airport shuttle. We booked the off-airport location (
40 Hana Highway) because it was much cheaper. We picked up a compact Nissan Versa (which was still very expensive to rent because of the December holiday season).
We had to get a taxi to take us to the Enterprise Car Rental located at 40 Hana Hwy, which was a bit inconvenient (but it's a short two-mile ride there).
Since renting boogie boards and beach chairs can be expensive at Maui Resorts, we stopped by the local Costco to pick up a boogie board for Alex and an umbrella at Kmart next door.
From there, we drove to the Wailea Marriott Beach Resort and Spa in Wailea, where we made reservations for 6 nights. The Marriott was extremely expensive during Christmas (December 24 -25), so we decided to stay two more days at the Ritz-Carlton in Kapalua (much cheaper).
We checked in at the hotel. Wailea Marriott was very nicely decorated with all of the Christmas ornaments. We really liked the Hawaiian style of decorating Christmas trees.
As it was time for lunch, we decided to head to
Ferraro's Bar e Restaurante at
Four Seasons Maui at Wailea. Ferraro's always had quality lunch dishes and is our favorite lunch eatery in Wailea.
We ordered a grilled chicken carbonara pizza and were not disappointed. This was, without a doubt, one of the best pizzas we have tasted in the U.S. Ferraro's is a fairly pricey restaurant (as are all restaurants in Four Seasons), but it's so much better than
Mala in Marriott.
After the delicious lunch, we returned to our room and went to the nearby Ulua Beach State Park for some sunshine. We were pleasantly surprised by a rainbow.
While Alex played in the ocean, we relaxed on the beach, soaking up the sun and the scenery.
We stayed until sunset, enjoying a beautiful sight.
Alex kept boogie boarding way past sunset, but it was soon time to return to Marriott's pools and enjoy the hot tubs.
Alex and Inna both went to hot tubs while I enjoyed the last rays of sunshine and continued reading the book I started reading in the plane:
One Summer: America 1927 by
Bill Bryson.
The hot tubs were excellent and not too crowded, and Alex and Inna enjoyed relaxing.
For dinner, we decided to go to
Cafe O'Lei in Kihei, as it was one of the more reasonably priced restaurants in the area. The Wailea area of Maui generally has some costly but mediocre restaurants.
We ordered a couple of Sushi Rolls (the Volcano Roll, etc.) and liked the presentation and the quality of the dishes.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
We woke up to a beautiful Maui morning. Does it get any better than this?
We did not want to go to
Mala for breakfast (as the quality of breakfast there is so underwhelming), so we decided to try
Duo Restaurant at
Four Seasons.
The breakfast buffet at Duo was fantastic, and we enjoyed it immensely. It's costly, but it's worth it.
I ordered a fruit and yogurt plate, and it was fantastic.
After breakfast, we decided to stroll around the Four Seasons and then walk to the nearby
Fairmont Kea Lani Hotel, where we stayed on our honeymoon in October 2001.
The Fairmont Kea Lani is another beautiful hotel in Wailea, and it has been recently remodeled. It looks significantly different from when we stayed there.
There is a beautiful Bamboo Garden right in the hotel.
Inna relaxed in the nearby hammock.
We spent the rest of the day on the nearby Wailea Beach, where Alex boogie-boarded.
After the day at the beach, we relaxed at Marriott's many pools, hoping to catch a lovely sunset.
The torches were lit, and the whole resort took another flavor.
We decided to try
Paradise Pita in Kihei for dinner, as it received good reviews on
Yelp.
The pitas and
Paradise Pita were delicious, and the price was very reasonable.
We enjoyed our reasonably-priced dinner here and will come back again.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Since I set up an early morning surfing lesson for Alex with the
Royal Hawaiian Surf Academy at Lahaina, we had to get up reasonably early to prepare. We hoped to get Alex to train with
Tan Dan, but
Tan Dan was only available on Tuesday, so we signed Alex up for another instructor,
Ikaika Neizman.
We ate another mediocre breakfast at Mala in Marriott Wailea and then drove to Lahaina for the surf lessons.
Alex changed into his surfing gear, and we walked across the road to the beach at Lahaina.
Alex got to surf for two hours and got lots of long rides.
Here is a short video I made of some of Alex's best surfing runs at Lahaina.
After surfing, we met with Inna and decided to grab lunch at
Honu Seafood & Pizza in Lahaina.
Alex had his pizza, but it was not as good as the one at Ferraro's in Four Seasons.
We ordered a pizza for us as well, and it was good.
After lunch, we returned to Wailea Marriott, and Alex relaxed in our room (as he was tired from two hours of surfing). The waves picked up a lot and were higher than before, so we watched the local surfers try out the big waves.
The sunset was quite lovely, as usual.
For dinner, we planned to drive to a local
Paradise Pita restaurant. However, I forgot to turn off the lights in my Nissan Versa rental, and the car would not start. I had to call AAA to get someone to come over and jump the car. As a result, we missed our dinner reservations at Paradise Pita and ended up eating at the local
Mala Wailea restaurant.
The food was tolerable - standard Marriott quality (overpriced and mediocre). We ordered a half portion of the
Seared Ahi Bruschetta for the appetizer. It was tasty but a bit small.
Inna ordered a Kobe Beef Cheeseburger, which was not bad.
I ordered
My Big Fat Greek Salad, but it was neither big nor fat.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
We decided to splurge for breakfast and return to
Duo Restaurant at Four Seasons. Alex had his favorite pancakes with chocolate chips.
I had my favorite yogurt with fruits.
Inna ordered her favorite Eggs, Benedict.
After breakfast, we returned to Wailea Beach - across from the Grand Wailea Hotel. The waves were rather significant, and many locals were surfing and boogie-boarding.
Alex was eager to get back in the water.
Inna was reluctant to get in, given the waves could be significant and quickly knock down a person.
We returned to
Ferraro's Bar e Ristorante for lunch in
Four Seasons.
The sandwich was huge and delicious! The freshly baked bread was also a nice treat.
After lunch, we spent more time on the beach and explored the extraordinary Maui fauna.
We saw a giant spider crawling on its web.
For dinner, Inna made reservations at
Mama's Fish House in Paia, on Maui's North Shore.
Mama's is her favorite restaurant, so we had high expectations.
Mama's is in the most romantic setting, on Maui's North Shore, near the famous Ho'okipa surfing spot. Even before eating anything, the atmosphere is so relaxing and enchantingly peaceful.
The freshly baked bread is always delicious with butter.
The I'm Maka Moelua appetizer was fantastic! Even Alex, who usually does not like sushi, loved it.
I ordered the
Ahi Sashimi Salad, which was delicious.
Inna ordered the
Mahimahi with Lobster and Crab. It was incredibly delicious!
And for a finish, we had the most fantastic dessert - the
Black Pearl.
We had such a fantastic dinner that we decided to return to Mama's Fish House in two days.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
On Sunday morning, we decided to go whale watching in the morning with
Blue Water Rafting (a company we used many years ago).
Blue Rafting uses small, inflatable boats with huge motors to get to whales quickly.
We were off at 8:00 a.m. on a two-hour whale-watching adventure. The boat accelerated quickly through the surf, and the two 225HP Honda engines provided a lot of power.
In about 30-45 minutes, we found our first whale. There were also several stand-up paddle boarders chasing the whale.
We saw many kayakers in the water also.
We spotted a couple of whales near the calm waters off the Wailea Marriott Hotel (where we were staying). They were a baby whale and his mom. The whales were significant.
The whales got noticed by many other boats, and soon, we had a small fleet looking for whales.
The tour guides explained that most of the whales swim to the waters of Hawaii to give birth to their calves and to teach them to fish.
After whale watching, we drove to the
Hyatt Regency Maui hotel on Ka'anapali Beach, where we were scheduled to see a 90-minute time-share presentation from the Hyatt Residence Club (to get two free Luau tickets at the Hyatt). The presentation did not last as long as we expected since, early on, the salesman realized that we were not interested in purchasing a time-share in the Hyatt on Maui.
I wonder who the potential client is for these time-share offers, as I can't think of why anyone would plunk a significant amount of money to be forced to spend their time at this or any other specific hotel. The cost per day of the smallest time-share room at the
Hyatt Regency Maui was about $250 - more expensive than what we were paying at the
Wailea Beach Marriott or
Ritz-Carlton. Why would anyone pay more money to stay at an inferior hotel? The Ritz-Carlton is significantly superior to the Hyatt in every way (and cheaper to boot).
The Hyatt Regency looks nice and has parrots, penguins, and other animals on the property. There are also lovely restaurants. However, the beach at the Hyatt is rocky, and we found service at its restaurants lacking. On Maui, with so many beautiful hotels, including Four Seasons, Fairmont Kea Lani, and Ritz-Carlton, the Hyatt Regency is distinctly the second rate.
He is a photo of Niko, the African parrot who was so charming at the Hyatt Regency.
After touring the Hyatt, we got lunch before swimming at the Ka'anapali beach.
Since we ate at the
Hula Grill (in Whaler's Village last year), we decided to stop by there again. We decided to eat the Barefoot Bar inside the Hula Grill, as we like sitting on the sand.
We liked sitting with our feet in the sand, listening to lovely Hawaiian melodies being played by a live guitar player.
The setting at Hula Grill is so lovely and relaxing.
The food and service were efficient but not extraordinary. Inna ordered a
Kapalua Joe with Mac Slaw, and she liked it.
I had the
Island Fish and Chips, and it was well prepared.
Alex had his standard cheese pizza, which was good.
After lunch, we visited the nearby Ka'anapali beach for fun beach time.
The Ka'anapali beach is one of the best beaches in Maui (and maybe the world). The sand was so clean and soft, and the water was so warm. The beach was not as crowded as we expected.
We set up our chairs and umbrella, and Alex went to try his hand at boogie boarding.
We had a lot of fun on the beach; the waves could sometimes be significant.
We had a lot of fun playing in the waves.
In the distance is the
Black Rock, where many fearless jumpers jump off (and some people snorkel).
We went for a nice swim along Ka'anapali beach to the black rock, where we observed all the fearless jumpers.
Afterward, we swam back and observed Alex boogie boarding.
At around 4:30 p.m., it was time to get back to change, as we had tickets to the Hyatt Regency
Drums of the Pacific Lu'au and had to hurry to get good seats. Alex hurt himself on one of the boogie board runs, but it turned out not to be too serious.
We went to the
Drums of the Pacific Lu'au at the Hyatt Regency Maui. I have previously been to the
Old Lahaina Lu'au, but we could not get tickets this time (as it was all booked during Christmas).
We got a few
Mai Tai drinks. They were not very strong, and we were mighty thirsty. There was not much drink selection -
Mai Tai's or
Blue Hawaiians. The
Blue Hawaiians were terrible, so we drank
Mai Tai's.
We sat at a table perpendicular to the show, which was awkward. After some time, we went to the buffet and got our food. It was not bad, but nothing to rave about.
Alex was bored at the beginning of the show.
Before the show started, the performers asked for audience participation, and we got Alex to learn to do some Hawaiian dancing.
The show started with lots of native Hawaiian and other Polynesian dancers.
The Maori warriors from New Zealand had a hilarious dance where they stuck their tongues out.
Afterward, the fire show began with some excellent fire breathing. I shot a short video of the fire dance below:
It was a fun show, and we especially enjoyed it. However, I would have preferred the Old Lahaina Lu'au for the money, as it had better seating and food.
Monday, December 23, 2013
In the morning, we decided to try the breakfast buffet at the
Fairmont Kea Lani Hotel. The Fairmont was beautifully decorated for the Christmas holidays.
The breakfast buffet at the Fairmont was significantly superior to the one in Mala in Marriott and comparable to the Duo Restaurant at Four Seasons.
The Fairmont has many beautiful ponds with water lilies and other flowers.
After breakfast, we returned to Wailea Beach, where Alex boogie-boarded some more. The waves were smaller than the previous day.
One of the tourists built an incredible sand sculpture of an Octopus.
We tried Marriott's Kumu Bar & Grill by Marriott's pools for lunch. The food was alright (much better than Mala).
After lunch, we relaxed by the pool and enjoyed the incredible scenery.
We waited for another spectacular Maui sunset and were not disappointed.
For dinner, we decided to go back to
Mama's Fish House - the restaurant we love so much.
I like the snowman made out of the sand. It's a nice touch for the Holiday season at Mama's Fish House.
We sat beside an open window (no glass windows at Mama's).
Being our 3rd time at Mama's Fish House, we decided to try something new. Generally, we tend to be conservative and only order dishes we have previously enjoyed (for fear of disappointment). This time, we tried to do the exact opposite - only order dishes we had never tried.
For an appetizer, we ordered
Papa's 3 Fish Sashimi. It was beautifully presented and was delicious!
For an entree, I ordered
New Zealand Salmon. The dish was expertly prepared and tasted great (though I still prefer
Alaskan King Salmon above all).
For her entree, Inna ordered the
Opakapaka. This was a freshly caught fish, and it tasted great.
For dessert, we ordered the
Creme Brulee, and it was exquisite.
We enjoyed our time at Mama's Fish House and hope to return again.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Since this would be our last day at
Wailea Marriott, we decided to save time by eating breakfast at the
Mala restaurant. We originally planned to stay in the Marriott until December 26, but for some reason, the hotel rates at Marriott tripled for December 24 and December 25.
Inna found a much better deal (much lower in price) at the nearby
Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Kapalua, and we would drive there later in the day.
After breakfast, we went to the Ulua State Beach Park to enjoy our last beach day in Wailea. Alex and I threw a football around for a while.
We checked out of the Wailea Marriott and drove to the Four Seasons for lunch. Four Seasons has free valet parking, and we liked it!
Four Seasons is a perfectly sized hotel, and we couldn't wait to eat at Ferraro's Bar e Ristorante again.
There was a beautifully made Gingerbread house that we really wanted to sample, but it was not meant for eating - too bad!
We enjoyed our view of Four Seasons and Wailea Beach and went to Ferraro's.
I had a mango lemonade.
Alex ordered a strawberry lemonade and pizza to start.
Inna ordered a lemonade as well.
The pizzas were, as usual - incredibly delicious!
After lunch, we returned to the Four Seasons Game room, where we played some ping-pong, and Alex played some PlayStation 3 video games. The Four Seasons Game Room is great - it has a billiards table, a ping pong table, multiple video games (including Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii), and big-screen TVs for watching football games. It's a great place to have fun.
We finally said goodbye to Four Seasons at Maui and drove to
Ritz-Carlton in Kapalua.
The drive to Kapalua, at the north end of the island of Maui, took about an hour.
We arrived before sunset and checked in at the hotel.
Ritz-Carlton was much closer to the Four Seasons in quality (than to Marriott).
Santa was in the lobby talking to the kids, and we waited patiently for Alex to speak to Santa.
After talking to Santa, Alex grabbed a few cookies, and we went to our room. From there, we walked to the beach. At the Ritz, the beach is a walk (it's not as close to the beach as at Wailea Marriott).
It was a windy day, and the ocean was a bit rough.
Inna had time to relax in a hammock, and we prepared for dinner.
Inna made dinner reservations at the nearby, highly-rated
Pineapple Grill. She said there were many excellent
Yelp reviews, and we were eager to try out this well-regarded restaurant.
Pineapple Grill reminded us of Mama's Fish House, but the ceilings differed.
We ordered some appetizers.
After dinner, we returned to our room in Ritz-Carlton to relax. The rooms in Ritz-Carlton are far superior to those of Marriott. The beds at the Ritz are much better. The ones in Marriott were causing me a backache (being too soft).
After some time, we went back to explore the Ritz-Carlton at night. The entire resort was beautifully and tastefully decorated.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
In the morning, we ate breakfast at the T
errace Restaurant in Ritz-Carlton. The buffet there was delicious and of high quality. It was significantly better than Wailea Marriott and comparable to
Fairmont Kea Lani.
After breakfast, we decided to head to the beach to enjoy our last full beach day in Maui.
The nearby DT Fleming Beach Park was beautiful, and the surf was not too rough.
Alex was excited to get in the water and do a bit of boogie boarding.
The waves were not big enough for Alex, so he did a bit of bodyboarding instead.
We ate lunch at the nearby Beach House restaurant (right on the beach).
I ordered a yummy salad and was not disappointed.
Before sunset, we wanted to explore nearby beaches, so we took the Ritz-Carlton's shuttle to Kapalua Bay. Kapalua Bay Beach was much calmer than DT Fleming Beach, and Inna went for a short swim there.
After her swim, we walked around the beach and tried to find the best spot to watch the upcoming sunset.
We finally found a place on the grass to watch the sunset.
After the sunset, we waited for our shuttle and returned to Ritz-Carlton. We had dinner reservations at
Kai Sushi Restaurant inside the Ritz-Carlton.
Alex is not a big sushi fan, so he ordered a slider with french fries. We ordered a few sushi rolls.
For dessert, Alex got his favorite ice cream.
The Christmas mood at the Ritz-Carlton was festive; a band played holiday music, and some hula dancers danced.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Our last day on Maui. We are sad to leave the beautiful island of Maui, but we also hope to be back soon. After breakfast, we rushed to the Ritz-Carlton's game room to play ping-pong and other games.
Inna beat everyone (including me) in ping-pong, but Alex beat her in foosball!
Alex was very excited to beat Mom (after his poor performance in ping-pong).
After a few games, we enjoyed an hour at the pool and the beach.
We were sad to leave Maui, but we hope to be back. We had a grand time on our vacation!
We drove back to Kahului, returned our car to Enterprise, and took a taxi to the airport. The flight back to San Jose was uneventful.
