Trip Report - Maui
Flights – I know most people would balk at spending 11 hours in economy, but it worked for us just fine. Our kids have never flown before, so we didn’t want to totally spoil them just yet
Our flights to Maui (Tampa to Denver to Maui) were on time. We had completed all the necessary information on the Hawaii Safe Travels site and brought our vaccine cards and negative test results with us as hard copies (as well as printed out the QR codes). United Airlines in Denver was participating in pre-clear, where you show all of your information and get clearance to enter Hawaii without going through the process when you land. We BARELY made it to our plane in time, as most people in front of us did NOT have their stuff together. Really wish there had been a FastPass+ line for those that came prepared! However, we got our armbands, boarded, and settled in for the long haul.
We had eaten breakfast before boarding in Tampa and weren’t able to eat during our 1-hour layover in Denver due to the pre-clear line. United provides a small bag with a mini water bottle, pretzels, and a Stroopwafel to each person, and also provided beverage service. I had loaded my CC information into the United app and was able to purchase alcohol and a couple of snack boxes during the flight. I found out later by talking to a few people at our resort that we were lucky to get alcohol, as not all airlines are doing that right now.
Flights back (Maui to Chicago to Tampa) were pretty uneventful. We were hoping to grab a real breakfast during our 1-hour layover in Chicago, but we had to circle the airport for a bit due to weather, and the lines for the VERY few places open were so long. Pretzels it would be!
We also had to circle for a bit before landing in Tampa due to storms. We landed about 40 minutes after our scheduled arrival.
Resort – I was a little nervous about our stay, as I had been reading some reviews that weren’t so favorable concerning the staff and pool. First off, the resort is STUNNING. That open air lobby was incredible! The lady (Mina?) that checked us in was so sweet and helpful, and I loved that they give you leis upon checking in. EVERY SINGLE employee we encountered, from check-in to departure, was so friendly and accommodating.
We checked in to our room and could NOT believe our view. They had put us on the top (9th) floor, and we could see Molokini and Kaho’olawe in the distance. We could hear and sort of see the luau when it occurred, which was fun. I sat out there almost every early morning and evening, with a beverage (what kind depended on the time-of-day
) and felt so relaxed. Now, the room wasn’t perfect – there were some small tears in one of the headboards and the drain in the shower didn’t perform 100% (water would accumulate about ½ an inch during a shower but would quickly go away once done). However, those small things didn’t bother me in the slightest. I loved that it wasn’t super-modern (not our style), and really liked the style and design of the resort and rooms.
The grounds are gorgeous! Plenty of places to get beautiful photos both on the grounds and at the beach.
We visited the pools on several afternoons. We got our wristbands on the first day, indicating we were resort guests. I had read about the craziness to get chairs at the pool and beach, so on the one day we planned to enjoy the resort, I got in line for the pools at 6:30am(!) and was 3 people back – in that particular line. There were a few others that had formed at different entrances. I ended up snagging an awesome spot with 2 chairs under an umbrella for the 4 of us. I sat there while my DH got our boys ready, and we grabbed a quick breakfast and came back within an hour.
The staff did a great job at mitigating the chair-hoggers – they had a system where they would put the seat backs down, and if they hadn’t been put back up within a certain amount of time (an hour I think??), they’d remove the belongings. While the system isn’t perfect, I’m sure, I felt it was a fair way to handle that.
The only features at the pool that weren’t open were the grotto bar and water elevator. The slides and Tarzan swing were open from 10:30am til 4pm – I do wish they were open for longer. The little slides that take you from the upper pools to the lazy river were really fun! My boys did the Tarzan swing for a long while as well.
A couple of the days they had big inflatables (jousting ring, obstacle course, etc) and activities set up on the lawn behind the chapel. The kids really enjoyed this.
We at Café Kula for dinner 2 nights, and breakfast on our last day. The food was good, nothing crazy special. We ate at the Grand Ballroom for breakfast on our resort day, which was tasty. I had snagged a dinner at Humuhumu when it was announced it was available for reservations, and that meal was realllllllly great! We also frequented the Volcano Bar and Botero Bar, quite frequently
I booked excursions for the Road to Hana and the Haleakala sunrise, as I knew those would entail a good amount of driving. For the benefit of my husband and marriage I wanted someone else driving for those. I’m so glad we did! Both tours were FANTASTIC. Our Hana tour driver actually took us the opposite way (back of the loop first), which ended up being awesome as we hardly ran into any traffic. We did the west side on our own, all the way from Wailea to the Nakalele Blowhole and back, using the Shaka app. That was super great also. We stopped at a lot of the points on the tour and saw so many beautiful outlooks. The Nakalele Blowhole was definitely a highlight!
We had some really amazing food – notable places were Paia Fish Market, Kihei Café, & Leoda’s (I don’t care for sweets but the strawberry pie and Olowalu lime pie – OMG). We had the BEST MEAL EVER at Mama’s Fish House for lunch on the day we had to leave. I made that reservation in March, and very grateful I did. Still dreaming about that food! The longest wait we had for a meal was at Monkeypod – we arrived at 4:30 and had a 45-minute wait (they don’t take reservations). The food was pretty good, but they have the BEST mai tai – hands down! We ate at Tommy Bahama’s one mid-afternoon, and Adam Sandler was in there as well. We got to see him but didn’t bother him as he was with his family.
Anyway, if you’ve gotten this far, thanks for reading!! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me
I feel like it was a super successful trip for our first major redemption, and I was so happy that I was able to spend quality time with my family, exploring a beautiful island. Now to choose the next adventure!!
