Hawaii (Maui & Kauai)-- suggestions appreciated!

Re: Hawaii (Maui & Kauai)-- suggestions appreciated!

• golfrgal

  

  March 2011 edited December 2011

  I am also going to Kauai and Maui... Staying at what my friends collectively reported as the nicest hotels on each island: The Four Seasons, Maui and  St. Regis Princeville, Kauai.  

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• mcjays

  

  March 2011 edited December 2011

  The Grand Hyatt on Kauai is beautiful and I heard they have an amazing luau. My sister stayed there during her honeymoon and loved it. The bonus is that you're near all the other resorts so there's a lot of stuff to do. We did visit the St. Regis in Princeville and the view there is amazing and the hotel itself is stunning. I would think they're about the same in price.
  
  We stayed at the Aqua in Lihue which is fairly cheap and wasn't too bad and we booked the room with a rental car and saved a lot of money.
  
  Definitely visit Polihale beach in Kauai. It was the best beach we went to while we were on vacation. I'm happy to give you more recommendations.
  

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• sgdc2011 member

  

  March 2011 edited December 2011

  We are doing Oahu, Maui, Kuai,  We are staying at the Grand Hyatt in Kuai and the Fairmont Kea Lani (Sp?) in Maui.
  
  We are doing a luau in Maui road to hana  and zip lining magic show
  Kauai- snorkel tour and somethign else but I forgot
  
  

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• kozacs member

  

  March 2011 edited December 2011

  We are staying at the Grand Hyatt on Kauai and Fairmont Kea Lani on Maui.  We always use tripadvisor's top things to do when planning vacations and it hasn't failed us yet!  FI and I are thinking of doing this in Kauai. It looks really cool.
  www.bigskykauai.com

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• USER876

  

  March 2011 edited December 2011

  We stayed at the Hyatt on both Islands.  I like the Kanapali area in Maui, it's close to Lahaina and also not far to drive around the north end. 
  
  The grounds of the Ritz are really nice, but since it's built on an old graveyard and thwt couldnt transplant the graves, the lodging is pretty far from the beach area.  i didn't like that.  It's also kind of secluded being so far north.
  
  Here is a picture I took of the path from the Ritz down to the water.....
  
  
  
  
  You can see how long it is down to the beach......
  
  
  
  
   

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• tinydancer842

  

  March 2011 edited December 2011

  I went to Maui in August & did the following activities:

  
  Paragon Sailing Charters - We did their sunset mai tai sail. They give you free mai tais, beer, wine & finger food as you sail into the sunset. The boat never felt crowded & it was mostly couples. Also a few locals were onboard so it definitely didn't feel touristy. The crew was also super friendly & showed us a really relaxing/fun time.
  
  Four Winds II - This was a great snorkeling trip. They provided tons of food & alcoholic drinks the entire time. We snorkeled at Molokini Crater which was beautiful. The fish count wasn't super high, but the water was clear & we were there for the perfect amount of time. They also have a slide on board which was lots of fun.They provided underwater digital cameras for $40 & they put all yours photos on a CD before you got off the boat.
  
  Goofy Foot Surf School - We took private surfing lessons & it was well worth the money - I got up on my first try! The atmosphere was very relaxed & they helped us catch plenty of waves. We did the 2 hour lesson & that was the perfect amount of time -- we were really tired by the end of it. The only thing I would do differently was go earlier in the day (by the time we got out around 11am a lot of other surf schools were there & needless to say lots of people ran into me causing me to fall). They also have a professional photographer there who will take your photo while you surf ($20/person) & give you a CD with all the photos before you leave - def. worth the money!
  
  
  

  

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• misschristinec

  

  March 2011 edited December 2011

  We did Maui and Kauai. Buy the blue books for both Maui and Kauai!
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0981461018/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B003B654SI&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=135B44D9N40M5ZRVDGZJ
  
  
  In Maui - we stayed at the Westin in Kanapali'i.  It was gorgeous and we really loved in.  We loved being close to Marketplace and being able to walk on the paved path along the beach.  Plus as User mentioned, Kanapali'i is so close to Lahaina - and we walked around there and also took a Whale watching tour (I went in January) from Pacific Whale Foundation (non profit, and the invest all their profits into whale research).
  
  
  full breach
  
  Westin Resort and Spa view (adult pool)
  
  
  Out of of Maalaea Bay we took a snorkel trip with Pacific Whale Foundation- it was a blast- went to Molokini crater (typical) and then we snorkeled off of Lanai .. and then Shark fin bay (no sharks here).
  
  We did the road to Hana... We did the 2 mile hike (crossing streams, got downpoured on and made it to the picturesque waterfall - best one on the island!)
  
  (yes we are dying here)
  
   AND we kept going straight after we reached Hana!!! We had a mustang convertible (so does everyone else!) and did the unpaved road and went past the "other" side of Mt. Haleakala.  Would I ever do it again?  ABSOLUTELY NOT... it was 10x worse than the road to Hana.
  
  
  In Kauai -we stayed at an Outrigger hotel, which was WAYYY different than Maui.  The hotel was in Kappa'a which made access to Princeville/Lihue (for Costco), and Poipu easy.
  
  The Ocean is pretty crappy in Kappa'a - too many rocks   so we would hit up Poipu or honolua bay for beach access. The pool was fantastic, and it had a sand bottom hottub which was interesting. We went out to eat a few nights and a few night we cooked in, my husband cooked breakfast EVERY morning.  The Kitchens and the space at the Outriggers was amazing.  This benefited us because we felt lots of stuff in Kauai closed early..  So we were able to comfortably chill with a beer or glass of wine.
  
  
  (yes subzero fridge and Wolf stove and stacked drawer dishwashers.. full granite- this kitchen was a million times nicer than mine at home)
  
  We did an open-doors helicopter ride through Jack Harter, it was an amazing experience.  I
  
  would certainly do it again.. and the open doors part was scary at first, but then you realized how much easier it was to get pictures and true views of the island.
  
  
  We did the Smith Family Luau - loved it!
  
  taking out the pig from underground cooking chamber
  
  
  PS - if you want restaurant recommendations let  me know since I was there just about  2 months ago!

  

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• misschristinec

  

  March 2011 edited December 2011

  PS - we had about an 8K budget for our honeymoon
  and was able to accomplish everything we wanted for less than that.
  14 days in Hawaii + airfare, food, hotels, and fun!

  

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• uppereastgirl member

  

  March 2011 edited December 2011

  We stayed at the Four Seasons in Maui, which is our favorite hotel we've ever stayed at (and we're hotel snobs).  Great rooms, great staff, great amenities. The Ritz-Carlton was being renovated when we were in Maui so we didn't look into it, but beyond what User said, I've also heard that it can be cold up there.  I think there are evergreens and such.
  
  We stayed at the Hyatt in Kauai and were so-so on it.  The property is huge and nice, but it wasn't the superluxury hotel that we expected.  The rooms were really average, the crowd was kind of rowdy when were where there (there were guests  rolling up coolers of Budweiser to the pool at a supposedly five-star hotel -- really?  And lots of unruly kids).  The lazy river pool was really cool though.  The beach there is too rough to go in the water and no-one sits on the beach -- so if you're a beach person it is not an ideal place.  I found the Hyatt to be a let down after a week at the Four Seasons, so in retrospect we probably would have stayed at what is now the St. Regis.
  
  On Maui, the only activity we did was Haleakala, which was really cool to see.  We didn't do the Road to Hana because we were enjoying the beach and pools so much that we didn't want to be away from it for a whole day   On Kauai, we went on a helicopter tour one day (the company we used was Blue Hawaiian), and we went to Waimea Canyon and Spouting Horn another day.  Definitely recommend both activities. 
  

  

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• kellybee83 member

  

  March 2011 edited December 2011

  Thanks everyone!!  All this information is so helpful!  I think we've changed our mind about the Ritz (because of the location, even though it sounds like a beautiful property), but the Four Seasons may be a stretch for us.
  It sounds like all of you had fabulous honeymoons, and I'm looking forward to the same!  I definitely want to do a helicopter ride, but I feel like I won't be able to keep it from FI. 
  Christine- you and your hubby are so cute!  I would love restaurant recommendations!
  
  Thank you all again!

  

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