Hawaii
Originally, I planned on only visiting one island but ended up on three. Flew on United Airlines to Kahului Airport, Maui and met up with some friends. After grabbing the rental car from Avis, did a quick stock up trip at Costco before heading up to the Westin Nanea Ocean Villas.
The Westin was a preview timeshare deal and so I had prepaid for a two-bedroom suite. I do find the Westin timeshare properties a little bit more luxurious than the Hilton or even Marriott hotels. But you also pay for that premium so I didn't feel compelled. With the Westin and Marriott merger, I feel that there is likely a higher level of competition within their membership but that's only speculation. Due to COVID, the Westin hotel versus timeshare facilities were kept separate. Meaning that you couldn't go to the pools at the hotel but you can spend money at the hotel (restaurants). I wasn't a fan of that either. The Hilton doesn't preclude timeshare guests from using the hotel facilities.
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| Westin Nanea Master Bath/Bedroom |
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| Westin Nanea 2nd Bedroom |
On the last day of the trip, I booked a one way on Hawaiian Airlines from Maui to Oahu. Mental note, I'm not sure how Hawaiian is going to stay competitive when Southwest doesn't charge luggage fees. I used points from United to book the one way ticket so I didn't mind paying the luggage fee.
Usually if I have a redeye flight I would book a day use rate at a hotel because Hawaii is best enjoyed during daylight hours in my opinion. The prices in Maui have shot up astronomically and it was cheaper for me to either visit some friends in Oahu or book a day rate in Waikiki than to stay in Maui for the day. Since United let me change my departure airport from OGG to HNL, I decided to do that and my friends were free and we were able to spend some QT time before heading home.
As I am no longer 1K with United, my trips going forward will be interesting in terms of service and access. Also my commitment to United may wane....
Dining
Blue Ginger Cafe - made a stop in town of Lanai after getting the Jeep Rental from LanaiCheapJeeps.com. The cafe was recommended by the owner of the Jeep rental. I enjoyed the breakfast options. It was definitely a large entree portion sizes, so come prepared.
Star Noodle - revisited this restaurant at their new location in Maui. The garlic noodles are a hit and I learned that there were a few unfiltered sake wines I really liked on the menu. It was enough for me to go look for the brand when I went home. It's not a common one - Hewia Shuzou Junmai.
Lahaina Fish - Don't come here for the food per se but the views are awesome. We were situated on the second level facing ocean and it was nice to look at the views and see dolphins/whales at a distance. I did find the dessert - macnut tart - very good. I would come back for that.
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| Lahaina Fish MacNut Tart |
Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice - while walking around town gift shopping, I made a pit stop for shaved ice. The place to have shaved ice in Maui!
Fond - semi nice gourmet hawaiian food on the north side of the island. I found it enjoyable and the staff is working hard to make this relatively new restaurant stay afloat. The Cassoulet and Loaded Fries were top notch.
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| Fond Pork and Lentil Cassoulet |
Krispy Kreme - Because I was heading over to Honolulu on my last day, I swung by to grab a dozen doughnuts for friends before getting to the airport. The only Krispy Kreme in Hawaii is in Maui and they do enjoy the Kristy Kreme.
Kona Coffee Purveyors - Once I landed into Honlulu, I was able to get my friend to swing through Waikiki to pick up a pre-order of Koignn Amman.
Musubi Cafe Iyasume - after picking up some Koignn Amman, I also picked up a variety of musubis.
Mama Lei's Homemade Goodness - after driving on the north side of the island, I picked up some cookies and banana pound cake from this local bakery stand outside of the Nakalele Blowhole.
Coconut Stand Water - also along the highway to Nakalele Blowhole, this coffee cart sells coconut coffee. I wasn't a fan of the combination but I'm sure it works for others that are fans of coconut water.
Activities
Most of the activities on this trip was sightseeing and road tripping if we left the resort complex. At the Westin, there is a reef off the beach that one can snorkel.
Lanai Island - Booked a ferry through Expeditions and watched some whales on the ride to Lanai. I had found a local jeep rental place (really the only one in town outside of the Ritz Carlton) with Lanaicheapjeeps.com. Most of the island is unpaved roads and the only real way of getting around is with a 4x4 (although I did see a number of Teslas off paved roads and violating their rental agreement). I wouldn't recommend renting Teslas if that is your only option especially if it rains. You also can't hide the fact that you went off-roading because of the dust you will collect and that is only possible if you went off road. There is a map of the island and you are informed of the local sites to get to. Overall, I thought it was fun to drive around the island and go off the paved roads. I wouldn't call it true off-roading but it works for 99% of the population.
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| Lanai |
Nakalele Blowhole - Took a northerly path around the island towards Nakalele Blowhole. I was actually looking for some beaches but it was a little difficult to find the access road to the beaches as seen on Google maps. So I ended up at the blowhole and took a short trip to the edge. If you enjoy scenery, that's all you're going to get. The blowhole itself was a little small and out of reach from the hiking path.
Makena Beach - On the final road trip for the week, went south to Makena Beach. Also did some pit stop for gift shopping in Wailea and Lanai.
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