… or You may never want to leave! Pearson Brown
Maui Forever
Visitors who enjoys luxury amenities and full concierge service will find ideal accommodations at the Fairmont Kea Lani , on the pristine sands of Polo Beach on Maui’s south side. The resort offers 450 suites and 37 villas on 22-acres of lush tropical landscaping, a kids club for children aged 5-12, featuring three pools, a beachfront concierge shack offering a variety of beach activities, a world-class fitness center and an indulgent spa featuring oceanside spa treatments. The Fairmont’s newly renovated signature restaurant, Ko, Hawaiian for “sugar cane,” is renowned for its plantation era-inspired cuisine, featuring authentic Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, Korean, and Japanese menu items, prepared by culinary master Executive Chef Tylun Pang.
Road to Ohana
For a vacation with heart, the Makena Beach and Golf Resort focuses on warm hospitality or “ohana,” Hawaiian for “family.” The resort’s Paradise Play concierge facilitates all sorts of fun in the sun from stand-up paddle-boarding to outrigger canoe cultural tours. The 1800-acre recently renovated property features a unique A-shaped design giving each of the 290 rooms and 20 suites an ocean-view lanai. Makena also features topnotch golf and tennis facilities in a rugged natural setting with stunning ocean views. The Makena Kai Day Spa offers pampering treatments indoors or in private open-air beach cabanas on the beach. The resort also features a new fitness center. The Molokini Bar and Grille at Makena offers a best-on-Maui brunch buffet with dessert spread to die for. The restaurant features fine dining at night with a made-from-scratch menu by Executive Chef Mark McDowell.
Magical Maui
West Maui’s enchanting Napili Kai Beach Resort on Napili Bay offers 167 one and two-bedroom suites and studios in 11 two-story buildings nestled in sumptuous gardens of tropics plants. The resort’s newly renovated suites are furnished in casual plantation style with modern amenities such as electronically controlled window blinds and a fully equipped kitchen. Along with services and amenities, such as four swimming pools, complimentary children’s activities, an exercise room, barbeque areas, babysitting, massage treatments, wi-fi hotspots, and coin-operated washers and dryers, the resort features fun, homey touches such as cultural speakers on the beach each morning. The resort’s low key no hustle, no attitude approach keeps couples and families coming back year after year.
See Turtles
For first-class snorkel sailing, the Ali’i Nui 65-foot catamaran is a diver’s dream. Captain Dennis and his enthusiastic crew aboard this tight ship cater to guests’ every need on sunrise and sunset tours featuring delicious healthy meals.Pprofessional underwater photographer, Michelle O’Byrne, comes along to capture souvenir video and photos.
Goats, Gardens and Fish
Surfing Goat Dairy is a real dairy farm where kids get to feed the goats and watch the goats get milked. At the tour’s end, guests are offered samples of fresh gourmet goat cheeses.
The fabulously fragrant and beautiful Ali’i Kula Lavender farm, offers walking tours of their various lavender and herb gardens. Guests can sample lavender scone cookies and take home aromatic souvenirs at the one-of-a-kind lavender goodies gift shop.
The Maui Ocean Center , the Hawaiian Aquarium, features an extraordinary collection of some of the most exotic animals of the ocean are displayed in more than 70 vibrant exhibits, such as a tunnel surrounded by 750,000-gallons of water swimming with sharks.
Cirque de Maui
Maui Theatre’s Ulalena is the island’s most entrancing presentation of Hawaiian history and mythology though song, dance and acrobatics that is as beautiful for its vocal performances, costumes and dance as it is educational.
Hot Ticket
The spectacular Grand Luau at Honua’ula at Grand Wailea resort is the granddaddy of all luaus. Following a buffet dinner
of Hawaiian delicacies, guests enjoy a show of singers, drummers, stilt walkers and hula dancers, with a grand finale of fire dancing.
A Maui Primer
It’s not such a small island after all – take a GPS navigation unit. Pack light and shop at Maui’s Costco for beach accoutrements, and bring along a durable spinner suitcase with easy access pockets and pouches, such as Briggs-Riley Baseline collection, for zipping through the interisland airports.
(This article was submitted to WE Magazine for Women last summer and we just found it in our archives). It is perfect for today’s summer traveler)
K. Pearson Brown is a a contributor to L.A. Family, L.A. Parent, Expecting, OutTraveler, Brentwood Media Group (Westside Today, Beverly Hills 90210, Westwood/Bel-Air View, Brentwood News, Santa Monica Sun, Palisades 90272, Malibu Beach), LA Independent Newspapers (West Hollywood Independent, Hollywood Independent, Westside Independent and Culver City Independent), LA Examiner, Yahoo! Associated Content, E-zine Articles, Suite 101, Match.com’s Harmony magazine, Frontiers, IN Los Angeles and Curve, and she can also be heard as a commentator on the top-rated NPR radio station KPCC-FM in Los Angeles. Brown is also a nationally syndicated columnist, blogger and novelist. Her columns have appeared in more than 40 outlets including SheWired.com, TheNextFamily, Goodkin, Washington Blade, New York Blade, Southern Voice (Atlanta), South Florida Blade, Houston Voice, Philadelphia Express News, WeHoNews.com, The LN, Odyssey (Hawaii), PrideParenting.com, GayWired, Gay.com and many others.
