I am of the opinion that Hawaii is magical. However, to state the obvious, Hawaii is quite far from the East Coast. I’ve been to places further away (such as Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur) for very short weekends without complaint, but, Hawaii is different. You need time in Hawaii. To me, Hawaii is about kicking back and relaxing more than it is about sightseeing. So, as much as I am the queen of rushed trips, I learned that it is best not to plan a trip to Hawaii when you don’t have the time to truly relax and enjoy it.
Our recent trip to Maui was already too quick – only three nights. But then there were flight delays, and snow in Chicago and torrential rain in Maui. So we arrived very late the first day of our stay and really only had one day in the beautiful Hawaiian sun. It was such a tease. And yet, Hawaii is still a magical paradise.
We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, which we loved from the minute we arrived. It is an oceanfront hotel located on Ka’anapali Beach.
We checked in at the Front Desk.
The hotel is built around a lush open air atrium. (It was a little soggy on our first day or two there).
This is the view of the interior hotel and atrium from our floor.
As a Globalist World of Hyatt member, I used a suite upgrade, so I knew our room would be nice. What we didn’t expect was a gorgeous three room suite, with a bedroom, living room and combo dining room/kitchen and two bathrooms.
This is the main bathroom. Have you noticed the orchids in nearly every room?
The second bathroom was off of the living room area.
There were plenty of closets. This might be my favorite hotel robe ever!
The staff was delightful. They exude warmth and hospitality. We received so many lovely welcome notes and gifts! From wine, to chocolate lava, it was incredible.
We had some issues with our hotel key not working properly requiring several visits from the engineering department to let us into our room. The next day we received this tray of goodies. At first I thought these were items for sale, but the note (see below) showed they were gifts from the security department for our troubles. Wow.
This was the view of the grounds from our room. You can see the ocean on one side and the golf course on the other.
The Regency Club was located on the ground floor. We had breakfast each morning, and hors d’oeuvres, each evening, here.
This was my favorite!
But, wait, this is Hawaii and I haven’t shown you the pool and sunsets yet!
On the grounds, there were not only swans, but there were also really cute penguins!
The pools and the beach are right behind the hotel. Next door is the Hyatt Residence Club, and we were allowed to visit and use the pools there as well.
One day we rented a cabana, which is like a beach day bed for two persons.
We were treated to the most breathtaking sunset on our second night at the hotel!
Although we rented a car and went to local neighborhoods such as Lahaina town, we really liked walking on the path behind the hotel which went to the Whalers Village shopping area and beyond. We frequently stopped at Whalers Village for some food and a Mai Tai or two at what quickly became our favorite Maui restaurant, Monkeypod Kitchen!!
I can’t wait to return, hopefully when I have more time to enjoy the magic of Mau and the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa!
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
So what kind of resort fees were they charging?
My wife and I just got back from a combination Andaz/Regency trip to Maui. What a contrast in styles…maybe it’s a Globalist thing, but the Regency staff was over-the-top fantastic. Every time we turned around someone else was giving us a gift. Possibly the friendliest Hyatt on earth.
Agreed. I think hotels that have Regency or Grand Clubs have this “warmth” feature.