Hawaii feels a little like the Polynesian

[Tikiman]

Well we returned from Maui this last weekend and I know it has been said before and even debated but I want to tell you that from the minute we got off the plane and the warm sweet tropical smell hits you in the face, to taking hikes in Iao Valley, there was so much that always reminds me of the feel of being at the Polynesian. Not that the Polynesian represents just Hawaii but there are many things that have that Hawaiian feel at the Polynesian. I will have to admit that my first love is the Islands. I think that is why we are going to skip WDW next year and go back (with a little arm twisting from another WDW fan) but we look forward to returning to the Polynesian after all the work is done and sort of have the best of both worlds (Hawaii vacation and Disney vacation). That is why I started going to the Polynesian in the first place. I was debating on which direction to go and I figured I could have some of both at the Polynesian and every time I am there I get a little of both. It is the calm oasis from the parks.

With out turning this into a Maui trip report many have emailed and asked me how the trip was. Well how can Maui be bad? Other than United screwing up our tickets on the way there and bumping us out of first class and leaving our 7 month old son in first class alone it was a great relaxing and fun trip. The main problem is there is so much great food there that we spent most of our budget on food. There was no rain and we got within inches of Dolphins, Sea Turtles, eagle rays and tons of fish right at the beach where our condo is. Gas was $3.59 when we left and we had to fill up an Expedition we rented to get everyone into. Food at the market was about a third more but the weather was great and did not get any rain. A funny thing happened on the way home. Woody Harrelson sat behind my wife on the plane home.

Well the point was that if you never make it to Hawaii or any other Pacific Island, the Polynesian gives you a little taste of what it is like.

Aloha

Steve

 

[wendypooh]

Hi Steve...........

Sounds amazing!!! I too love the "Islands". We've never stayed at the Polynesian, although we'd love too, we do go "visit" everytime we go to WDW. I love the feel of it........ and all the authentic hawaiian aspects that the Polynesian incorporates. I've been twice to Hawaii, and You are right you can get a sense of " being there" at the Polynesian. It is one of my favorite places............ I'd suggest anyone go and visit the Polynesian, even if you aren't staying there.

I'm glad you had a wonderful trip -- I hope you post some pics...... if not here, perhaps on your site........ let us know, I'd love to see them!!!


Welcome Back......even though I know you rather be there!!!

 

[Tikiman]

Yeah I would rather be there and I would not be surprised if someday we move there for good. Prices are not much better than California and in some cases worse. 2.6 Million for a 40 year old 2 bedroom home on the beach in Lahaina!!!

We got quite a few pics but I did not want to just post the link here.

Aloha

Steve

 

[DisneyMim]

I know what you mean. I've been to Hawaii once and absolutely loved it. Maui is amazing. My husband and I have always wanted to go back, but as of yet we haven't been able to (we will someday though!!). YES YES The Polynesian really reminds us of Hawaii and this is why I think we love it so much. Just returned from The Poly concierge last month and had another wonderful stay. So happy to hear that you had a great Hawaiian vacation and are planning more. Yes I agree it would be a wonderful place to live.

Aloha!!

 

[*Fantasia*]

Welcome back Steve! Glad you enjoyed your trip! I have a free rt trip to Hawaii... and I am so debating to just go ahead and plan one to Maui or just take the trip to WDW and do the Polynesian. But I think it would be stupid of me if I don't do Hawaii. I have plenty enough miles that I have accumilated since 1993, that I think I should take myself to a nice fine places such as Hawaii. To fly to Maui from Detroit is about $1000-$1500 per person rt. That is a lot!

Anyways... don't you just love the Kahului airport?! I love the fact it's open air! As soon as you get to the baggage claim... you can already see the beauty of Hawaii! Lots of tropical exotic plants!! And the leis... You can see some girls wearing sarongs... and the surf board shorts... I love Maui!! We went to Iao Valley too... such a beautiful place and very peaceful. Is a gallon of milk still $5 or is it more now? Anyways... glad you're back!

BTW... I went in the chat room and I showed a few pix of me at the Polynesian. Well... they thought that it was taken in Hawaii... I just told them that I wish that was Hawaii.. but the Polynesian came close to feeling of being in Hawaii except that Hawaii is mountainous.

 

[SeaSpray]

BTW... I went in the chat room and I showed a few pix of me at the Polynesian. Well... they thought that it was taken in Hawaii... I just told them that I wish that was Hawaii.. but the Polynesian came close to feeling of being in Hawaii except that Hawaii is mountainous.

Hawaii at the Polynesian is "mountainous", take a look at this picture I took from our balcony in the Hawaii building

Space-Mountainous!!!

P.S. Fantasia, I loved the pictures you took at the Polynesian, and I always love to see the pictures of you and your children. What a beautiful family you are

 

[thumpersfriend]

Tikiman, I have often thought I would love to take my family to Hawaii but the thought of such a long flight(from Michigan) seems soooo long! I have a 3 yo DGD and I just wonder how little ones deal with the long flight? Also, price wise after the plane tickets is it comparable to being at the Poly? I am thinking the price of park tickets would offset other expenses. What hotel would you recommend ? Thinking Maui would be great. I told my husband that the reason we haven't gone to Hawaii is because I would fall in love with it and want to move there too! Glad to know the Poly is somewhat similar though.

 

[Tikiman]

Welcome back Steve! Glad you enjoyed your trip! I have a free rt trip to Hawaii... and I am so debating to just go ahead and plan one to Maui or just take the trip to WDW and do the Polynesian. But I think it would be stupid of me if I don't do Hawaii. I have plenty enough miles that I have accumilated since 1993, that I think I should take myself to a nice fine places such as Hawaii. To fly to Maui from Detroit is about $1000-$1500 per person rt. That is a lot!

Anyways... don't you just love the Kahului airport?! I love the fact it's open air! As soon as you get to the baggage claim... you can already see the beauty of Hawaii! Lots of tropical exotic plants!! And the leis... You can see some girls wearing sarongs... and the surf board shorts... I love Maui!! We went to Iao Valley too... such a beautiful place and very peaceful. Is a gallon of milk still $5 or is it more now? Anyways... glad you're back!

BTW... I went in the chat room and I showed a few pix of me at the Polynesian. Well... they thought that it was taken in Hawaii... I just told them that I wish that was Hawaii.. but the Polynesian came close to feeling of being in Hawaii except that Hawaii is mountainous.

Well I say do the Maui trip. I can tell you that you come home more relaxed than if you were at WDW. The only bad part is getting up in the morning when you change back to your time zone.

I would wait on the tickets. They are very high right now because of the fuel cost. We looked at tickets on the same non-stop flight we took this year for next July and they are asking $2703.51 per person (first class). Even Coach is $777 per person but that is not bad. Luckily we don’t have to pay to stay there. I am sure it is always more expensive coming from Detriot but I am sure you can find better deals if you look through out the year. Our tickets went down in price by $300 each and they credited us the money (if you call) and luckily Kai’s ticket is half price (even on first class).

Kahului has grown up in the last 20 years. I ca still remember when we use to get off the plane and walk across the runway. Iao Valley is one of our regular stops but we could not do the guided hike this time because they will not allow kids under 5 to do it.

I don’t remember how much milk was but everything else was more expensive. We got most of our fruit from a guy (Randy) who sells out of his house in Kahakuloa but they don’t advise rental cars to go that far around the north side of the West Maui Mountains.

 

[*Fantasia*]

Thanks Terry... and yes... I forgot about the Space MOUNTAIN! Hey I saw that from my balcony too! What a great view!

 

[SeaSpray]

Welcome back, Steve! I'm glad you had a wonderful trip to Maui We're not sure when we'll get to the real Hawaii; next summer is another Disney cruise, and we're considering Europe for 2007. I think between the caribbean cruises and the Polynesian resort, I don't feel in a hurry to get to Hawaii, but we definitely will go there some day! My father was just in Hawaii this summer and said it was beautiful beyond description.

Please let us know if you put up pictures from Maui on your web site. I'd love to see them

 

[AnninIowa]

Thanks for the report! I LOVE Hawaii - have been to Oahu, and am already planning on future trips to the Big Island and Maui. That's why I am hesitant to go near the Polyneisan - I'll wish I would have spent the money on the upcoming WDW trip to go to Hawaii instead! For any of you debating on ever going, you definitely have to go to Hawaii at least once. Remember the Polynesian is an imitation of the islands, not the real thing. No amount of reproduction can replace the authentic ocean, people, culture and food!!

 

[Tikiman]

Tikiman, I have often thought I would love to take my family to Hawaii but the thought of such a long flight(from Michigan) seems soooo long! I have a 3 yo DGD and I just wonder how little ones deal with the long flight? Also, price wise after the plane tickets is it comparable to being at the Poly? I am thinking the price of park tickets would offset other expenses. What hotel would you recommend ? Thinking Maui would be great. I told my husband that the reason we haven't gone to Hawaii is because I would fall in love with it and want to move there too! Glad to know the Poly is somewhat similar though.

Well Funny because Tara is taking our son Kai to Michigan next week to see her family. Kai had no problems on the plane over and back but he is not walking yet so he is ok just hanging out. He is a good traveler anyway.

I would say it is worth the long trip even if you were coming from the east coast. We met quite a few people from the east coast. Price wise you can find every price range even on Ka’anapali beach. Now sometimes the resort is half the fun because you will find many times you hang out at the beach all day but if you get into a less expensive resort than pick a location that has a lot to offer close by. We have always spent less in Hawaii than in WDW. There are many hotels I would recommend in different locations on Maui but that might be a good discussion to do with an email and not in here. I have seen just about every resort area on the island and even remember them building many of the resorts when I use to go there when I was younger. I even skateboarded the pool at the Hyatt when it was being built with some locals way back but don’t tell anyone.

 

[thumpersfriend]

Thanks Steve, the weather in Michigan is getting just a little cooler now so your wife will probably enjoy it. Thank you so much for the info, I thought maybe it would be less expensive for Hawaii. Thank you for your offer to let me email if I have questions. What a beautiful baby you have!!!!

 

[wendypooh]

Steve - OMG, what a beautiful little boy!!! He is so sweet!! My baby is almost 6, and his brothers are both in college!!!! I miss them that little!!!!
He does look like he could live in Maui, so I guess that move is imminent!!!! LOL

Let us know about the pics.......... I'm longing for some "island" feel right now!!!!

 

[scanne]

Hi Steve,

My DH and I would love to get to Hawaii someday as many of our friends have been and just rave about the beauty of the islands. My friend has a little bichon frise named Maui - too cute!

You son is so adorable! I'm curious if "Kai" has a special meaning in Hawaiin. I know I named my kids for special reasons. Chase is named for my grandfather, Charles and Erika is named for my grandmother, Ethel. Both were so close to me and I've honored their memories this way. Kai looks like he's my daughter's age - 14 months?

Anyway, thank you for sharing! Mahalo!

Anne

 

[Tikiman]

He does look like he could live in Maui, so I guess that move is imminent!!!! QUOTE]

Tell me this kid is not ready to move to Maui. He wanted to be in the pool or the ocean all day…like his dad.

 

[Tikiman]

Hi Steve,

My DH and I would love to get to Hawaii someday as many of our friends have been and just rave about the beauty of the islands. My friend has a little bichon frise named Maui - too cute!

You son is so adorable! I'm curious if "Kai" has a special meaning in Hawaiin. I know I named my kids for special reasons. Chase is named for my grandfather, Charles and Erika is named for my grandmother, Ethel. Both were so close to me and I've honored their memories this way. Kai looks like he's my daughter's age - 14 months?

Anyway, thank you for sharing! Mahalo!

Anne

Kai is a Hawaiian boys name. It also means ocean. It is also an American Indian boys name and Tara’s family are American Indian.

Kai turned 7 months on September 1st. He was not small when he came out.

 

[wendypooh]

Now listen here Steve, that child should be in Maui everyday!!!!!!!!! So, start packing!!!! He is beautiful!!! A little polynesian cherub!!!


I also LOVE his beautiful skin color, 2 of my boys are lucky enough to have gorgeous olive skin....... my other one, like me, well, it's pitiful!!!! LOL

 

[pozey]

Glad you had a great vacation Steve.

Just wondering....where did you stay while in Maui?

We want to start planning a trip to the Islands in a couple of years and would like to know where some of the best hotels/resorts to look into.


Thanks.

 

[Tikiman]

Glad you had a great vacation Steve.

Just wondering....where did you stay while in Maui?

We want to start planning a trip to the Islands in a couple of years and would like to know where some of the best hotels/resorts to look into.


Thanks.

The best resort areas are Ka’anapali, Kapalua (west Maui area near Lahaina) and Kihei, Wailea (Haleakala area) but we prefer the Ka’anapali area of Maui. We belong to the Fairmont Presidents Club and they have a great resort as well as the Grand Wailea is nice but our favorite is the newly redone Sheraton at Black Rock. We stayed there a few nights and than went to the condo (villa) we purchased in 2003. It is a 1,400 sq ft villa located on Ka’anapali beach just built in 2003 by Westin (Starwood) and we can have it for up to 2 weeks a year. We purchased pre-construction so we got it when it was still $44,000 but they sold out of phase one shortly after we left Maui and the price increased. We never thought we would do a time share but it is a fee simple purchase and you get a Deed from the State of Hawaii just as if you purchased a house. Many time shares are lease hold and you can end up losing the purchase if they do not renew the lease. This way we never lose it and we can leave it to Kai since it is owned property. Unfortunately property taxes do apply. This way we knew we would have a place to stay every year and we are free to pick any dates we want. They will be building villas on Hawaii, Kauai and Oahu and we will be able to trade ours in and stay there instead. The also have villas all over the world (including Bora Bora and Tahiti) that we can trade ours in to stay for multiple weeks. If we don’t stay there we can rent it or trade it in for Starwood points (80,000). Online they are renting for a week at anywhere from $2000-$4000 for the week.

Like I said before, if you want to talk places in Maui shoot me an email and I will give you my opinion.

Here is a link to the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas if you ever want to stay there.
http://www.westinkaanapali.com/

Aloha

Steve