Your recommendation for a Hawaii Vacation

[thumper*]

Dh and I are fortunate enough to get to spend our 19 anniversary at AKL this Sept. Next year is the big 20 and we would love to go to Hawaii. But just like Disney there are so many great looking places it's hard to decide. We haven't even decided on an island yet. So keeping the following in mind maybe you can give us some suggestions.
We will probably stay about 5 nt's. Must be ocean front and peaceful (no Honalulu). Would love a resort not just a hotel. We would like several restaurants and a spa. Lush and tropical and private would be appreciated as well. We will spend most of the time pool/beach side. Maybe rent a car one day to sight see and do a helicopter tour also. I can't think of any other details at the moment.
So any suggestions?

 

[Pakey]

We enjoyed our stay at the Grand Wailea in Wailea Maui and the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua Maui. Maui is our favorite island of the 3 we have vacationed on.

 

[abdmom]

It does sound like Maui would be your best bet for an island. The 2 resorts mentioned above are a couple of your best bets.

 

[amyren]

DH and I spent a few nights in Hawaii in July. I would definitely NOT recommend Waikiki. Unfortunately it was kinda dirty and really crowded. There are other beautiful places on Oahu and there are lots of things to do on the island… Hanauma Bay & Pearl Harbor for example. But if you are looking for a beautiful beach resort I would choose Maui.

 

[Jeafl]

We also went to Hawaii for our 20th anniversary.

If you go to the big island, we loved the Hilton Waikaloa. It's huge, but kind of isolated and the grounds are spectacular. You can take either a boat or a monorail-type thing to your room and the restaurants there are fantastic. It has unbelievable pools, plus a "lagoon" where you can swim with the turtles. It's definitely a "destination" as opposed to someplace where you just want a cheap place to sleep.

You can also take a ride to see the active volcano, and go through something like 6 different climates at the national park. It's pretty amazing!

On Maui there are tons of great places. The two mentioned above are wonderful, plus the Hyatt Regency Maui is also nice.

 

[4forMe]

In Maui, I would also suggest the Four Seasons in Wailea.

 

[daughtersrus]

Dh and I are fortunate enough to get to spend our 19 anniversary at AKL this Sept. Next year is the big 20 and we would love to go to Hawaii. But just like Disney there are so many great looking places it's hard to decide. We haven't even decided on an island yet. So keeping the following in mind maybe you can give us some suggestions.
We will probably stay about 5 nt's. Must be ocean front and peaceful (no Honalulu). Would love a resort not just a hotel. We would like several restaurants and a spa. Lush and tropical and private would be appreciated as well. We will spend most of the time pool/beach side. Maybe rent a car one day to sight see and do a helicopter tour also. I can't think of any other details at the moment.
So any suggestions?

We just got back from a week on Waikiki Beach. We went there for DD's Make-A-Wish trip. Like others have said, it's very urban. We did have a car for the week and drove to Hanauma Bay to snorkel. Very beautiful! We also drove up to the north shore, Pearl Harbor and the Dole Plantation.

On the way to our luau (Paradise Cove) about 45 min from Waikiki, we passed the resort that Disney is building. It really sound beautiful. Here is a link if you want to take a look.

http://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/

If you rent a car, I suggest bringing a GPS. Without it, I'm not sure that we would have found our way around the island.

 

[thumper*]

Thanks for all the recommendations......guess I'll be spending the nt researching them. Anybody else have some ideas.

 

[beachbunny]

On Oahu: Disney's Aulani resort opens August 29, 2011 - but it's about 20 miles from town - 45 minutes to town when it's not crowded but 1 1/2 hours during rush hour. This will be a huge resort because there really is nothing close to it except for one other resort, the Ihilani. Otherwise, the Halekulani in Waikiki or the Kahala just outside of Waikiki are both fantastic. They are exceptional hotels with beaches and pools, but not huge resorts in the Disney sense. If you want a resort, the nicest one is on the edge of Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Best restaurants - La Mer (coat and tie required - I was just there and the tasting menu was about $200 per person) and Alan Wong's. Best Sunday brunch - Orchids at the Halekulani.

On Maui: Four Seasons Wailea or the Grand Wailea.

On Hawaii: Four Seasons Hualalai on the Kona side and the Kilauea Lodge on the Hilo side. The Kilauea Lodge is a B&B but I think it's quite romantic and it's probably the nicest place on the Hilo side.

Kauai: Don't bother. They hate tourists so why waste your money there? Really.

 

[BonnieA]

We took a cruise around Hawaii. It was wonderful, got off the ship everyday, rented a car and just explored. Went back to the ship for the evening. It was more like a floating hotel than a cruise. You wake up in the morning and you are in a new location. Actually on two nights we stayed overnight, in Maui and Kauai. This trip gave us a wonderful overview of hawaii.

 

[stevenpensacola]

Send us your credit card...and my wife and I will go research Hawaii for you...

It will be a real sacrifice on our part...but it's something we'd do for a fellow DIS'er...

 

[DawnCt1]

Dh and I are fortunate enough to get to spend our 19 anniversary at AKL this Sept. Next year is the big 20 and we would love to go to Hawaii. But just like Disney there are so many great looking places it's hard to decide. We haven't even decided on an island yet. So keeping the following in mind maybe you can give us some suggestions.
We will probably stay about 5 nt's. Must be ocean front and peaceful (no Honalulu). Would love a resort not just a hotel. We would like several restaurants and a spa. Lush and tropical and private would be appreciated as well. We will spend most of the time pool/beach side. Maybe rent a car one day to sight see and do a helicopter tour also. I can't think of any other details at the moment.
So any suggestions?

I will put on my flame suit now, but what you are looking for and what you plan to do can easily be done almost anywhere in the Caribbean for a lot less money, time and travel. Hawaii is so much more than luxury resorts, although there are many of them that fit your description. Hawaii is full of historical sites, mountains, beaches, water falls,museums, volcanos, hiking trails to incredible beauty, local food, local culture, etc, that to waste the time secluded on a resort would to me, be a waste of time. One day sight seeing will not reveal a fraction of what Hawaii, (no matter which island you chose) has to offer. Five days is a very short time. For us, its a long flight. We usually plan 17 days and 3 islands. Choosing which three is never easy. We love them all.

 

[DawnCt1]

On Oahu: Disney's Aulani resort opens August 29, 2011 - but it's about 20 miles from town - 45 minutes to town when it's not crowded but 1 1/2 hours during rush hour. This will be a huge resort because there really is nothing close to it except for one other resort, the Ihilani. Otherwise, the Halekulani in Waikiki or the Kahala just outside of Waikiki are both fantastic. They are exceptional hotels with beaches and pools, but not huge resorts in the Disney sense. If you want a resort, the nicest one is on the edge of Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Best restaurants - La Mer (coat and tie required - I was just there and the tasting menu was about $200 per person) and Alan Wong's. Best Sunday brunch - Orchids at the Halekulani.

On Maui: Four Seasons Wailea or the Grand Wailea.

On Hawaii: Four Seasons Hualalai on the Kona side and the Kilauea Lodge on the Hilo side. The Kilauea Lodge is a B&B but I think it's quite romantic and it's probably the nicest place on the Hilo side.

Kauai: Don't bother. They hate tourists so why waste your money there? Really.

Wow, I really disagree. We have met some very friendly people on Kauai, and the sights are absolutely exquisite. There is nothing so beautiful as waking up in the morning on the north shore gazing out at the ocean, and seeing multiple rainbows. The views from the pali are absolutely breathtaking.

 

[punkin]

I will put on my flame suit now, but what you are looking for and what you plan to do can easily be done almost anywhere in the Caribbean for a lot less money, time and travel. Hawaii is so much more than luxury resorts, although there are many of them that fit your description. Hawaii is full of historical sites, mountains, beaches, water falls,museums, volcanos, hiking trails to incredible beauty, local food, local culture, etc, that to waste the time secluded on a resort would to me, be a waste of time. One day sight seeing will not reveal a fraction of what Hawaii, (no matter which island you chose) has to offer. Five days is a very short time. For us, its a long flight. We usually plan 17 days and 3 islands. Choosing which three is never easy. We love them all.

We just came back from our first trip to Hawaii (did Oahu and Big Island - 14 days) and I will agree with you.

On the other hand I liked Waikiki too and people seem to disparage it a lot. To each her own, I guess.

 

[DawnCt1]

We just came back from our first trip to Hawaii (did Oahu and Big Island - 14 days) and I will agree with you.

On the other hand I liked Waikiki too and people seem to disparage it a lot. To each her own, I guess.

I love Waikiki. Its a great location. We have loved the beach there in front of the Hale Koa, love hiking Diamond Head, visiting the Bishop museum, drives around the island to the north shore, taking "The Bus" to the Zoo, downtown shopping areas, etc. The list is endless.

 

[WriteDisney]

If you want a resort, the nicest one is on the edge of Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Best restaurants - La Mer (coat and tie required - I was just there and the tasting menu was about $200 per person) and Alan Wong's. Best Sunday brunch - Orchids at the Halekulani.

My DH and I just got married on Oahu and it was really, really nice. We had a wonderful time. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and it was truly amazing. I read in a guidebook that they like to nickle and dime you and boy was that true (parking, renting chairs and umbrellas were outrageous... but for an oceanfront hotel thats kind of expected). The hotel is out of the busy Waikiki beach area which I thought was only a plus because the beach felt more private and secluded. We rented a car for a few days and drove around the island and had a fantastic time. Trip of a lifetime. They have tons of stuff going on at the hotel too, penguin feedings, torch lighting, lei making, and lots of restaurants and shops. The grounds were very nicely taken care of.

It did feel a little like how Disney hotels have lots of "theming," which is only a good thing.

 

[danalee]

By the sounds of what your looking for, the Grand Wailea in Maui would fit the bill. Wonderful Island to explore, shop & dine plus if you have a couple days that you just want to stay on site and "soak" that up the, Grand Wailea is a great place to do that!

Have a wonderful trip

 

[daughtersrus]

We stayed in the Hyatt Regency on Waikiki Beach. It was very nice and the staff was very helpful! The only problem that we had was that there was one elevator to go through the shopping area, pool, spa, work-out place and a second one to go up to the rooms. For most people this wasn't a problem as they also had stairs and escalators but these weren't an option for us since DD uses a wheelchair. From talking with others, this seems to be the norm for hotels.

The pool is on the third floor and overlooks the beach. There is no charge for the beach chairs (can be carried like a backpack) and beach towels to take to the beach. The beach is literally just steps away.

There's also a bar/restaurant at the pool. They give out free food in the afternoon and Otter Pops to the kids.

There's a great view of the beach and Diamond Head (if you're in that tower).

The only thing that surprised us was that the beds were doubles and not queens.

We were there for 7 days and didn't get rained on once but we did see a beautiful rainbow over the mountains.

 

[moburg]

Dh and I are fortunate enough to get to spend our 19 anniversary at AKL this Sept. Next year is the big 20 and we would love to go to Hawaii. But just like Disney there are so many great looking places it's hard to decide. We haven't even decided on an island yet. So keeping the following in mind maybe you can give us some suggestions.
We will probably stay about 5 nt's. Must be ocean front and peaceful (no Honalulu). Would love a resort not just a hotel. We would like several restaurants and a spa. Lush and tropical and private would be appreciated as well. We will spend most of the time pool/beach side. Maybe rent a car one day to sight see and do a helicopter tour also. I can't think of any other details at the moment.
So any suggestions?

Maui during whale season.

The peak of the season is in January, February, March and April, but whales are commonly seen in Maui from December through early May.

http://www.pacificwhale.org/mauiecocruises/main.php?page=wwfaq&id=2

 

[cc1013]

By the sounds of what your looking for, the Grand Wailea in Maui would fit the bill. Wonderful Island to explore, shop & dine plus if you have a couple days that you just want to stay on site and "soak" that up the, Grand Wailea is a great place to do that!

Have a wonderful trip

I completely agree. DH and I were at the Grand Wailea last November. We have previously stayed at at the Four Seasons (also on Wailea beach). While both are gorgeous hotels, we prefered the Grand Wailea. There were more things to explore, more dining options and activities at the Grand Wailea. Although I have to say one of our favorite restaurants is Spago at the Four Seasons.

There is a ton to do on Maui and it has a great combination of relaxing/active choices. Besides, Hawaii is GORGEOUS!

Good luck!