Beautiful Maui never disappoints

View from my room 1726 in Atrium Tower

 After my not so great time in Oahu, I was looking forward to the second leg of my Hawaiian trip.  I took an Hawaiian airline interisland flight on Sunday morning and let me warn you: the Honolulu airport is very busy and understaffed.  Luckily I gave myself a couple of hours to get the airport.

You have to rent a car when you go to Maui, there is no way around that.  I rented a compact car because parking can be a real hassle! The island seemed pretty much the same, meaning unspoiled and undeveloped, since the last time I was there in 1996.  Last time I stayed in a condo in the community of Kahana, which right below Napili Bay.  My then boyfriend and I spent a day at a resort that was super fancy, with penguins and flamingos and a pool with waterfalls, grotto, swim up bar and water slide. 

This time around, I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Kaanpali just up the road from Lahaina.  I picked that place because I am a Hyatt rewards member. 

Unlike Oahu, you really get the beautiful Hawaiian island experience in Maui.  The beaches go on forever and ever and the island's natural beauty is not hidden behind skyscraping clumps of hotel towers.  The air is so fresh and you can smell the beautiful plumaria flowers.  You just feel better being there!

And to my surprise, the Hyatt is the fancy place that I spent the day at all those years ago!  They still have the lagoon with the swans and flamingos, and the penguins in the hotel lobby.  I stayed in the middle of the resort's three buildings with an amazing ocean view.  And while the surf at Kaanapali Beach is a little rough for snorkeling, the sound of the ocean waves more than makes up for that.

You could literally spend your entire vacation hanging out at the main pool swimming under the waterfalls, having drinks at the swim up bar, playing on the water slide, or just going back and forth from the pool to the beach that is just a few steps away.  The Umalu bar and restaurant right next to the pool has some very tasty food.  I recommend the fish tacos and nachos. 

I was originally going to stay until Friday but was having problems seeing clearly.  I cut the trip short by a few days, so I didn't get a chance to do all the activities I had wanted, like biking down the crater or driving on the road to Hana to check out the tropical waterfalls.  Thankfully I did manage to go scuba diving.

Umalu bar and restaurant

If you want to step away from the resort, you can go just up the road to the Whaler's Village shopping center.  They have about three or four beach restaurants and bars, a whaling museum, a food court where you can get a filling breakfast of a veggie omelet for about $8, and of course all the shopping you can imagine.  The best part was that it is within walking distance of the resort.

The Hyatt is one of a few resorts in this area of Kaanapali, including the Marriot and the Westin.  Here's something that is not on the Hyatt website and they don't tell you when making reservations:  they have a major, and I mean major, construction project going on behind their Napili Tower rooms.  They told me that they are building a timeshare tower that is scheduled to be completed in 2014.  So, if you are inclined to stay at the Maui Hyatt anytime soon, avoid the mountain view rooms in the Napili Tower!

What you don't see on the hotel website!

of course I look happy.  I'm in Hawaii!