Sorry this is so delayed. We've officially entered the last month of my law school career and I am absolutely SLAMMED! I literally am going to be spending every single day in the library until May 10th. I just keep telling myself, this is the FINAL PUSH!
Anyway, PB and I honeymooned in Maui at the Four Seasons Maui at Wailea. We dithered over where to honeymoon because our time was so limited. PB had never been to Hawaii and really wanted to go, so we made the looonnnnggg trek to Maui. This was my first time staying in a Four Seasons hotel and I was NOT disappointed. I must admit, I've always been a brand loyal girl to the Ritz-Carlton, but... let's just say I see more Four Seasons stays in our future.
We flew out bright and early Monday morning after the wedding. Oddly enough our gate in Charlotte was LITERALLY directly across from Hopsy's so we got to have breakfast and chat with my bff before we boarded. It was SO fun! I wore my gift from my law school friends on the plane with the hopes that perhaps we might get an upgrade.
We did not.
Word to the wise... Do NOT fly Continental to Hawaii.
Don't do it.
NO.
Absolutely not.
Y'all know PB and I travel constantly... him for work, me to visit him. Neither of us had ever flown Continental and we will ABSOLUTELY never fly them again.
Now, we flew from Charlotte to Houston and then Houston to Honolulu and had to puddle jump to Maui. Charlotte to Houston, fine. Houston to Honolulu, TERRIBLE. The TV screens barely worked... We both (along with everyone else I could see) had rolling black lines during everything we tried to watch. The sound cut in and out sporadically. It was bad.
It was also an 8 1/2 hour flight and they provided NO food. We had to BUY food. Seriously? Seriously?!?
We had to PAY FOR BAGS. $42 going... $100 coming back.
(However, if we had taken a 3 hour flight into Mexico instead we would have had free food and bags. Tell me how that makes sense!)
The flight attendants were downright surly.
The flight back was overbooked, we had rude flight attendants who refused to help us (had a tight connection and asked to be moved toward the front of the plane), there was no order in boarding so everyone was just clumped up trying to get on at the same time, people were trying to carry on full sized suitcases. There was no room in the bins overhead and our appropriately sized carry ons kept being moved away from us for the idiotic teenagers' HUGE suitcases. We could NOT check in online so we weren't able to pick our seats, and ended up in the back of the plane. Again, had to BUY food on a 9 hour flight... Simply ridiculous.
All in all, we were NOT fans. If you are planning a trip to Hawaii, book a different airline.
You'll thank me.
We finally got to Honolulu and made it onto our Island hopper flight (our bags BARELY made it... Like we were on board and they were about to shut the door when our bags got there!)
We realized, upon arriving at Kapalua airport, that we were ONE HOUR from the hotel! Yes. One hour by taxi. (Costs approximately $109, if you're wondering.) There are two airports in Maui. If you are staying in Wailea you should fly into Kapalani and NOT Kapalua.
Oops.
We made it to the hotel and were greeted with leis and a round of "Congrats!" from the staff. We were escorted up to our room by a sweet bellman who told us ALL about the hotel.
My Nannie had sent us a tray of yummy goodies! The dip was amazing. Seriously. I don't even know if PB got a bite before I ate it all.
The hotel sent us a fancy bottle of champagne and a sweet card.
And our bellman took a snap of us on our balcony.
We were exhausted, but it wasn't late yet so we changed and went down to the lobby lounge to have a couple drinks. How to beat jet-lag 101... Stay up until you literally are falling asleep in your cocktail. (or 10PM, whichever comes later.)
They were DELICIOUS.
One thing you should know about FS Maui and Maui generally, that we found to be true... It's bloody expensive. Everything is. Just know that. Accept it. Resign yourself to it.
But here is my thought on fancy hotels... My travel philosophy, if you will.
If I'm going to a resort, where my time is going to be spent AT the hotel/resort then I'm willing to spend some major money on staying somewhere nice with excellent amenities. However, if I'm going on a trip where the purpose is to see the city or the sights and I'm only going to be sleeping in the hotel, I'm willing to go a little more down market. Agree or disagree?
I'll tell y'all about the rest of our trip next week... For now, I need to switch gears and get into paper mode. Writing this paper about child soldiers makes me want to go work for UNICEF or the Coalition Against Child Soldiers.
Wonder if they have London offices? I'm still obsessed with working for UNESCO in Paris... but alas... No opening for baby attorneys. Boohiss. Maybe in September I'll get lucky... Keep your eyes peeled, folks!
Anyway...
Have y'all been to Maui?
Posted in: Honeymoon,Love,Vacation,Wedding
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