Hellooooo! We’re about to board a plane to chilly Sydney after our quickie bleisure trip to Hawaii. We’re blearily sitting in the departure lounge after a terrible night’s sleep at an airport hotel.
We decided to cancel the farewell night we’d booked in Waikiki – we were tired after a big last day and thought the cab to and from the airport would be a waste of money after the insane amount America had already sucked from us.
What we didn’t count on was the airport hotel not having a lift, which meant lugging our heavy bags up the stairs; or the room overlooked a busy freeway and a McDonalds visited by the flashing lights of a police car, or an air-conditioning unit that sounded like a B52 landing.
Yawn.
Rewinding to our last few days on Maui … I skipped blogging for a while to spare you from reading endless posts about Alana lazing around at a luxury resort.
I intended to wrap the rest of the holiday into one blog post today, but too much has happened. It might take me a few days to download it all.
I had a such a relaxing time at the Grand Wailea, kicking back on our lanai enjoying the view, swimming, sleeping and shopping. I loved it.
Well, aside from the endless search for cheap food. I am still in shock over the cost of food at the resort and in Hawaii general.
Things reached peak ridiculous when we checked the menu at the resort’s Italian restaurant, which featured spag bol for $90 (FYI: all prices converted to Aussie dollars).
We went to a sports bar at the local shopping centre instead and shared an appetiser of coconut shrimp and a main of fish tacos, with a couple of glasses of on-tap wine. The bill was still around $150.
Ouch!
Lunch on Friday was another wallet shock: a small fish burger, no chips, on a paper plate for almost $40 from a very casual takeaway cafe. Blimey!
Our last two nights – or should I say late afternoons – were spent at happy hours at restaurants called Humble Market Kitchin by Roy Yamaguchi and Tommy Bahamas.
Both offered cut-priced pupus (nibbles), such as two slider burgers for $18, with cocktails for around the same price. While it meant eating dinner at 4.30pm, we decided it was worth it.
My favourite bar was Tommy Bahamas. I thought it had a really nice vibe, delicious coconut shrimp and a fabulous adjoining boutique where I bought two jackets with all the money I saved on not ordering spag bol!
At least I get to take the clothes home with me to enjoy for years to come, unlike the food.
After happy hour we settled on the grass to watch the spectacular Maui sunsets, as luaus unfolded behind us at the resorts.
On Friday morning DD headed off for his last session at GlomCon before sneaking out to take the resort’s water slides for a spin …
… while I sipped a $11 Diet Coke at the swim-up bar.
While the Grand Wailea was shockingly expensive, it was Disney-esque gorgeous at every turn, even the walk to the elevator from our room was stunning (above).
So I have fond memories of everything there aside from the bill.
Our last day in Hawaii was so much fun that there are too many tales to tell and photos to share, so I’m saving it for tomorrow.
My final verdict on the holiday will have to wait.
Hint: we’ve decided we’d love to visit again. While we spent our first few days in Hawaii thinking we’d made a mistake, it was won us over and we’ve already started Googling other islands we want to visit one day … when the Aussie dollar improves.
Song of the day: Coldplay “Paradise”
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