Welcome to the Honua Kai Cafe

15 times now!!!  On October 30, 2009 Conde Nast readers voted Maui as the #1 island in the world for the 15th time!  Why vacation at any other island in the world but the #1 island -- Maui?

This website celebrates the newest 5-star resort on Ka’anapali Beach, Maui; the Honua Kai (Ho-new-ah-keye) Resort & Spa.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtZW0Sht8fY

We own a condo at the Honua Kai and are members of the Honua Kai “Ambassador Club” where owners can find guests to stay at ANY unit in the resort.  In return we get a small commission and you get THE best rates anywhere -- nobody can offer you better rates; not Orbitz, or any wholesale discounter.

So look at some of the pictures and ask a question if you have one (in the way of a comment which we will answer).  Then when you are ready click the icon below and you will enter the Honua Kai reservations system with our owner number attached and get the best rates anywhere.

Need a studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, or three-bedroom at the Honua Kai?  Well click here and you will get THE best discounts available to anyone -- you get our owner discount!  You will be brought direct to the Honua Kai Owner’s desk -- you make your reservation direct with them with our discount number!  This is a win-win for both of us.

Enter my owner number 60001X for owner discounts

Honua Kai Owner’s deep discount reservations
that you can use too -- just click the above icon

Click here to make a reservation. You will be asked for “Enter Membership Number” please type in 60001X and make your reservations.   If you have specific requests like a view or floor you can call 877-662-2809 and a reservation agent will help you -- give them my Ambassador Number of 60001X to get the owner’s discount.

We are proud to be affiliated with Tom Barefoot Tours -- THE lowest prices for ALL activities on Maui and all the other Hawaiian islands.  Click the above to find out much more or click here for an in-depth look at Tom Barefoot.

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Outside Pictures

Honua Kai Resort & Spa

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Duke's of Maui Restaurant is the brown ocean front building

Inside Pictures

Six Star Resort

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Treat yourself and stay at a true six star resort in Ka'anapali

The Bosch clothes washer is a High Efficency (HE) unit (It’s the bottom unit) that uses just a small amount of water and detergent.  Use just 2-tablespoons of HE detergent for a full load and 1-tablespoon for Permanent Press.  There kind of two settings on the circular wheel 1) Permanent Press to the left and 2) Regular/Cotton to the right.

Permanent Press

What you need to know here is that the unit expects just HALF a load of clothes to be loaded into the unit – HALF.  Use 1-tablespoon of detergent in the drawer to the upper left.  If you stuff it full of clothes and turn the knob to the left you’re wasting your time since there won’t be enough water to wash the load – you will get a sticky pile of damp clothes when the washer is finished.  NOT place detergent in with the clothes.

Regular/Cotton

Fill up the washer with a full load of clothes.  Use 2-tablesspoons of HE detergent in the drawer to the upper left.  DO NOT place detergent in with the clothes.

Detergent Drawer

Over to the top left of the unit is a pull out drawer where you load your detergent.  Add no more than 2 rounded tablespoonfuls of detergent into the slot on the left marked “II” – NOT “I” – I have no idea why they built the unit this way but that’s what you do.  1 tablespoonful for Permanent Press cycle.

If you have a liquid softener, pour a capful into the center section that has kind of a flower symbol on the door.

Run clothes Washer

Close the door and make sure is snaps closed.  Turn the circular dial to how you want the unit to clean your batch.  Press the Red “Start/Pause” button to start the load.  You will hear a click as the unit locks the door shut and you can’t pull it open.  If you do need to open the door you must press the “Pause” button, adjust your load, and press the button again.

There all kinds of settings for your load but I’d just ignore them and use the default settings.

When the unit is finished turn the circular knob to “Off” and remove the clothes.

Whalers Village is a “must see” while on the northern half of Maui.  This fantastic mall offers all kinds of restaurants, shops, designer boutiques, art gallerias, fashion stores, museums and activities.  Whalers Village is right on the Ka’anapali Beach and you can swim in the Pacific Ocean and have lunch or dinner just steps away; in fact you will see folks doing just that.

Click the above map to see a larger version

Whalers Village
2435 Ka’anapali Parkway
Open daily 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Plenty of covered parking
808-661-4567

You can walk the boardwalk from the Honua Kai to Whalers Village – takes 45 minutes and the stroll is fantastic.  Its a lot of fun and 100% of the way you are on a boardwalk so a baby stroller can be pushed with no trouble.  Part of the walk is next to a golf course – listen for the “Fore” and golf balls – its easy to tell when you are on the golf course.

Whalers Village Museum
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily
808-661-5992
Free admission

Whales!

If you’ve never been to this museum you have missed out on a fine museum which does a great job of giving the history of whaling in the Hawaiian waters.  From 1820 to 1860 Lahaina was a very busy whaling town and this museum relives those wild and woolly days.  This is a “must see” when on Maui.

Oh for the good ol' days

(Sadly you can’t have the chairs on the beach anymore)

Now that you have planned a wedding/honeymoon adventure, I am going to tell you that a Maui destination wedding is “no ka oi,” which means “none better,” in Hawaiian. In comparison with other destinations, Maui is affordable, exotic yet practical and safe.

Choosing a Maui destination wedding and planning ahead with a good wedding based travel consultant, like you will find at Merry Maui Weddings and Vacations, will reward you will reward you with surprisingly affordable prices. Flight specials direct to Maui abound. Pleasant beachfront condos can commonly be found for as little as $100 per night. Of course, you can spend more to stay in a luxurious world-class resort. An abundance of healthy, exotic or familiar, food can be found for any budget. A good agent can get you great prices on rental cars and activities for your Maui honeymoon.

Maui offers an incredible diversity of cultures on one island. Food, entertainment, clothing and language of Hawaiian, Tahitian, Japan, Marshallese, Portuguese, Mexican, Chinese and Puerto Rican, and more can be readily found and enjoyed by visitors.

But, on the other hand, if you are the cautious type who wants to play it safe, Maui is an American wedding destination… you can easily find familiar grocery stores, fill a prescription or see your favorite television shows. People drive on the right hand side of the road and everyone speaks English, although “pidgin” and other dialects sometimes flavor it and will, hopefully, charm you.

Decent roads, streets signs and an abundance of maps will make traveling much more comfortable than you might imagine a destination wedding and honeymoon could offer.

So, Maui offers the best of all worlds in a destination wedding choice: First-World amenities and security, diversity, economy and ease. You will most probably return again and again. You might even move here. It happens!

Even though each villa at the Honua Kai has a full kitchen we eat out just about every night while at the Honua Kai.  Luckily there are dozens and dozens of excellent restaurants just a 5 to 10 minute car ride from the Honua Kai.  ALL dining in Maui is casual where the gentlemen and kids can wear an Aloha shirt, shorts, and sandals; the ladies always seem to out dress us guys anywhere.

Reservations are a must and for special days, like New Years Eve you must make the reservations months in advance – don’t say you weren’t warned.

I’ll cover 5-star restaurants first:

Ocean Front at the Honua Kai Resort & Spa

Dukes Beach House – on property – 0 seconds away

Duke’s Beach House

On the Beach at Honua Kai
130 Kai Malina Parkway
Lahaina, HI 96761
(808) 662-2900

Dukes Beach House is a fantastic restaurant, ocean front, right on the Honua Kai Resort & Spa’s property.  You’ve got to watch the setting Maui sun, with an adult beverage in hand, as many times as you can while on Maui.  Once you go back home that Maui sun is but a picture that you brag about to your friends.

So mosey down to Duke’s each night, order a new drink each night, and watch the setting sun and look for the “green flash“.  If you see one please post a comment here.  You will bump into folks who have seen it while on Maui – so far we have not.  (Looking directly into the non-setting sun is not a wise thing to do and is not advised here: a word from my lawyers)

Roy’s Restaurant 3.3 miles away – 7 minutes

4405 Honoapiilani Hwy, Lahaina, HI‎ – (808) 669-6999‎

Roy’s is just fantastic – for the entire family.  There are two Roy’s on Maui, one in the northern part of Maui, by us, and one in the south in Kihei.  Mom and dad can order fish and the kids have an entire menu to choose from.  To be honest the one in the northern part of Maui it is NOT on the beach but on the second story of a shopping center.

Kimos is in Lahaina, on Front St, and on the water

Kimo’s Restaurant 5.0 miles away 9 minutes by car

845 Front St
Lahaina, HI 96761-1698
(808) 661-4811

Kimo’s is located on Front St in Lahaina – it’s always packed to the rafters with folks looking for a fantastic meal while in Lahaina – make reservations!  You sit right next to the ocean and the view of Lahaina harbor is just fantastic.  Food is the best – you will have an excellent lunch or dinner.  You can park in the public parking areas and stroll along Front Street on your way to Kimo’s.

The same folks that own Kimo’s (T.S. Restaurants) own the Hula Grill in Whaler’s Village.  These folks know Maui and you will not be disappointed in either location.  The Hula Pie is their signature dissert – you will thank me later!

View of Lahaina Harbor from Ruth's Chris

Ruth’s Chris Steak House of Maui – 5.0 miles away 9 minutes by car

900 Front Street,Lahaina, HI 96761-2325
Phone: 808-661-8815

You know you can’t go wrong with Ruth’s Chris – there are two of them on Maui – on in Lahaina and one in Wailea.  We once had 4^th of July Dinner at
Ruth’s Chris as the fireworks started in Lahaina Harbor – a cruise ship came in and it was a night to remember.  Best steaks on Maui by far.  For some of you who visit Ruth’s Chris all the time you probably will want to visit another fine restaurant.

You see the Lahaina Harbor from your table and it’s fun to watch all the boats/ships in the harbor.  Ruth’s Chris is right next to Warren and Annabelle’s Magic Show and makes a wonderful evening of dining and then the magic show.

In Whalers Village Ka'anapali

Hula Grill – 1.7 miles away, 3 minutes by car

2435 Kaanapali Pkwy # P1
Lahaina, HI 96761-1981
(808) 667-6636

Located in Whalers Village in Ka’anapali the Hula Grill offers 5-star dining just steps from the Ka’anapali Beach.  The servers at the Hula Grill can recommend the catch of the day, how it’s prepared, and a fine bottle of wine to complement the meal.  Kids will love the items on the menu for them.

Pacific'O is on Front St in Lahaina right on the water

Pacific’O Restaurant

505 Front St # 14
Lahaina, HI 96761-1187
(808) 667-4341

Located on the ocean on Front Street in Lahaina Pacific’O is a great restaurant that we frequent on each visit to Maui.  They have a patio where you can be over the ocean or more secluded within the restaurant.  The views of Lahaina Harbor are great as are the many dishes for the entire family.

This should be enough to get you going – there are so many world-class restaurants on Maui that I’ll write many follow-up articles.

Throwing a party at the Honua Kai is as simple as picking up the phone and calling a caterer.  So before you call Pizza Hut and insult your guests with warmed over pizza call a professional caterer and make the party memorable!

Nobody throws a party for locals better than Dani’s Catering in the Wailuku Industrial Area. It’s the two-time winner of Best Caterer on Maui in The Maui News and the kitchen for its parent company, the hugely popular Takamiya Market, aka “Little Giant of Happy Valley,” which has been a staple of island life for ono grinds since 1946.

The reason Dani’s and Takamiya go hand in hand as they’re both owned by the same hard-working family. For those looking to pick up food for smaller affairs, Takamiya is the place to go for sashimi, poke, fresh-cut meats and all manner of prepared foods.

As for Dani’s, they offer take out or delivery service. They also feature a banquet hall with tables, chairs, a podium and the whole nine yards, for parties from 100 to 350 people. What draws them in is Dani’s famous American, Japanese and Hawaiian cuisine.

“We’d like to thank the people of Maui for supporting us all of these years,” says Dani’s General Manager Michelle Hondo. “Our employees are the best. Our catering manager, Anthony Perry, is just awesome.”

Party trays of dry mein, shoyu chicken, pork pimiento and potato-mac salad are crowd pleasers as are the to-go platters of Dani’s crispy fried chicken, sashimi, mixed sushi and vegetables with dip. They even offer meats marinated and ready to grill if you want to cook outdoors yourself. Or let them do roast turkey with gravy, Korean short ribs, won tons and shrimp tempura. The a la carte items may all be ordered by the piece.

“Our Hawaiian foods menu is the most popular,” says Michelle. “People love the laulau, the chicken long rice and the lomilomi salmon.”

First place:
Dani’s Catering
880 Kolu St., Wailuku, Maui  • 808-242-6652.
www.daniscatering.com

Second place:
Celebrations/Bev Gannon
900 Haliimaile Road • Haliimaile • 808-572-4946

Third place:
Bentos & Banquets by Bernard Inc.
Cupies Drive-In • 134 W. Kamehameha Ave.
Kahului • 808-244-1124

Humpbacks don’t eat anything in the warm Hawaiian waters – krill, their favorite food, don’t live in warm waters but only in arctic oceans.  So while they spend winter in Maui they lose about one-third their body weight.

Early December is an ideal time to visit Maui — just before the busy holiday season and when fellow tourists are just starting to shovel snow back on the mainland.  Airline tickets cost less and hotels charge much less than they do in January.

The Honua Kai Resort & Spa is the place to stay and you can see whales from your villa’s lanai, if you have an ocean view.  The Honua Kai is the latest and hottest 5-star resort on Maui located on the 1 beach in the world Ka’anapali Beach in northern Maui.  The reviews are in and they are just fantastic.

I’ve taken whale watching trips for 10 years and my recommendation is to find excursion companies that specialize in Zodiac boats.  A Zodiac is the only way to get up and personal with a whale the size of a school bus.  Pregnant women and folks with back problems or recent surgery are not allowed to ride on Zodiacs.

The best bang for the buck activity on Maui is a Zodiac ride for two hours searching for whales.  Every one of our trips has been breathtaking and fun.  We have met lots of folks who actually go whale watching every day while on Maui!  If you take a number of trips with the same adventure company you will get Pre-Boarding status and snatch the best seats.

Bring a hat and sunglasses – polarized sunglasses are far superior to normal ones – you can see the whales swim under the boat with polarized ones.  Also, put suntan lotion on any exposed skin as the UV rays will burn even on cloudy days.

Show up about 30 minutes before the boarding time and when you do you will be given a numbered ticket – the lower numbers are allowed on the boat first.  This activity does have a great discount which basically has adults buying tickets priced for kids prices if you buy your tickets from the right excursion company.

A local plate-lunch style menu with affordable prices and a location at the water’s edge in Lahaina make Aloha Mixed Plate this year’s winner in the “Cheap Grinds” category.

“My favorite place to go after surfing is Aloha Mixed Plate; it’s a great place on the water to hang out, the food is reasonable and awesome!” wrote David Bulliment of Wailuku.

“Aloha Mixed Plate has the best value and best service,” wrote Bill Mosley of Lahaina. Mini “half-portion” plates with one scoop of rice for select items give diners even more savings. There is also a selection of pupu, salads, sandwiches, noodles and even a keiki menu.

Signature items include coconut prawns, and the “Aloha Mixed Plate” with shoyu chicken, teriyaki beef and mahimahi.

The restaurant has a full bar that provides a bevy of umbrella drinks (plus beer and wine).

First place:
Aloha Mixed Plate
1285 Front St.
Lahaina, Maui
808-661-3322
www.alohamixedplate.com

Second place:
Da Kitchen
425 Koloa St. • Kahului, Maui • 808-871-7782
2439 S. Kihei Road • Kihei, Maui • 808-875-7782

Third place:
Sam Sato’s
1750 Wili Pa Loop • Wailuku, Maui • 808-244-7124

Here’s what snorkeling on Maui’s Napili and Kapalua Bays looks like.

The coral reef, right in front of the Honua Kai, looks just the same!

We own these