In Search of a New Experience on the Island of Maui

Sun sets on Kaanapali Beach on the island of Maui.

In retrospect, I probably should have gone back to the room I had the Marriott Waikoloa overlooking the fish pond, in that private building, but maybe it will better here on the island of Maui. Actually, the reason I decided to spend the last leg of my wor-cation on the island of Maui was to slowly transition back into the reality of Sacramento and to enjoy a direct flight home. You can’t get a direct flight from Big Island.

There will be no transitioning in Honolulu, changing planes, giving me ample time to miss the birds, vegetation and warm weather, don’t need the ache. No, I want to be on that plane back to Sacramento pronto, and not do it from our beautiful home on Big Island. Hence, my vacation from my vacation.

What I neglected to factor into the trip was the amount of time it would take me to check into the hotel and then politely find a way to talk the hotel into giving me a better room than the shitty thing they tried to make me accept. I hire a travel agent for this very reason, because he has connections to many of the people at hotels where I stay.

So I don’t have to be the person who says, kill me now! You put me on the ground floor, right next to the door to the beach in a double-bed room designated for smokers? Did I not request the highest floor, corner suite and non-smoking with a king bed? But of course, I don’t put it like that or I’d never get moved. It just costs a little more to tip the front desk and the bellman.

I left our vacation house on Big Island around 11 AM and finally got to the hotel on Ka’anapali Beach by 5 PM. It took me 2 more hours to get partially unpacked, hooked up to WiFi and then disconnected because of an overload, reconnected to personal hot spots. But it’s my own fault because I did not want to spend the money to stay where I usually would stay, which is at the luxury resorts.

I had a brand new 2017 Jeep Patriot with 10 miles on it on the Big Island. On Maui, the best the car rental could muster was an older Mazda 5, which is a mini version of a mini van, with 35,000 miles, scratches, dents, no GPS and water spots all over the windows, sprayed with an icky air freshener.

But I will tough it out. I’m looking on the bright side. How bad can it be? I’m in Maui, in an oceanfront room, even if it is a little musty smelling and I have to sleep in a queen bed. I made it here by sunset. Hence the photo. I’m keeping an open mind about this. I could be in Sacramento in the freezing rain. Being on the island of Maui is nothing to complain about yet, I manage gripe.

Takeaway: always schedule time into a new hotel situation to allow ample time for the hotel to upgrade to a better room. It’s pretty much a given I will dislike what the room they initially present.