A Maui Honeymoon
Finally, the honeymoon! On our first night being married we stayed in a Honeymoon Suite at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The room was romantic and the view at night was amazing. We had this huge balcony that had a direct view of Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom, so you can image what it looked like at night with the castle lights changing colors. We had a bottle of champagne waiting for us, and as I mentioned before, the whole room was candlelit and the jacuzzi was warm and bubbly. A great night!
The next morning we said our farewell to Florida and headed to Maui, Hawaii for eight days of fun & relaxation in the Pacific. It was a long flight from Orlando to Maui with a stop in Los Angeles. I think we left Orlando about 10 am and arrived in Hawaii around 10 pm local time. Once we finally got to Maui we were so excited. We rented a convertible and while driving to our hotel with the top down we noticed just how many stars you could see…you don’t see anything like that back home. We arrived at the Sheraton Maui on Kaanapali Beach and checked in. The bellman delivered our luggage to the room which turned out to be better than we could imagine. Of course one of the first things we did was check out the balcony and the view…AMAZING…we could see the beach, mountains, and pool!
After getting some rest that night, we woke up and had some fruit and coffee on the 
balcony. We were in heaven. This was our first of eight days in Maui. We stayed four nights at the Sheraton Maui and the last four at the Maui Hyatt Regency. The next four days at the Sheraton or “the Sheri” as we called it, was the best of the vacation. The room at this hotel was definitely better than the 
Hyatt (maybe that was because there was so much construction going on.) We did a lot of relaxing by the pool, having a few adult beverages, walking on the beach, and shopping at the nearby Whalers Village. Right on the beach at the Whalers Village we ate at the Hula Grill, which is rated as one of the best restaurants in Kaanapali. Tables are open-air with beautiful views of the ocean, especially at sunset. I had the Lemon Ginger Roasted Chicken while Brett opted for the Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi-Mahi.
After our time was up at the Sheri, we packed everything up and headed over to the Maui Hyatt Regency to check-in. We got “lei’d” again at the front desk and then headed to our room. The room was nice and the view was of the mountains only. We got spoiled at the Sheri. There was a lot of renovation going on too. During the daytime there was always the sound of hammers. From the reviews I’ve read of others, the hotel is much better now. I guess we just went at a bad time during their remodeling. The grounds of the property were beautiful though. It’s flowing with gardens of flowers and 
streams. The best part was the pool/lagoon with watersfalls. We really liked the secret hidden grotto which is only accessible by swimming under the rocks…very private. 
We wouldn’t have known about it unless someone we were talking to told us about it. The Hyatt has gorgeous lobbies filled with flowers, art and rare birds (even penguins). The grounds include some interesting birds (flamingos, swans, African Crowned Cranes). It has lots of great shops for clothing, quilts, jewelry, flowers, souvenirs and more (even a Macy’s). I picked up a cute “Just Maui’d” shirt. I especially liked the Hyatt’s fitness center that overlook the beach. That’s me in the picture to the right on the treadmill. It’s so motivating to keep up with your workout routine in Hawaii. Maybe that’s why it’s one if the heathiest places to live.
Well, the honeymoon did have to come to an end, at least in Maui. We can continue our honeymoon at home. We wanted to stay another week. It’s hard to leave this place and get back to reality. We are planning to come back for our 10th anniversary. We’ll see!
Aloha,
Lindy
