Stroll the sands of Ka'anapali
• Check out your spot and then check in
By Wanda. A. Adams
Advertiser Travel Editor
KA'ANAPALI, Maui — Ka'anapali at dawn is a watercolor painting: the sky brushed with the entire pastel palette from salmon to azure, tiny well-mannered waves breaking like champagne on the beach, the sand properly golden and riddled with charming little pukas left by crabs scurrying to hide before the humans wake up.
This is the Hawai'i that visitors pay money to see and residents wish they had more time to enjoy.
As I tie my shoelaces and stretch out the night's kinks in readiness for a walk along the three-mile path that links the resort's beach-front properties, the beach is still cool and shadowy. In the distance, a rain cloud marches in a straight line across Kaho'olawe, but here there is the promise of another sunny day. Within half an hour, the colors of dawn will wash away and the streak of cloud resting near the horizon will glow white. By 8 a.m., the first beach-goers will be arranging their towels, readying for kayak and parasailing excursions, boarding boats for whale-watching tours or snorkel sails.
This year, the longest-running of Ka'anapali's properties, the Sheraton Maui, turns 40, making this resort one of the Islands' oldest, its name familiar around the world. This anniversary seemed a good time to return to Ka'anapali.
Much has changed in the world and on Maui in the 40 years, but Ka'anapali has managed to keep a freshly scrubbed face. Almost all the properties have undergone renovation, and some bear little resemblance to their first incarnations.
An hour's walk along the shoreline — with pauses for trading "good mornings" with other early risers, poking around on the various properties, reading the menus of beachside restaurants, picking the odd flower and trudging through the sand on the far side of hotel row — offers a glimpse of the widely divergent accommodations and activities offered here.
At the southern end is the Hyatt Regency Maui's lavish network of ponds, swimming pools, statuary gardens and even a fenced preserve for flamingos and penguins, plus the luxurious Spa Moana, the area's only oceanfront spa facility.
Square in the middle of the resort, the grounds of the local-friendly Ka'anapali Beach Hotel resemble a tutu garden — kalo, 'ulu, niu, ki, hau, lau'ae, shell ginger, plumeria, banana — and the comfortably worn buildings blend into the greens and browns. At the far end, Aston's affordable Maui Ka'anapali Villas offers a choice of modest hotel rooms with good views or pleasant beachside condominiums.
Offshore, there is everything to do: swimming, surfing, boogie boarding, sailing, snorkeling, parasailing, charter fishing, whale watching (in season) and dolphin sighting year-round. And though this all takes place within a fairly compact area, the beach and the sea beyond manage to retain an uncrowded look and feel, at least compared to Waikiki.
A stroll along the Beach Walk touches on both Ka'anapali's past — a long history of use by Hawaiians as a fishing place, the site of a village called Keka'a, and the subject of many mo'olelo (stories) — and its present as a still-growing resort.
You circle the backside of the landmark we call Black Rock, known to Hawaiians as Pu'u Keka'a. Here, a diver nightly re-creates an incident during which Maui chief Kahekili plunged into the sea to prove his bravery; others feared to dive there because it was a sacred spot, where the souls of newly dead leapt off into the spirit world. The area is home to honu and rays and offers great snorkeling.
And, as you pass Marriott's Maui Ocean Club on the return leg, you are approached by low-key salesmen who want to tell you about the timeshare units they have created from the venerable Maui Marriott Hotel. In the distance, you can hear construction work on a Starwood timeshare development on a once-deserted stretch of beach to the north.
Ask old-timers about Ka'anapali and two words recur: kiawe and fishing. Before Amfac's big idea to create a resort on this stretch of coastline, it was best known as a place where kids made a few bucks gathering kiawe beans for animal feed, and fishermen found rich pickings, from shellfish and mollusks to reef fish and, offshore, even bigger game.
Lori Sablas of the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel grew up in Kahana Camp some miles down the road, then a curving, rutted two-lane that traced the coastline. She remembers her family setting lobster traps near Pu'u Keka'a. Her mother would be careful to put back whatever they didn't need. The cement pier that once supplied a nearby plantation camp was known to everyone as the Landing and was — and continues to be — a popular fishing spot.
Sablas recalls a story she was told by a longtime area resident: During a plantation strike in the '30s or '40s, people were struggling to get by without jobs when there was an almost miraculous "red sea." So many menpachi crowded the inshore waters that the sea turned red.
"It was like the gods provided," she said. Her informant said that such a red sea happened only twice during his memory.
Forty years after the first maile lei was untwined at the Sheraton Maui (Jan. 26, 1963), local folks still come to Ka'anapali to fish or play on the beach. But they're just as likely to visit the area to golf on the Robert Trent Jones-designed Tournament North course or the designated "woman-friendly" Resort South course, to load up on the local-friendly buffets at the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel or to attend the Maui Onion Festival in August at the Whalers' Village or the Na Mele O Maui Song Festival in December at the Hyatt Regency.
• • •
Check out your spot and then check in
Over the past 40 years, I've spent many hours in Ka'anapali: enjoying the people-watching from the courtyard of Leilani's, judging the Maui Onion Festival cooking contest at Whalers Village, celebrating my 25th-year class reunion at the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel.
During recent stays, my husband and I found that Ka'anapali, so familiar to us from our school days, has lost none of its allure.
Like many locals, we love the Friday Hawaiian plate lunch special at KBH (as the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel is called by resort insiders) as well as the "eat till you sleep" Sunday brunch with live Hawaiian music.
On two separate stays in the beautifully appointed condominiums at Ka'anapali Ali'i, we luxuriated in the quiet and privacy, the feeling of actually living right there on one of our favorite beaches. Our pace slowed and we found the view mesmerizing; we did a lot of just sitting, watching the play of light on the water.
The Hyatt Regency, where we stayed on another occasion, offers the most pampered Ka'anapali experience; very much the "how can we serve you?" sort of resort hotel, with well-chosen amenities, turn-down service, a fully appointed spa and a really fun pool (they do swim-up movies some evenings).
My mother and I found the Sheraton Maui, beautifully renovated in a gracious retro Hawaiian style in 1997, a sophisticated, all-activity retreat, with seamless check-in (no standing in line at the desk), nightly torch-lighting and cliff diving, and lagoon pools.
Here's a quick guide to Ka'anapali's accommodations, south to north (check for special rates):
Hyatt Regency Maui: 800 rooms, club level, 24-hour room service, spa, nightly lu'au, children's activities, rooftop astronomy program, three restaurants/lounges, upscale shops. Current kama'aina rates: $199, terrace/golf/mountain view; $219 partial ocean/ocean view. (800) 555-9288 toll-free, www.maui.hyatt.com.
Maui Marriott Resort & Ocean Club: 391 rooms, 154 villas (now converting to timeshare), 3 1/2-acre superpool with slides and waterfalls, tennis courts, fitness center, very kid- and-teen friendly. Current kama'aina rates: $169 standard, $199 oceanview, $229 deluxe oceanview. (808) 667-1200, www.marriotthotels.com.
Ka'anapali Ali'i: Fully furnished, privately owned, spacious one- and two-bedroom condominium units with oversized lanais, daily maid service, pool and barbecues. Current kama'aina rates: 20 percent off rack rates of $350-$900. (800) 642-6284 toll-free. www.kaanapali-alii.com.
Westin Maui: Starwood resort, ocean front rooms, 28 luxury suites, 5,000-square-foot aquatic playground with five swimming pools and 128-foot water slide, health club, keiki and cultural programs, GenX-friendly nightlife. Current rates: Garden/golf/mountain view $199, partial ocean $219, ocean $239, terrace $169; suites 50 percent off published rates, new kama'aina package due soon. (800) 500-8318 toll-free, www.westinmaui.com.
The Whaler: Fully furnished, privately owned, roomy condominiums (some timeshare) with marble baths, spa and fitness center, pool, views, beach. Managed by Aston. $168 studio with garden view, $226 one-bedroom/one-bath suites, $467 two-bedroom/two-bath oceanfront suite. (800) 321-2558 toll-free. www.the-whaler.com.
Ka'anapali Beach Hotel: 161 rooms, recently renovated Hawaiian-theme room decor, whale-shaped pool, Hawaiian cultural programs, farewell ceremony for guests. Current kama'aina rates: $169 garden view, $610 suites. (800) 262-8450 toll-free, www.kbhmaui.com.
Sheraton Maui: 510 rooms and suites, freshwater swimming lagoon with waterways and whirlpools, tennis courts, catamaran sailing, summer children's program, lei greeting, seamless check-in, good snorkeling cove, nightly cliff dive. Current kama'aina rates $195-$210; apply for kama'aina dining card (20 percent off), (808) 662-8059. (808) 661-0031, www.sheraton-hawaii.com.
Royal Lahaina Resort: Variety of accommodations — including cottages, suites, tower rooms — on 27 acres, nightly lu'au, Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch, quieter beach north of resort. Current kama'aina rates: $99 for hale standard to $300 for two-bedroom cottage; ask about frequent specials. (800) 280-8155, www.2maui.com.
Aston Maui Ka'anapali Villas: Condominium resort, with studio and one-bedroom suites with kitchens and hotel rooms with refrigerators, three swimming pools, beach. Managed by Aston. Current kama'aina rates: $96 standard hotel room; studios with kitchens from $132; two-bedroom-two bath deluxe units from $368. (800) 922-7866. www.aston-hotels.com.
Outrigger Maui Eldorado: Condominium complex of duplex-style units with full kitchens overlooking golf course, shady and quiet garden atmosphere, beach cabana on quiet North Beach. Current kama'aina rates: from $195 (garden view) to $375 two-bedroom partial ocean view; spring kama'aina special, 50 percent off published rates to June 24. (888) 339-8585 toll-free. www.outrigger.com.
