Archive for the 'Molokai' Category
Hotel-review site Oyster.com launches Oahu pages; more Hawaii coming soon
September 23, 2009 1:28pm
Dreaming up a trip to Oahu, I come across special rates of $189 per night at Hilton Hawaiian Village. My conditioned first stop is TripAdvisor, where traveler-written reviews of this hotel include lots of raves and some cautions. Of course, with user-generated reviews, you do some wading and sifting, not always sure whose advice to take and whose to toss. Some of the tips seem relevant to my potential stay, and others don’t. But all in all, I get an interesting lay of the land here, from a range of perspectives.
Then I go to Oyster.com, a relatively new hotel-review website, which Travel blogger Jen Leo covered just after the website’s launch in June. The site, packed with reviews by undercover journalists and about a gazillion photos, launched its reviews on Oahu late Tuesday. In the footsteps of its predecessor destination pages (Aruba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Miami, New York, Las Vegas), the lengthy, thoroughly detailed pages — with a well-organized layout for easy perusal — lure me in immediately.
Hilton Hawaiian Village, Hawaii’s largest hotel resort, ranks as one of Oyster’s list of best kid-friendly hotels on Oahu. And at the top of this hotel’s review page, I get a concise pros and cons list. As the mother of a toddler, I immediately focus on the calm beach and lagoon, as well as the noted animals (parrots … and penguins?). Among the cons, the fact that the hotel is a ways to Waikiki restaurants, and the supposed crowds at the resort, give me pause and get me to keep reading. Read the rest of this entry »
Pleasant Holidays offers cancel-for-any-reason coverage
August 6, 2009 10:26am
Pleasant Holidays, the giant package-tour operator based in Westlake Village, this week began offering cancel-for-any-reason coverage to customers who book its trips to Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean and Costa Rica.
Unlike its regular Protection Plan, which refunds trip deposits if you cancel for reasons such as illness, death or job loss, the new Cancel Anytime Protection Plan Plus covers you for virtually any unforeseen cause, said Jack E. Richards, president and chief executive.
The downsides: Cancel Anytime Protection costs more (starting at $119 instead of $89 per adult) and reimburses you for only 80% instead of 100% for many of the covered causes. And of course, as with all such plans, there’s plenty of fine print.
For plan details, visit Pleasant Holidays’ website, call (800) 448-3333 or contact your travel agent.
— Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor
Photo: Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve in Hawaii. Credit: Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times
Hawaii boycott? ‘We’re not coming to a place that’s having an Islam Day’
May 16, 2009 11:36am
Visitor numbers to the islands have been worryingly on the wane for a while, and now Hawaii tourism officials have another matter in front of them — and this one is political and then some. Following the state Senate’s recent approval of a bill to mark Sept. 24, 2009, as Islam Day, dissenters seem to be hoping for a boycott of the state to take shape.
As reported in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin:
Gov. Linda Lingle told a radio interviewer that her office had received “a lot of angry calls from the mainland saying, ‘We’re not coming to a place that’s having an Islam Day.’”
“Here we are, in a very difficult economy, and it was just unnecessary,” said Lingle, who had no authority over the resolution. “It didn’t make any sense. You know it’s going to get this kind of attention.”
As of yesterday [May 14] the Hawaii Tourism Authority had received 14 e-mails and one phone call protesting the resolution. Read the rest of this entry »
Hawaii news roundup: Diamond Head trail closure; leprosy-colony dedication; more inter-island jets
October 21, 2008 11:11am
In Hawaii this week, a famous trail has temporarily closed, thousands of Molokai’s deceased have been honored, and even more flight options have been announced to get you from one island to another. Keep reading for the skinny.
Trail closure | The summit trail at popular Diamond Head State Monument, on Oahu, closed Monday for maintenance. Slope maintenance and rock scaling to prevent possible hazards will be conducted, according to the Hawaii State Parks website, and the trail will reopen on Nov. 20, 2008. Rock-scaling work above the Kahala Tunnel at the monument’s entrance will take place Nov. 13 to 20, during which time the entire site will be closed.
Molokai ceremony | Descendants of former leprosy patients gathered over the weekend at Kalaupapa, Molokai, to honor those buried at the former leprosy colony. Read the rest of this entry »
Hawaii: more fall flights to, from and around Hawaii
September 16, 2008 2:03pm
Hawaii’s tourism industry has taken some tumbles this year, but if planned flight activity is any indication, there’s hope on the horizon for it. Starting next month, more seats will become available to get you to and from the Hawaiian Islands. And once there, you’ll have more opportunity to jet around.
According to the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, Delta Air Lines will, starting Oct. 1, 2008, reinstate some flights to and from Hawaii that had been canceled.
This service increase amounts to one additional flight per week on three routes: Atlanta (ATL) to Honolulu (HNL); Los Angeles (LAX) to Kona (KOA) and Los Angeles to Lihue (LIH), said Delta Air Lines spokesman Anthony Black. Black said that Delta flights between Los Angeles and Hawaii airports performed very well over the summer months, though he could not share capacity numbers. The airline added the flights because of passenger demand, he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Hawaii: filling the belly without breaking the bank
July 2, 2008 1:00pm
One of our readers, Nancy Grimaldi, recently expressed concern about food costs for her upcoming trip to Maui. “We have heard that food prices (both in markets and restaurants) have soared recently in Hawaii, more than in other parts of the U.S.,” she said in an e-mail. “This would be due to the increased costs of fuel [transporting food items to Hawaii via air and sea].”
You may not be able to do anything about the escalating prices on the islands, but you can strategize to keep your overall food costs down while you’re there. One of the biggest budget busters when it comes to food is the resort restaurant. Just skipping these venues can save you money.
But where to go instead when hunger hits? For one, think picnics, which aren’t just for lunchtime anymore.
Hawaii - travel discounts by just about everyone
June 18, 2008 10:23am
Listen up, vacation shoppers: There’s a major statewide sale on in Hawaii – or that’s what seems to be the case. Hotels, rental-car agencies and the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau have been talking up a storm about how you can save, save, save on the islands this summer and fall. They hope, I’m assuming, that you’ll forgive the hefty price tags on airline tickets once you accrue all those discounts on land and via packages.
On the Hawaii tourism bureau’s site, you’ll find a number of third-party promotions, including 50% off companion airfare through Pleasant Holidays and $200 off vacation packages booked through American Airlines Vacations, Travelocity, Orbitz and more. As always, don’t skip over any fine print.
Hawaii: vacation rentals through VRBO and local agencies
June 15, 2008 9:00am
My neighbors Melissa and David just returned from a trip to Kauai, Hawaii, where they stayed in a Hanalei Bay vacation rental. Despite rooming with ants and other critters in their less-than-pristine, jungle-immersed rental apartment, they are glad they skipped the resort option for this vacation.
“I guess I would stay in a hotel if I wanted everything taken care of and everything right there. But I think what we did made for a much better vacation,” Melissa said.
So many of us mainlanders opt to stay in a resort when in Hawaii, but what my neighbor says rings true for me: For a more do-it-yourself, and possibly more interesting and/or adventurous stay, vacation rentals can be a great option.
With high Hawaii-vacation costs in the flight and rental car-gas arenas, vacation rentals could also be the more economical way to go.
How does MyHawaiiVacationPackage.com rate for flights?
June 8, 2008 12:00pm
My recent post about cheap fall fares to Hawaii prompted this comment from reader Mike, who suggested MyHawaiiVacationPackage.com for those looking for deals on flights to the Aloha State. “They had the lowest direct fare I could find,” he commented, on May 27, 2008. “Today for instance, their price was $150 lower than Hawaiian Air’s price for the same flight, for the flight I chose.”
I hadn’t previously used this vacation-package website, and they do claim to offer better deals than Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz. I thought I’d put the site to the test.
Have you used MyHawaiiVacationPackage.com to book a flight? How was your experience?
Tested: I compared flight prices only, not packages, trying two sets of dates for a trip from Los Angeles (LAX) to Honolulu (HNL).
Maui, Hawaii: small Lahaina B&B’s substantial deal
June 1, 2008 5:00am
Just a few blocks away from Kahana Beach, and within short driving distance to a number of other desirable destinations such as Kapalua Bay, the small, four-room Blue Horizons seems a pleasantly placed base camp just outside Lahaina for exploring Maui, Hawaii. And right now, for the “slow economy,” according to its website, the B&B is offering a few attractive deals.
Deal: Pay for three to five nights and stay one night free; if you stay six or more nights, you’ll receive 1½ nights free. But if you can only commit to two nights, you’ll still receive 20% off your rate for two-night stays. The regular room rates here range from $109 to $149 per night (pre-tax), including continental breakfast served every morning but Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »
