Accommodation at Big Island Hawaii

As I've mentioned previously, various members of my family have visited Hawaii before, but our recent trip in September was the first time we all travelled there together. Last time I went I went to Hawaii I checked out Honolulu and Maui. So this time, around I wanted to visit another island and after asking a few friends for their suggestions, Big Island was recommended as the next best  island to see.

3am

I dunno I can't sleep. I was asleep, but one of the boys woke up and woke me up. Ian put him back to sleep, but now my body alarm has been awaken. It has been for the past hour and half now, and instead of surfing, I thought why not get ahead of work, why not blog. I miss you blog. 

To be honest, nothing has really inspired me to blog on here. My business has taken over a lot of my free time, so my head space is always thinking about ideas for other people's businesses, or ideas to grow my business, that unfortunately it consumes all my mind. I'm not complaining, it's a good thing - but I don't want to do another work post.

But something more interesting to read about than my business is the fact that in a few days we're off to Hawaii! I'm so excited! My whole family is going, it will be our first family holiday overseas with the extended members i.e partners and kids. We've all been before, several times actually. So we've seen a fair amount of the island, but the good thing about going back somewhere you've been before is checking out new places, or returning back someplace you enjoyed before. 

When travelling I usually like to plan detailed itinerary' so I have an idea of what I'll be doing when I get to a destination. I don't like to waste my time, so I like to research and know what I could potentially do in advance. However I guess because we've been to Hawaii before, and partly cause I've been distracted with the business, I haven't planned anything - I haven't even created a spreadsheet! 

So since I'm awake at 3am, I might as well start putting together a list of things I want to do while we're in Hawaii. 

1. Hike up to Diamond Head

Diamond Head is a look out point of Honolulu. You hike up a dormant volcano cone to see views of the city. Last time I was at Hawaii I was 28 weeks pregnant, and Ian refused to let me hike up for safety reasons. So this time I'm coming for you Diamond Head! Just Googled directions from where we're staying and its only 2miles (3.3km) away by car. I've already decided to make the trip as one of my morning runs. 

2. See more of the North Shore area

Last time we went we only drove up for the day. The North Shore has some of the picturesque beaches of Ohau in my opinion. Plus the drive up with the various stop options makes it one of my recommended things to do in Hawaii. I definitely want to allocate more time traveling to and seeing this area. 

3. Paddle Board

Again because I was pregnant, someone dictated what activities I was and wasn't aloud to do. This time I'm taking full advantage of all the sports and water activities and paddle boarding is on the top of my list, along with snorkelling and learning how to surf.  

4. Ko Olina Lagoons

I've heard Ko Olina are the most child friendly beaches because they're lagoons, so the water is usually flat. Here you can do an array of water activities or just relax by the water. 

5. Giovanni's Shrimp Truck

I know there's heavy debate on which shrimp truck is the best in Honolulu. I have to admit I haven't tried the competitors, but Giovanni's makes amazing bbq garlic shrimp (prawns for us Aussies). I can't wait to go back and have more, this time I'm not sharing!

Have you been to Hawaii before? What do you recommend I try or do?

A Year Ago

Can you believe it? A year ago today my family and I left on a plane bound for Hawaii. I was 28 weeks pregnant at the time and now that I think about it, I was probably delusional to be going anywhere overseas. Not that women who are pregnant shouldn't be enjoying themselves and traveling. It's just that I'm such a risk adverse person now and the thought of what I did seems so .... risky to me now.

I think I now understand the fear and anxiousness my husband felt throughout the holiday. I knew I really wanted our family to travel overseas after I was let off at my last job; and I guess finding out I was pregnant shortly after fuelled my desperation to travel.

I do want to convert the travel journal I kept during that trip onto this blog. I'll eventually get to it and hopefully it won't be too far off that the information I wrote is still current and valuable. In the mean time you can re read about our family holiday to Hawaii here. 

TBT - Ala Moana Hotel

On our last six nights in Hawaii, we stayed at Ala Moana Hotel. You can book this hotel directly through the hotel web site, various accommodation booking sites or privately through the apartment owners via an agent. We booked it through an agent so I was able to negotiate the room rate as well as avoid paying the daily hotel fee.

We booked apartment 807 which ended up being a corner 1 bedroom suite. It had a separate bedroom, living room, kitchenette and bathroom. 

Positives:

• The room was relatively spacious. There was ample areas for us to move around in.
• The kitchenette was equipped with basic utensils and cooking equipment. There was an electric oven, a microwave oven, a few pots and pans, kettle, toaster and two mini fridges for when you want to buy and cook your own meals.
• The hotel was right across the road from the Ala Moana Shopping Centre. There was even a ramp from the hotel to the shops for easier access for guests. 
• Room rates included use of the room internet/wifi although the hotel had free wifi for guests staying that we could also access.     
• Although we booked room through a private agent we could still utilise the hotel's facilities such as the gym and pool. 

Negatives:

• Because we booked the apartment through a private agent, house keeping did not service our room. This meant we had to maintain the apartment ourselves therefore we had to clean up after ourselves, replenish any basic stock and remove any rubbish ourselves. 
• The room had that used "wear and tear" look to it. Not sure if its because it's not cleaned regularly but the bathroom had mould and cracks as well as a damp smell. It could certainly do with an exhaust fan as well, so steam had somewhere to escape to.
• The bed was hard, pillows flat and we found a blond hair underneath the cover on our first day. So we changed the sheets ourselves just to be safe.
• The shower taps were not easy to use and the water pressure was not very strong. 
• The owners do not provide anything. You're lucky to get whatever you find there when you first arrive but going forward you replenish everything yourself at your own expense. We had to purchase our own dish washing detergent, plastic bags for the garbage bin and toilet paper. 
• The apartment did have a dishwasher but had a sign stuck on it stating it was not currently in use. 
• The apartment did not have very good noise protection, as we could hear everything from cars leaving the next door car park, kids laughing from the upstairs apartment and the general traffic from a nearby busy road.
• The hotel was further away from the busy Waikiki Beach strip. This was our first time in Hawaii so we would have preferred to be closer to the touristy part of Waikiki.    

Overall, it was a comfortable stay at Ala Moana Hotel. The apartment fulfilled our comfort needs from an accommodation perspective. I would recommend staying here if you want direct access to Ala Moana Shopping Centre. 

Would I stay here again? It depends on whom I'm travelling with and the purpose of the holiday. If it's with my family I'd rather stay closer to the beach but if I was travelling with friends this place would be a perfect option for something clean, spacious and reasonably priced. 

 Kitchenette and Dining area

 Bedroom

 The view from our bedroom balcony

Bathroom

TBT - The Westin Villas, Maui

In July 2013 when we went to Maui we stayed at the beautiful beach front property of The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Villas. During our seven nights stay we were placed in Villa 4123 which was a one bedroom with mountain views.

Positives:

• Large apartment for a family of 3 there was a lot of room to move around especially for my toddler who loved doing laps around the bedroom and bathroom.
• A one bedroom villa consisted of a kitchen, dining and living room area as well as a separate bedroom space. A massive bathroom with spa bath, twin sink basins and wardrobe.
• The bedroom was also very roomy we could fit all our luggage inside the bedroom and still have room to move around.
• Large balcony area with outdoor table, seats and sunbeds available.
• Kitchen was stocked with basic cooking appliances, large fridge, electric stove, microwave and cooking utensils.
• Apartment also had a washer and dryer and upon arrival inside apartment there was a small welcome pack provided which had washing detergent for kitchen and laundry.
• Large flat screen tv in both the lounge room and bedroom with ample channels available. There was also a DVD player, and MP3 stereo you can connect to.
• The Westin is a massive property with lots pools for both adults and children, spas which can be used 24hrs a day and direct access to an amazing beach.
• There are restaurants, 2 general store onsite, gym facilities and a kids club.
• Resort is very family friendly with lots of families on site during the time we were here.
• Free shuttle bus commuting patrons between the two Westin’s, The Sheraton and shops.
• Ample staff everywhere, very friendly and kept the resort in its immaculate state.    

Negatives:

• Pricey for non timeshare patrons. Don’t know if its also because we came during the peak July break season that played a factor but this resort was very very expensive but we wanted to stay here especially since we had a young toddler.
• Our view was not of the mountains but of the lobby drive way.  This was probably one of the most disappointing component of our stay, the room location considering how much we paid to stay here.
• Almost all activities are at a cost. I would say 10% of the activities the resort runs are free everything else has a cost associated to do them. There weren’t that many activities available either.
• Everything cost money to hire even the non motorised sports such as snorkeling. It was going to cost $18 to hire snorkel gear for 24 hours but you can buy your own from an ABC shop near the Sheraton for $15.
• Beach umbrella and chairs also cost money to hire every day.
• Our room was located in a dim part of the resort, even with the curtains open it was very dim so this meant we had lights on even during the day to see. 

Hawaii Photos - Maui

Knowing we were going to be in Hawaii for two weeks we knew we had the time to venture to another island. We (I) decided on Maui because I heard it was beautiful and a bit of a honeymoon spot and since we were on a babymoon ... why not?

Maui is only a 30 minute flight from Honolulu but both our departure and return flights were running three hours late. Never fly with Mesa Go airlines I've since learnt they are notorious for delaying flights, no wonder they were the cheapest.

We stayed at The Westin Kaanapali Resort Villas. I plan to write a post a review of this resort shortly. In the mean time here are a few of my favourite photos of our time in Maui.

Images include resort areas, Kaanapali beach which was right on our door step and the various activities we did during our trip.

Hawaii Photos - Waikiki (First 3 Nights)

Finally putting some of my favourite Hawaii photos together for the blog. 

I mentioned previously I totally missed the fact that we gained an extra day when we travel "back in time" i.e to the States, so instead of thinking we were only in Waikiki for two nights on our first leg it was actually three nights ... not complaining. We managed to stay the extra night at the same hotel we booked the two nights. Location was great, you definitely paid for it but I wouldn't say it's the best place to stay with a toddler. You can read my review of The Royal Hawaiian here.

   

Here are some of my favourite photos from the first three days in Waikiki.

Our First Overseas Family Holiday

I'm still slowly writing up and will be posting up reviews of places we stayed, ate and did while we were in Hawaii.

I've culled through almost all our photos I just need to review the one's taken from our underwater camera. Yep we carry 3-4 cameras on holidays as each have a different purpose or lense. Why go on these amazing holidays if you can't capture it on camera? Granted you may need to bring the right equipment but its so worth it when you have beautiful photos of the memories you've made. Although I'm not claiming to have the skills as a professional photographer but the right camera does help make your snaps look amazing.  

Here are some of my favourite shots, enjoy.

The Royal Hawaiian

We stayed in Honolulu for our first three nights in Hawaii so we could give Eli a break from flying and a chance to adjust. So the first three nights we had to stay somewhere and that somewhere was at The Royal Hawaiian at Waikiki.

It was really hard deciding on a place to stay in Hawaii because every place was just expensive at that time of the year which was their summer break season or the places I did want to stay at were booked out for the dates we needed or I was turned off by the cheesy hawaiian decor that a lot of apartments had.

Another factor that impacted me greatly was how much walking was going to be required to get out and see most places. I really wanted us to be in the heart of the Waikiki in our first leg so we can get our bearings via foot and stroller without being too far from our accommodation.

In the end I decided on The Royal Hawaiian based on the positive reviews on TA. Here's the review I posted up:

We stayed in Room 558.

Positives:

• Great location along Waikiki. The hotel had direct access to the beach and along a good part of Waikiki beach. There is also access directly to The Royal Hawaii Centre shopping mall.
• Being a hotel guest at the Royal you could also access the public facilities of The Sheraton next door. We utilized their pools as we had a two year old toddler with us.
• Hotel is close to lots of restaurants, shops and easily accessible to all forms of public transport.
• Very clean rooms which are serviced regularly throughout the day. Once during the day to clean room, replenish towels and change sheets, (if required) and again in the evening for turn down service.
• Staff were very polite and helpful whenever asked a question.
• You can tell it is all about the “details” at the Royal. For example the free bottles of water provided everyday, free banana bread left in the room at check in, coffee facilities replenished when used, the cleanliness of the rooms when serviced and the turn down service.
• Liked how the fridges were kept empty so guest can fill it with what they want not a stocked bar fridge that wont be used.
• Very comfy bed. My son was content to stay on the bed all day and would just fall asleep randomly.
• Wifi was included with daily resort fee, finally a hotel that includes internet connection instead of charging it separately. We could connect all our wifi friendly devices onto the wifi.

Negatives:

• Bathroom was very small and had no vents so would fog easily when taking warm showers or smells when someone dropped a smelly one.
• Air conditioner was very loud when it was on and also needs a good clean, it was very dusty.
• Bathroom shower corners had mold needed a good clean.
• We had a stroller with us and although there are wheel chair access throughout the hotel where they were located is not very easily seen or was located at the other side of the hotel.
• Very expensive. The rooms are clean, somewhat modern, good facilities and right by the beach. I guess that is what you’re paying for but for the price I guess I expected a little bit more.
• A daily fee to use two beach umbrellas and a table. Fortunately we only went to the beach once while we were staying here. 
• Food service at the beach ceases at 3pm if you want to order food or drinks you need to go and order and wait for food at the bar. 

Overall a pleasant stay at The Royal Hawaiian. If we come back to Waikiki I'd probably look for accommodation that can cater for families and has apartment facilities. Also we've realised the street blocks aren't that big so you are still in the heart of the strip if you stay a few streets away from the beach anyways. 

 Our Room

  Beach access right outside the lobby

Flying With A Two Year Old

Eli has been on a flight before. He was only 10 months at the time and I wasn't present for the flights. Ian and Eli joined me at Melbourne for work one weekend and we caught different flights. Ian said it was hard travelling with a child that young on your own. Not only did he have to hold Eli but his baby bag and stroller on to the plane. Then there's the loading of all your equipment onto the over head compartment. He was lucky random people felt sorry for him so they assisted him with getting seated on the plane.

But a one hour flight is nothing compared to a 9-10 hour flight overseas.

The day we were leaving Eli developed a mild ear infection. He had a high fever early that morning and decided to take him to the doctors before we left as we didn't want to get to Hawaii, see a doctor there and pay some ridiculous medical bill. He was given antibiotics to take so during our flight to Hawaii he was pretty drugged up on medication, I actually felt really sorry for him. He was drowsy, could barely keep awake, he didn't want to eat or drink anything so his lips were dry from dehydration. It was really hard to see your child sick, helpless and suffering like this, knowing you're about to subject him to a long haul flight. I remember crying second guessing whether we should even step onto the plane.

Then once on the plane listening to the air hostess go through the standard procedures and estimated arrival day and time, it dawned on me we will be arriving a day earlier than I expected. I only booked accommodation for the following day onwards. I wasn't too worried we would find accommodation in Hawaii as there are ample of hotels, I just couldn't believe I made that mistake. I blame it on "baby brain-ness."

So the flight there was relatively easy as he was constantly falling in and out of sleep throughout the flight. However when he did wake he was hysterical probably from feeling unwell and seeing unfamiliar surroundings. We also had to administer medication several times during the flight which was painful and then there was the nappy changes. He was really cranky getting his nappy changed while he was sick but what was disturbing was finding a dry nappy each time, we knew it meant he was really dehydrated and there was completely nothing in his stomach to digest. 

As a parent travelling with a young child I would say don't expect to get any sleep, I certainly didn't. I tried and probably only got maybe only 40 minutes. I think it was the combination of worrying about Eli and how uncomfortable I was sitting in a 90ish angle while 28 weeks pregnant. It really was uncomfortable for me. The other school boy error I made was not getting any rest during the day hoping we would all sleep during the overnight flight. Wrong! So I had been awake for over 24 hours by the time we arrived to Hawaii therefore I was exhausted but still had to be alert for my sick child. 

The flight back we had a day flight (12.40pm). I purposely didn't sleep on the flight so that when we arrived back in Sydney at 7.30pm it would be evening and I can crash out, which I did. Eli was back to perfect health for the flight back to Sydney. He slept for about 3 hours and during the meal service time so it was perfect. When he was awake we entertained him with either the iPad playing one of his favourite movies or the entertainment unit available on the plane. He was surprisingly really good. Of course he wanted to chat to people and most were nice enough to entertain his curiosity. There were a few who were not so generous. 

Reminds me of a time we were queuing at Marukame, a popular udon joint in Waikiki. The line snaked outside and in front of us in the queue was an Aussie family. Every time Eli made a sound the father would just look and stare at him in a not impressed manner. I felt like saying to him "Cause your children were never toddlers at one stage ... You were in my shoes too buddy, relax you'll get your udon!"

The flight back was actually longer but it felt shorter than the flight over. I guess cause Eli was in better health and mood so I was more relaxed too. 

Everyone has different experiences with long haul traveling with a toddler but the lesson I learn from my experience are:

• Choose a flight time you think you will be most effective. With a toddler you can throw out any expectations of getting any proper sleep on the flight so choosing a time where you're not fatigue and can be alert is probably the best option ... in my opinion. Also get some rest yourself before the flight so you're not overly tired on the flight. 
• You do need an extra seat for your child for long haul flights to allow them to lie down and sleep comfortably. If you're child is under two and you have decided not to purchase him a seat, like we did. Choose the middle seats towards the back of the plane, they usually start to go from rows of four seats to three. And if you're lucky and ask nicely or in our case was done for us airlines may allocate you to one of these rows and keep the middle seat vacant or blocked so no one can sit on that vacant seat and your child can have a seat - for free!! However our luck was only because both flights weren't full. 
• Bring packaged and customs safe food for your child. If you opted not to pay for a seat for your child your child actually doesn't get allocated a meal. We were given meals during our flight I guess because we were at the back and there were spares, but if you think your child will like the food think again. So bring food your child usually eats so your guaranteed they will eat - something. We brought cookies, rice crackers, chocolate and prepackaged pureed fruit in addition to his formula. 
• Bring familiar and unfamiliar toys for entertainment. We brought a few of his favourite books and toys but also purchased new crayons and paper. The new crayons was enough to distract him every time we took them out.
• Load your iPad or iPhone with their favourite movies, clips or music. I think I know every line to Finding Nemo and Up ... still get teary every time when watching that scene. We knew he would keep still and quiet when he can watch one of his favourite hows.
• We purchased Eli his own hand carry, a Trunki and kept all his things in there. From his nappies, food, toys and spare clothing. We found this helpful when keeping his things separate from ours. Also we notice customs were less intrusive when his things were separated from our own. They didn't question his food or formula when it was in his own hand carry. The trunki was pretty cool cause its designed to allow the child to sit on it too so when he was tired from walking and we had enough of carrying him he was happy to sit on top of it and push himself on it. There's a leash attach so you can pull and direct them in the right direction. I was actually quite surprised he had the motor skills to figured out how to push himself on it, smart little monkey. 
• Take advantage of any queue jumping opportunities this may be the only time you get to do this, until you're old and fragile. Most times when announcing gates had open for boarding they ask people who require extra time for boarding or parents with children under two to come forward first. We always took this invitation to allow us time to get to our seats, get prime overhead luggage space and get comfortable.  

So that was my experience traveling with a child. I've been in far worse situations and hasn't deterred me from traveling with young children. Actually after this experience I feel more confident traveling with children and already day dreaming about our next holiday ... with two.  

Aloha!

We're here in Hawaii!

It's beautiful especially here in Maui. I would come back with my whole extended family (and friends) to Maui it's so ..... beautiful. The people are laid back, the weather is bearable, there is ample of family friendly activities and so much delicious foods to try.

I've been keeping a travel book, as I do whenever I go on holidays so I'll elaborate on our experiences and our adventures when we get back, but here are some photos of the beautiful islands of Oahu and Maui I've taken so far with my iPhone.

The Royal Hawaiian, where we stayed first three nights

Morning walk views on Waikiki Beach

The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort - beautiful property perfect for families

What we spent doing most days. Relaxing and taking in the views

Watching the sunset