In the plumeria-scented heart of Old Hawaii on the coastline of Haleakala National Park--is the 4,500 acre Hana Ranch and on it a 'Top Ten Hotel of the Life Styles of The Rich and Famous.' The ultra charming Travaasa ...formerly Hana Ranch Hotel...once owned in part by the Getty Trust.
Sounds expensive, oui? Well it is a bit...in season. Off-season rates drop away faster than do all of your cares on arriving here. In 2011, the resort was rated #1 in Hawaii by Conde Nast Readers...and also wins raves by nearly 400 guest reviewers on Trip Advisor.
Before moving onto the Mauna Kea Resort--we stayed here for a week in a bungalow. Wearing perfumed leis around our necks, and sipping exotic drinks on an ocean view deck while watching a sunset that we thought would never end. And you know, it really hasn't. The feeling of total peace, beauty, and bliss can always be conjured again--just by closing my eyes.
Guests were assigned a dining room table for their entire stay. At breakfast, a checklist of lunch items was next to your place-setting with a tiny pencil for you to tick off selections. Later a picnic basket was delivered by a cheerful steward on the hidden beach that Pulitzer Prize winning author, James Michener, called the most beautiful in the world.
We took a spectacular sightseeing ride in a small plane, rode horses, (and again later on Parker Ranch on the big island--one of the largest and oldest ranches in the U.S.); swam in the Sacred Seven Pools, drove the bumpy-country lane out to Kipahulu to the serene Palapala Ho'omau Church to visit famed aviator Charles Lindberg's grave. Where the guest book in the charming old wooden church was signed by visitors from all points of the globe.
At dinner one night a film-star couple was seated next to us conducting a fierce argument in stage whispers and theatrical gestures. I had one eye on them (mostly concerned that knives and glassware were about to start flying) and one on my husband who was talking about, em, something. Exasperated he huffed, 'ARE you working undercover for The National Enquirer?!' The couple heard him and the next night at a gorgeous torch-lit beach luau hosted by the hotel--avoided me as if I were a Hollywood gossip queen.
Hana is the lush, peaceful side of the island. If you're seeking that true aloha spirit...go before hordes of kiddies just released on summer vacation arrive in mid-June...and while it's truly a grown-up paradise. here
Looks great & sounds fun. Great weekend to you!
ReplyDelete