Kapalua Villas

Maui no ka oi. We all hear it and for most of us, it's very true, Maui is indeed "the best."

I arrived in Maui on a Saturday this year and spent most of the day preparing ourselves for the days ahead.

As I walk into the open and airy lobby of the Kapalua Villas and am greeted by a grand sweeping view of the Maui coastline, ocean and beyond to the islands of Molokai and Lanai. This alone makes me weak in the knees.

The front desk staff was extremely nice and accommodating. The bell staff was very friendly and everyone at this hotel had a wonderful "Aloha" each time I saw them. The room was beautifully furnished and I feel that I got what I paid for. I stayed at the Ridge Villas. Ocean view villas sit on the top of the ridge and offer sweeping views of the Pacific, and the islands of Lanai and Molokai and the distance. In winter, you can see whales playing in the water just off the gorgeous beaches that lie below. You can also see the golf course on the other side, so it's kind of like the best of both worlds.

Everything that you need is nearby. The supermarkets in Napili and Kahana are just a short drive away. You can pick up some groceries, cook your own dinner and eat it outside on the lanai while watching the sunset.


Kapalua Villas Maui does not have an on-site restaurant, but the next-door Kapalua Bay Hotel and Ritz-Carlton Kapalua offer 11 restaurants. You can either walk there, or take a free shuttle. My favorite restaurant was The Banyan Tree (located at Ritz-Carlton Kapalua). This 4-diamond restaurant specializes in "eclectic Pacific cuisine". Food is really extraordinary, it is also a favorite for Sunday Champagne Brunch. Perfect spot for sunset cocktails and dinner

Kapalua is known as one of the finest golf resorts in the world and has the accolades to prove it. Kapalua is ranked in the top 30 of the "Top 100 Golf Resorts in the World, 2003" and listed as one of the "50 Best Golf Resorts in North America" in 2001 and 2002 by Condé Nast Traveler. The resort community is the setting for three award-winning 18-hole golf courses, one of which is home to the PGA Tour's Mercedes Championship each January and all three of which have been named among the top seven courses in Hawaii by Golf Digest.

My favorite part of the trip was with no doubt the fact that I was able to sit under the shade of a tree, looking out over the pineapple plantation and ocean stretched out before me, feeling the warm breeze on my face, far removed from the civilization that exists below me.