The kids continued to sleep late. Playing in the ocean really gets their energy out. We’ve been pretty good about managing the amount of time they are in the sun so we haven’t had any major sunburns yet, thankfully.

We got up and headed to the lobby to meet my wife… who texted back that she was actually out on the patio of our room. Doh! The lobby had been pretty loud earlier in the morning when she had a call so she retreated to our patio. Since our room was on the first floor she didn’t have to come into the room and wake us up and we didn’t notice because the curtains were pulled.

Packing Up

After our last breakfast buffet, we headed back to the room to begin packing everything up. On the way, I asked for late checkout at noon so my wife could have a quiet place to finish up her workday if needed.

The boys were extremely excited about going to our next hotel. They had had such an amazing time there on our previous trip so no extra motivation was needed to keep them focused. We gathered everything we could find and double-checked everywhere to make sure we weren’t leaving anything behind. Once we were done with that I took the boys out to play Frisbee while my wife finished up her work. We each found our piece of shade to stand in between throws. It definitely made a difference being able to stay out of the direct sunlight.

As it inched past 10 am we decided to start loading up the SUV while my wife’s work wound down. The SUV was more full than expected, mostly due to the inflatables that we hadn’t bothered to deflate.

It only took two trips to get all our stuff packed and my wife was just finishing up work for the week. We made a final sweep of the room and went to the lobby to check out. There was a short line ahead of us as it was officially checkout time, but it moved quickly. We double-checked the bill and true to their word the parking fees had been waived and everything looked in order. With that, we were off to our next stop!

Cheap Beach Gear

As we got into the car, my wife was super excited to be entering the weekend. After getting up early to work and not getting enough sleep she was looking forward to relaxing and doing some fun vacation activities. Ironically as soon as we got on the road she was fast asleep. I drove as smoothly as I could to let her rest up as much as she could.

One thing we learned in our previous trip to Maui was that there is a Salvation Army thrift store in Kihei. We’re generally fans of these types of stores and last time we found some awesome snorkel equipment for less than it would have cost to rent. We also found the kids some awesome Hawaiian shirts for a couple of dollars each. We were hoping to score some similar prizes this time.

It was a quiet 35-minute drive to the store, which was on the way to the hotel we were going to check-in. Inside the store, we found a pile of boogie boards and the kids each chose their favorite. We had to ask where the snorkel gear was, though. There were fewer options than I expected, but we did find some masks for each of the boys and some flippers for our youngest. The boys also found an inflatable ball that was slightly larger than a basketball. I have NO idea why they were excited about it, but they were adamant they needed to get it. It was only $1 and since it was one of the few things they had agreed on all vacation we let them get it.

These types of stores are often great to get this type of stuff because people buy it while on vacation and donate it (or leave it for the hotel who then donates it). I would imagine a lot of the stuff that comes through is donated several times which is great for the store and the environment.

With our SUV fully loaded with stuff, we decided to go to the Kihei location of the Paia Fish Market for lunch before checking in to the hotel. The location has a much different layout but has the same menu and quality. It wasn’t quite as busy as the times we had visited the Lahaina location and the food came out super quickly.

Wailea Beach Marriott

From downtown Kihei, it’s a 10-15 minute drive to the Wailea Beach Marriott hotel. The Wailea area is an upscale town compared to Kihei and the Marriott was one of the first resort properties built in the area. It was built before many of the current zoning laws went in to place so many of its buildings are much closer to the water than is allowed now. The resort is surrounded by other high-end properties in the area including the Andaz Maui, Grand Wailea, Four Seasons and a Fairmont.

When we pulled into the property, we were quickly greeted by a valet who helped us unload the massive amount of luggage we had collected. He noticed my youngest was wearing a Celtics T-shirt as mentioned he was a huge Celtics fan. Tomatico talked sports with him while I self parked the car in the adjacent parking garage.

We then proceeded to check-in. Last time we were here they had a separate station for elites to check-in, but there wasn’t a separate line this time. The line only had a couple of people ahead of us, though. The boys took the opportunity to explore the green space near the lobby. There were a couple swings and sitting areas as well as a big ALOHA sigh people were lining up to take pictures for the Instagram feeds. It is a great use of space and the shade from the trees made it cool. It was an active yet relaxing area which is tough to pull off!

On checking they thanks us for our elite status and gave us a complimentary welcome drink which was POG juice (Pomegranate, Orange, Guava) that the kids loved when they came back to visit us mid-check in. We were told about the property and our room. We got a slight upgrade but it still didn’t have much of an ocean view. They told us that since they were fully booked over the weekend there wouldn’t be a possibility to get an upgraded room until Sunday. They found us a room and blocked it off for us to move into on Sunday since we were willing to switch rooms mid-stay.

Then came the question of breakfast. They offered us effectively a grab-and-go type option in Starbucks or one of their takeout restaurants where we could get a pastry, fresh fruit and a coffee for two people each day. I’ve seen pictures of what this is from some travel blogs. It’s honestly quite pathetic.

I pushed back saying that the “elite benefit guarantee” specified on the Marriott website says “Breakfast in the restaurant” and they have hotel rates that include a buffet breakfast. Their response was disappointing. They said they couldn’t offer breakfast in the restaurant because Marriott doesn’t own the restaurant. I tried probing the issue a few different ways without being rude it was clear there wasn’t any wiggle room. We ended up taking the points instead because of how pathetic the offered breakfast was. While the points weren’t worth much, they were worth more to us than the breakfast we wouldn’t eat. It was a huge letdown from the excellent buffet we had been getting at the Sheraton for the last 5 days.

Despite that disappointment, we headed off to our room which had a view that was better than expected. While it wasn’t oceanfront, you could see the ocean and we hoped we’d be getting an even better view in two days with the upgraded room.

Exploring the Property

Our stuff arrived within a few minutes and once unloaded we decided to explore the property again on foot and remind ourselves where everything was. Plus we had some vouchers for Mai Tai’s my wife wanted to sample. We found all the pool areas and most importantly where the kids’ pool area is. Both sides were open and the kids were sure to spend lots of time there.

We then made our way to the game room and found there were about twice as many video games as before, including a sit-down car racing game that you could play against the other person. The boys couldn’t wait for it to free up so they could get their turn. All the games they remembered were still around as well. They would be spending some quality time there, for sure!

It was cloudy and windy so the sun wasn’t nearly as brutal as on previous days. Our youngest wanted to go to the pool so he went with my wife while Tomatico and I got ready to go to the ocean to try out his new boogie board. We stopped by the kids’ pool on our way to the beach and our youngest, fresh off a few runs down the slides, decided to join us in the ocean.

It was a 5-minute walk to the side of the property to get to the beach we were going to. There was another beach on the side of the property closer to our room which was the beach we could actually see from our room. For whatever reason, we didn’t think to go there, but I think the waves were slightly larger in the beach we went to.

When we got to the beach, the waves were pretty big. There were times when 2 or 3 could build up on top of each other to become a 5-6 foot wave. The undercurrent, while not all that dangerous, was pretty’s strong. I was in the water with the boys and it was all I could do to stand in one place. I wisely took my glasses off as there were a few times I would have lost them completely if I had left them on. I didn’t want to lose a second pair on this trip!

They spend a solid hour being bashed by the waves and loved every second of it. While the sun was past its afternoon peak and there were occasional clouds it was getting time to get out of the water. The boys had sand EVERYWHERE and the sand on these beaches is super sticky so be ready to rinse it off in the outdoor showers before going to your room.

Dinner at the Mall

By the time everyone was cleaned up it was dinner time. We walked from the hotel through the parking lot of The Shops at Wailea. It’s a high-end outdoor shopping mall with several restaurants that is a 5-minute walk from the lobby of our hotel. It takes less time to walk than to drive there and it’s a big reason why we like this hotel so much.

We checked out the menus at the restaurants and nothing looked All that appealing at the Island Gourmet general store. It’s the same franchise as the place we visited in Kapalua near the Ritz Carlton which groceries and souvenirs, as well as a deli with hot foods, prepared to order and some tables to eat at. We frequented this place the last time we were here and it’s a great way to get a decent and relatively affordable meal if you don’t mind eating takeout. They have a fairly varied menu with several local specialties and the food is usually ready in 10-15 minutes.

We grabbed one of the free tables while I paid and we waited for the food to be ready. The kids got the utensils all prepped before wandering the store to see what other goodies they sold. In the end, the food was pretty good. The boys LOVED the curly fries for some reason.

Evening Fun

After dinner, the boys headed to the game room while my wife and I went for a relaxing sunset stroll. There is an oceanfront path in front of all the hotels in this area and you get to see the alternating beaches and rocky lava coastlines. At night there are of course the amazing sunsets. It’s really beautiful, and so much more peaceful without the kids complaining that we’re walking too slowly or taking too many pictures!

We walked down in front of the Grand Wailea next door to get some different angles on the sunset. As we walked back we saw there was a luau at the Marriott so we went to get the kids in the game room. We knew the fire dance was coming soon. When they head that they dropped the games they were playing and sprinted toward the luau area.

We found a place with a great view to stand and watch the performances. The fire dance was only a few sets later. When the fire dancers (there were two!) came on the boys were giddy with excitement. Some things apparently never get old. They’ve seen 5 different performances of this type yet the excitement remains!

Once that was done we quickly headed back to our room so we didn’t get caught in the crowds. It had been another event-filled day and sleep came quickly.