We just returned from two wonderfully relaxing nights at the Hotel Hana Maui. After spending six nights at Ka'anapali with its "Disney World" atmosphere, we were a bit apprehensive that the Road to Hana would lead us to Dullsville. We couldn't have been more wrong!

We managed to miss the throngs of daytrippers and tour buses by starting the drive later in the day. We passed Kahului just after 12 noon on a Wednesday and arrived at the hotel right at 3pm (this included a lunch break on the road, at a state wayside point that counted a menagerie of chickens and feral cats as inhabitants - quite amusing!!!). As such, we found ourselves alone on the road for much of the drive, which made it more enjoyable. That being said, we did not stop to see any of the sights along the road, given we had a convertible and our luggage was visible in the back seat.

Upon arriving at the hotel, we were greeting with sweet-smelling leis, a glass of cold juice, and chilled lemon-scented towels - quite refreshing after the long drive. We were taken to our sea-ranch cottage via golf cart, and then discovered that there was a parking lot within a few feet of our cottage. Quite convenient!

The cottage was lovely! It was *very* clean, bright, and breezy with a spectacular view of the ocean. We were given a welcome basket with a mango, banana bread, dried fruits, nuts, and chocolate macadamia nut candy. There was also a refrigerator stocked with water, Diet Coke, and Coke (complementary). We spent our first hour out on our private deck, enjoying the view and having some refreshments. As the previous poster mentioned, there was a can of Raid in the closet. However, we never saw any bugs in our cottage. Ah well - better to be prepared, I suppose? It is a tropical location, after all. We didn't experience any problems (we did have a bug problem at our resort in Ka'anapali, however!!!).

That night we ate at the Hana Ranch Restaurant, which was a five-ten minute walk through the hotel grounds and down the road. A relaxed place, the menu didn't have a lot of options; however the food was good and not as pricey as the hotel's main restaurant. We enjoyed looking out at the ocean and listening to some live music.

The next day, I took advantage of the complementary morning yoga class (with Laney - who was a great teacher), while my husband put on his running shoes for the trek up to Fagan's Cross (visible from the resort, as it is 30 ft. tall and perched on a high hill). He reports that the run was very challenging - a great option for runners who wish to continue training while on vacation.

Our room rate included daily breakfast at the hotel's main restaurant. We were allowed to pick one entree, as well as one fruit-based "side", such as freshly squeezed juice, a smoothie, etc. A nice touch, as I was prepared for the typical "continental" fare normally reserved for "included daily breakfasts" at other places I've stayed. The service at the restaurant was relaxed, but I wouldn't call it slow.

We ordered a picnic lunch to be delivered to us at Hamoa Beach later in the afternoon. This was pricey ($40 for two). Each box lunch included a large sandwich or wrap, two cookies, fresh fruit salad, and a bag of chips. Honestly, had we split a wrap and the salad, each had a cookie, and shared the bag of chips, it would have been more than enough for us and would have only cost $20! Before going to Hamoa Beach, we walked over to a red sand beach and a black sand beach for some photo opportunities.

Hamoa Beach was fantastic - it was exactly how I imagined a Hawaiian Beach would be. There is complementary shuttle service to the beach - or, you can drive there (I also heard there is a walking trail to it). There was a beach attendant who gave us fair warning regarding the tide and roughness of the surf that day. It was nice to have beach chairs, towels, and umbrellas waiting for us, free of charge (as compared with the exorbitant $40/day charge at our Ka'anapali resort for beach chairs with an umbrella!). We spent a few hours at the beach, playing in the ocean, eating our delicious box lunches (delivered as promised), and people watching.

Afterwards, we returned to the hotel and relaxed by the Wellness Pool. The pool bar had a nice selection of snacks and drinks (which were not watered down, like our other resort's drinks). We were also offered complementary chilled bottles of water.

Although we did not book any spa services, we did take advantage of the sauna/cold plunge pool experience. One saunas for a few minutes, then plunges into a cold pool for a minute and repeats. My goodness, the cold plunge was.... COLDDDD! However, it was fun and felt really nice after the initial shock wears off! :-) We spent a few hours reading in the spa's garden, which was beautifully landscaped and very serene. Although we tried the beautiful lava rock hot tub, the temperature was a bit too hot for our day-old sunburned legs to take.

We were invited to partake in a pupu/cocktail reception at the Plantation House; this was fun and we met the hotel's General Manager, who just took the helm two months ago (former Hyatt with 30 years of hotel experience). Sounds like he will do a lot of good for this place, which seems to have suffered from inconsistent service in years past.

We enjoyed the tasting dinner at the hotel's main restaurant in the evening. It was very, very expensive ($300). The food was flavorful and the wine pairings were spot on, but I am not sure I would say it was worth what we paid. Given that it was our last night, we thought we'd splurge... but I wouldn't do it again. Next time, we'll likely eat our meals at the less expensive Paniolo Bar.

Overall, we enjoyed staying here immensely and plan to return. We simply adored our cottage and with only 1.5 days at the resort, we didn't take advantage of the 3-hole golf, the bikes, the full suite of spa services, the workout room, the hammocks, the horseback excursions, the croquet, or any of the nearby sights (O'heo Gulch, Venus Pool, etc.). Next time, we plan to stay at least 3 full days, so that we can relax as well as have enough time to do all of the things that are available.

You will not find a bunch of things to do in Hana - that much is true. However, if you enjoy the outdoors, there are plenty of athletic choices as well as relaxing sightseeing that can be done, which is where we found most of Hana's charm. We can't wait to return!