I am in love. I mean, I love living in Hawaii, Oahu is great… but I just didn’t know. Maui is…incredible. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to move there and never come home. It is beautiful, peaceful, gorgeous, just amazing. After living on Oahu for a year and a half I finally felt like I found the real  Hawaii I was looking for.I mean driving from the airport to our hotel this is what I spy out my window. Well played, Maui.

Speaking of hotels, we booked at the Westin Maui. We were staying the week before Christmas and we still got an amazing rate. Like seriously amazing, free parking, free wifi, serious discount on the hotel restaurants. All that and the hotel is STUNNING! (seriously, book the kama’aina rate if you are eligible)

THERE ARE FLAMINGOS BEHIND US!!!

I loved our hotel, the kids loved our hotel, I highly recommend it.

The pool is actually 5 connected pools, with a waterslide, waterfalls, a grotto and basketball and volleyball nets. Chairs poolside go FAST.

The mountain view from our balcony. It wasn’t too bad to wake up to in the morning.

And here is our ocean view… I mean for a mountain view room I was still happy to have a few slivers of water visible!

The location was great, right on Kanaapali Beach, near Lahaina. We had plenty to do in the area and if we wanted to hang by the pool or beach it was perfect. Kaanapali is about 45 minutes from the airport and the rest of ‘central’ Maui. It’s on the dry side of the island so you shouldn’t have to worry about rain too much. While we did drive to other parts of the island almost daily, it wasn’t a chore because the road runs right along the ocean. I even saw whale spouts from the car. (Winter is whale watching season).

Up next: Maui Must Do’s…