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Getting to the most remote island group in the world – the Hawaiian Islands are separated from the U.S. mainland by more than 2,000 miles – was a big ask for my nearly 2-year-old daughter, but she feasted on snacks and watched her favorite show, CoComelon, and handled the nine-hour direct flight with Mama and me from Atlanta to Maui on Christmas Day 2022 like a champ.
The sacred lands of Ka’anapali were once called home to the Royal Chiefs of Maui. The home of our week-long family vacation was built on the West Maui Mountains at the westernmost point of the island along nearly three miles of sun-kissed beach. At the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa, we were greeted with leis of purple vandal orchids around our necks, and my daughter squealed with glee at the sight of the exotic parrots and South African penguins in the palatial open-air lobby.
Sitting at breakfast the next morning, my wife leaned over and said the setting was “enchanting.” I couldn’t have agreed with her more. Add in the fact that we checked out from the world for a bit, sipping drinks at the swim-up Grotto Bar, lounging in hammocks and eating decadent desserts such as Hula pie, we might say life was good. We usually detest being charged resort fees but these were actually worth it, with all the amenities included such as towel service and the complimentary pineapple delivered to our cabana. You can’t buy Maui Gold pineapples in the U.S. anymore, so eat up and consider bringing a box back with you. For much of these days, our daughter was living her best life at the kiddie pool, and it often took bribing her with homemade tropical flavors from a poolside outpost of Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice to get her to take a break.
There are several delicious restaurants on property – Japengo, which hangs over the pool, wins for sushi and setting – but our favorite meal was at Drums of the Pacific, the on-site luau, a tasty way to experience a time-honored island tradition. The performers tell the story of Polynesian culture and history through music, song and dance. Samoan slap dances, Tahitian drum dances and the closing fire-knife dance are all presented in an informative and spell-binding narrative at an amphitheater beneath the stars while guests feast on a sumptuous buffet. Months later, my daughter instinctively dances the hula whenever we mention Hawaii and loves to rewatch videos from the performance.
While travelers come for the sunshine, turquoise water and endless golden sandy beaches, their golf clubs come, too. I only slipped away for one dew-sweeping round while the family was in tow. Royal Ka’anapali was the first golf course on Maui, a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design that opened in 1962 with Bing Crosby playing in the inaugural foursome. Short by today’s standards, it has an abundance of wide bunkers, and the large, fearsome greens built into the contours of the land along with tricky trade winds have ensured it stands the test of time. The wind doesn’t discriminate but tends to kick up in the afternoon when you’re better off hitting it knee-high to a snake. The Royal Ka’anapali Course takes you oceanside, then brings you into the West Maui Mountain foothills, where the views are equally spectacular.
The par-4 fifth hole is a 474-yard dogleg-left from the tips. The approach calls for a mid- to long iron, with three bunkers protecting the green. Although there is a narrow runway between all of that sand, beware of the biggest bunker of all: May’s Beach. To the right of the green, you come upon a spectacular view of the ocean and Black Rock, a sheltered cove with clear water that’s popular for snorkeling amid scores of colorful fish as well as green sea turtles, manta rays and monk seals. By day, I watched tourists do backflips from the rock’s summit. The nearby Sheraton Hotel bids the sun farewell in a cliff-lighting ceremony at sunset on a nightly basis. I was more comfortable standing at the water’s edge and watching as a diver climbed the rocks and lit torches before tossing a lei into the water and diving in after it.
The par-5 ninth marks the highest elevation on the course and is a great place during whale season (Dec. 1–May 15) to see humpbacks, those giant mammals of the sea, breaching in the ocean, while the par-4 18th is one of Hawaii’s best finishing holes. A more forgiving option at Ka’anapali is the shorter Kai Course, also designed by Jones.
Ka’anapali’s 19th hole is the internationally renowned Roy’s, a Maui fixture for 30 years featuring celebrated chef Roy Yamaguchi. Here my wife and I chowed down on a Hawaiian specialty, Loco Moco, a heaping plate of sunny-side-up eggs served over a hamburger patty and rice, all doused in brown gravy.
Hawaii is home to people from all corners of the planet. They’ve brought their rich cultural histories and time-honored family recipes to create what’s known as local cuisine. Chef Joey Macadangdang has been on Maui for more than 20 years and was the head corporate chef for Roy’s before opening his own restaurant, Joey’s Kitchen, at Whaler’s Village in Ka’anapali Beach. As Chef Joey likes to say, Hawaii is a melting pot and in that pot several unique styles of food synthesize and simmer. The result? A richly diverse plethora of food derived from Japanese, Portuguese, Filipino and Chinese influences.
While on the subject of food, I practically ate my weight in poke, finely diced raw tuna, one of the staples of the Hawaiian culinary tradition (pronounced poh-kay, not poh-kee). Kris Strauss, an executive with Troon Golf who was born and raised on Oahu, drafted an email that served as my travel guide, including the suggestion to go to Tamura’s Fine Wine and Liquors store, not so much for alcohol but to buy poke. “The store sells poke and alcohol,” he wrote. “How good is that?”
It was really good, and even better once we took our bowls and beers and lounged at Kapalua Bay.
Combined, I spent close to two weeks on Maui, returning for a second stint during the week of the PGA Tour’s Sentry Tournament of Champions, setting up shop at the Ritz-Carlton – aka tournament central – perched on a knoll above D.T. Fleming Beach. The lobby opens to an expansive lanai with sweeping views of a three-tier pool and Honokahua Bay. A $100-million renovation was completed in late 2022, and my room received a refresh along with its own fire pit on the patio.
In the mid-1970’s, Kapalua underwent a transformation from a working pineapple plantation to a luxury resort destination. When I returned to Maui for the PGA Tour event, there was only one way I’d get a chance to play the course during my visit – in the pro-am, and what a treat that was alongside Honda Classic winner Sepp Straka. Not even two squalls during our round, the only liquid sunshine I experienced on my trip, could dampen my mood, and the rainbow over Kapalua made it worth it.
Locals call the Plantation Course the Planet, and it is an otherworldly experience. Architects Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore found the par-5 18th, a hole that nature herself modeled, and built the rest of the course around it. The Plantation Course plays fast and firm, with little rough. The fairways are as wide as football fields are long, and its large dramatic greens slope from front to back. It’s one of the windiest courses you’ll ever play.
If watching the pros play here every January hasn’t already placed this course on your bucket list, you need to get your head checked. It’s as good as advertised, ranked No. 2 in Hawaii on Golfweek’s Best ranking of public-access courses in each state. It also ranks No. 40 among all modern courses in the U.S.
Lahaina retains its late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural charm. This was once the whaling capital of the Pacific and the cultural center of the Hawaiian Islands. It has long been the quintessential beach tourist town, brimming with bars, restaurants, galleries and souvenir shops along Front Street, which was overtaken by the wildfires. The center of activity was huddled near a century-old Banyan tree stretching several blocks, not far from the harbor, and this area will need to be rebuilt.
Arnold Palmer designed Kapalua’s first course, The Bay Course, in 1975, which is more forgiving than the Plantation. From the third hole I looked out at the water and could see whales in the distance. At the par-3 15th, make sure to take a picture at the green with the ocean in the background; it could be your next holiday card or new Facebook profile pic. Either way, your friends will be jealous. Say your prayers at No. 17, one of five par 3s, which demands a carry over Oneloa Bay. It’s where land, water and nerve converge. Come for the Plantation, but the Bay may be the real charmer – it was for me.
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