Our recent trip to the island of O'ahu just sort of crept on me. So much so that the night before our departure we were frantically packing while I was handing out bags of produce to family members that I'd purchased without thinking. Thankfully, we had world traveler Ryan to help guide and inspire us with his first ever, packed (all by himself) suitcase:
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The contents:
1. 5 t-shirts
2. 1 pair of skeleton shorts
3. 2 ribbon remnants from his birthday party
4. About 60 Hot Wheels
5. 0 underwear
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The JW Marriott Ihilani Hotel is in Ko'Olina, a relatively small resort village. The hotel also happens to be right next door to Disney's Aulani Resort. My first impression of the area was that it was a lot like the Big Island's Waikoloa area- very sterile, high end, quite isolated...completely devoid of the different cultures that harmoniously coexist here that you'd hope to find. Which is not to say that it was not beautiful or very, very relaxing (Ms. Lazy Butt very quickly assimilated, trust me)...it's just not real Hawaii, you know?
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| The Ihilani Hotel is fronted by one of four identical man-made lagoons (clearly, all with imported sand) along the shore... a bit odd, but still gorgeous. |
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| See what I mean?! |
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| Loved that our headboard illuminated and that we could control room temperature, privacy, lights, etc. all from our LCD telephone. Very high tech (and therefore soooo not me). |
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| We had a calming ocean view to our left... |
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| ...and the amazing mountain range off to our right. Which honestly, I think I enjoyed more because it's something we don't get to see everyday living on the west side of such a young island. |
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| And from our lanai we could peer down and see about a half dozen hammerhead sharks and manta rays swimming in a pond. Really...beauty from all angles. |
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| Our first activity on Day #1...fish feeding! Forgot to warn Ryan not to wade in waist deep wearing street clothes. Whoops. |
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| Next up...wander over to Aulani with Ryan to check out the fish feeding in their salt water aquarium/snorkeling tank. Fun fact we learned: Fishies love green leaf lettuce. |
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| Ry was thrilled to bump into Chip & Dale. |
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| The #1 thing I love about Disney...cute child-sized (or midget) sinks in every restroom. No more hoisting your heavy toddler up! |
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| Aulani had an interesting vibe...part mega-resort, part frenetic Disney-vibe complete with young kids screeching everywhere, part Hawaiiana, part weird contemporary European influence (i.e- missionary inspired attire). Not sure if I liked it. But at least it's noticeably different from every other Sheraton, Marriott, Aston or Hilton that line our shores. I will readily admit that if I had the $500-750 per night required for a basic room there, that Ryan would be in HEAVEN. |
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| The not-so-exciting Ihilani pool (yes, we're spoiled living here). Aulani's in comparison had little canals for floating on inner tubes, a mini water park, lifeguards every ten feet and a water slide. I felt slighted. ;-) |
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| Daddy & son bonding on the beach just before sunset |
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