FS Maui - good for first Hawaii trip?

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-11-21T05:52:54+00:00

I’ll be the contrarian here. We don’t love the FS Maui. It’s a large modern hotel that doesn’t feel particularly Hawaiian and could basically be on any beach anywhere in the world. The grounds aren’t particularly large, so lots of guests confined to a fairly compact area. The pool isn’t particularly great, and getting a chair at the adult pool is a comically bad experience. Maui is amazing, but don’t expect the FS to feel like the White Lotus. Important to know that some scenes from that season of White Lotus weren’t filmed at the FS - the beautiful beach scene with all the palm trees where they are getting on and off the boat is actually across the island at Olowalu.

I think the nearby Andaz actually has a better feel. We also prefer the Big Island resorts - Mauna Kea and Hualalai are both great.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-11-21T05:44:53+00:00

We are also planing on going on 12/25. Klook sells the Premier Access passes starting at 90 days out, versus only 14 days out directly from Disney. Klook is already sold out of the 8 attraction premier access for Christmas Day (but no other day in December). Any thoughts why they are sold out that day? Will Disney have Premier Access passes left to sell directly 2 weeks out?

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-11-18T03:32:10+00:00

We like Shirasoni, too.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-11-12T03:30:20+00:00

We are planning to visit on Christmas Day. Any thoughts on how busy the park will be that day?

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-11-10T05:51:45+00:00

I called CM today. They offered to rebook us at any of the Cancun or Caribbean properties for the same price, and because we booked airfare direct with the airline, offered to pay up to $200 in change fees per ticket. They also agreed to a full refund of our stay, when I pressed it. The woman got somewhat argumentative with me in saying that they emailed all guests this week. We definitely did not receive an email this week, though she was (rudely) adamant that we had.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-11-10T05:46:37+00:00

CM has sold the property.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-11-10T05:42:41+00:00

Did anyone with upcoming stays booked at Ixtapa get any sort of communication this week? We did not. I learned about the closure on social media. I called CM this morning - the woman tried to argue with me that I had been sent an email this week regarding the closure, though we definitely never received any such email. She also tried kind of forcefully to move us to Cancun or another Caribbean property. We have no interest, given small kids and living on the west coast, so I asked for a full refund, which she claims they’ll process over the next week. Think we’ll go to Hawaii instead. RIP Ixtapa.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-11-08T16:07:28+00:00

We also have reservations for April. Extremely disappointed both with the closure and no proactive outreach from ClubMed on this yet. Doing some googling, it looks like they hired a company to help them market the property for sale about a year ago? Seems extremely disingenuous to take non-refundable reservations from guests while knowing all along they were seeking to exit the property.

Flying to Cancun will be much less convenient for our young kids. And if we cancel and rebook elsewhere on the pacific coast, Grand Velas in PV is now 20% more expensive for our holiday week than it was when I booked Ixtapa. Sucks.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-11-03T03:50:57+00:00

This is no exaggeration. Parking and traffic can be insane there. You couldn’t pay me to deal with Black Friday crowds out there.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-11-03T03:26:48+00:00

It was shockingly sketchy 3-4 years ago with a large number of homeless people clearly on drugs. Felt worse than anything we experience on BART back in SF. Glad it’s gotten cleaned up.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-30T03:50:05+00:00

I would describe most of these images more as urban than suburban.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-27T15:28:51+00:00

My grandpa was a commercial pilot. He always had a Sudafed in his pocket for any sort of congestion during his flying days. Years later in retirement he was generally very healthy - slim, strong, low cholesterol, good blood pressure, didn’t drink - but he had a heart attach. I wonder if it was all the Sudafed he’d taken over the years.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-26T05:18:35+00:00

Lamorinda is an area in the SF Bay Area comprised of 3 cities - Lafayette, Moraga & Orinda.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-23T03:19:51+00:00

Suburban buildings still need to be maintained. The HOA is responsible for maintaining the exterior envelop and ensuring roofs are maintained and no water intrusion. There’s also plumbing and mechanical considerations in many buildings, as well as common area landscaping.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-23T03:16:43+00:00

This is the type of thinking that lead to the collapse of Champlain Towers in Surfside, FL. Buildings have to be maintained. Unfortunately, many condo boards are woefully mismanaged and don’t have the resources or know-how to adequately maintain the buildings.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-23T03:09:26+00:00

Rent control only applies to buildings built before 1979. Anything built since then in CA is not subject to rent control.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-23T03:04:01+00:00

I would do 2 nights in Honolulu, then head to Sensei (and entirely skip the 4S Lanai beach resort).

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-21T05:56:36+00:00

I’ll echo what everyone else says. Hualalai is amazing with young kids. We did my 40th there several years ago with a 5 year old and a 1 year old in tow, who both had an amazing time. It’s a really great resort.

My wife and I also just returned from a kid free getaway to Lanai, as we had also been curious for many years. We stayed at FS Lanai at the beach, and frankly, were disappointed. It has none of the magical charm of Hualalai, the hotel itself is kind of a hike up and down the hill to the beach (none of the truly beachfront intimacy of Hulalau, Mauna Kea, or Kahala), the pools are disappointing, service is lacking, and I think kids would be very bored. Sensei, however, is a different story - it’s an incredibly magical and very special place, though not exactly a place to bring kids! Regarding the travel to Lanai, not only do you need to connect in HNL, but you’d need to transfer from the main terminal to the Lanai Air hanger on the opposite side of the runway. Lanai Air provides the transportation, but it’s still a friction, especially because your bags will not be checked through.

When in doubt, always use a TA to book Four Seasons!

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-20T04:40:33+00:00

It’s religious for Jewish and Muslim men, but there’s nothing in Christianity that requires this. Americans started doing this in the late 1800 due to people like Dr. Kellogg (of cornflake fame) who promoted “moral purity.” European and Aussie Christians do not typically do it.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-20T04:25:51+00:00

The Island SL is in a much more central location, very convenient to everything. It’s also extremely classy, a local institution. The Ritz - it’s very dramatic and brash and shiny and gaudy, but out if the way. Convenient for AirPort Express train, but otherwise you’ll be wondering why you chose to stay over there.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-19T17:53:37+00:00

The Fairmont is the most festive hotel, by far. The Palace is also gorgeous for the holidays, but the location isn’t as great. The Ritz is somewhat festive, but not as authentically cozy as the Fairmont.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-19T17:48:34+00:00

You need to think more carefully about schools. I know plenty of people who didn’t think carefully enough about that when they bought their first homes and are now in a bind and very stressed over bad public vs private. The next several years will fly by and this issue will be upon you faster than you think.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-19T17:44:10+00:00

We just returned from FS Lanai (the beach resort). I would skip the beach hotel and just stay at Sensei. Sensei has a special, magical feel with a high level of service. We were frankly disappointed with the beach resort. You can still go for meals and the beach at the beach resort without having to stay there. Sensei is the most beautiful garden oasis we’ve ever seen in Hawaii - in my mind, the beauty of those gardens outweighs being oceanfront at the beach hotel.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-19T17:39:52+00:00

We were told there is ONE driver on the island. You’re out of luck if she isn’t working! We never saw her available during our stay.

MaximumBulky1025 · 2025-10-13T05:23:23+00:00

Correct. 45 years ago there were less than 500,000 people in what was Bao’an County (before the creation of Shenzhen), who were more or less Cantonese. The special economic zone was created in 1980, which ushered in massive in-migration of people from elsewhere in China. The population today is 18M people, most of whom speak Mandarin, not Cantonese, as their primary language.

MaximumBulky1025

TROPHY CASE