Quick – name the ONLY state of the United States that grows and produces coffee?  Hawaii of course.  When we visit Maui we drink Maui/Hawaiian coffee.  So which coffee-houses on Maui are the best?  Here’s the winners:

• 1st Place – Aina at the Honua Kai Resort & Spa
• 2nd Place – Starbucks
• 3rd  Place – Maui Coffee Roasters

Aina Coffee House in the Honua Kai Resort & Spa

Aina at the Honua Kai Resort & Spa

You would expect nothing less – Maui’s premier 5-star resort, the Honua Kai Resort & Spa,  is going to have the #1 coffee house on Maui.  For all the guests and owners at the Honua Kai this is a great way to support your 1st class resort and keep Aina busy and healthy.

Aina is about to start room service and you won’t even have to put on shorts and an Aloha shirt to enjoy their fine coffee products and pastries.

If you’re like me our first morning in Maui has my stomach 4 hours ahead of Maui time.  So at 7 am Maui time my stomach tells me its 11 am back in St. Louis and I’m ready for espresso and a latte and a cappuccino all rolled up into one huge coffee and head to Aina to wake up.  Of course you can’t drink coffee without a huge blueberry muffin and I’m ready to sit out in the open air lobby of the Honua Kai and enjoy our first morning on Maui.

Funny thing is every morning at the Honua Kai starts out that way…
Located at Honua Kai Resort and Spa
130 Kai Malina Parkway
Lahaina, HI 96761
808-662-2832

www.ainagourmet.com

Hours of Operation 7:0oAM to 9:00PM

Starbucks

Starbucks in Lahaina Cannery Mal

Who can argue with Starbucks being the #1 coffee-house?  Well there are 6 Starbucks on Maui and 2 are a 12 minute drive from the Honua Kai.  Here are the Starbucks on Maui:

Lahaina

878 Front Street
Lahaina, HI 96761
808-667-6974

Queen Kaahumanu Center

275 West Kaahuman Avenue #1200 F5
Kahului, HI 96732
808-871-6290

OGG Kahului Main Concourse

New Terminal Bldg @ Bldg 340
Kahului Airport, HI 96732
808-877-5858

Maui Marketplace

270 Dairy Road
Kahului, HI 96732
808-871-7884

OGG Baggage Claim (Maui)

1 Kahului Airport Road Unit 9
Kahului, HI 96732
(808) 877-5858

(OGG is the big Kahului Airport location)

Website: Starbucks.com

Maui Coffee Roasters

Real Maui Coffee-House!

Now this is a REAL Maui Coffee-House and available ONLY in the Hawaiian Islands!  Sadly this coffee-house is on the Road to Hana up by the airport; its a 30 minute drive from the Honua Kai.  But, if you plan to drive the Road to Hana then this is a great place to get some Java.

We have stopped at the coffee-house and it feels like a Hawaiian coffee-house – its a fun place to visit.

Maui Coffee Roasters
444 Hana Hwy
Kahului, Maui, Hawaii 97669

808-877-2877
Mauicoffeeroasters.com

Ocean Front at the Honua Kai Resort & Spa

Duke's Beach House is the brown building ocean front at the new Honua Kai Resort & Spa

Walk to Duke’s – stay at the Honua Kai Resort & Spa!

Duke’s Beach House Website

5-Star restaurant at a 5-star resort, the Honua Kai Resort & Spa

5-star all the way

Ahhh this is how winter looks in Maui and at the Honua Kai Resort & Spa

(808) 662-2900

Make a Reservation by Clicking Here!

(Reservations are highly recommended – make them weeks ahead of time for holidays)
(There are 600 villas at the Honua Kai – you betcha you need reservations)
(There are 400 Westin villas just a 5-minute walk away – you’ve been warned)

One of the great things about Maui is the ability to sit outside 24/7 365 days a year without the a/c running or mosquito screening.  Duke’s Beach House is just that – you sit right next to the Pacific ocean and can watch the Maui sun setting each night; folks fly in from all over the world to see just that!  The weather is perfect as are Duke’s meals, drinks, and other goodies.  Same with the Honua Kai – each villa has a floor to ceiling glass wall that opens to let in the perfect Maui weather and ambiance.

If you look up “Paradise on earth” you will see Maui as the #1 definition.  (Assuming you don’t want a 3rd world destination or overrun by warlords)

On North Beach in Ka’anapali, located in the Honua Kai Resort & Spa, Duke’s Beach House offers stunning views out to the Pacific Ocean and of the islands of Lanai and Molokai.  From this distinctly Maui vantage point, you are invited to also get a glimpse into the life of Hawaii’s most honored son and surfing pioneer, Duke Kahanamoku.

We invite you travel back to a bygone era as if you are Duke’s guest in his beachside vacation home filled with vintage surf memorabilia and photographs of his life as Hawaii’s most revered waterman and ambassador of Aloha.

This open-air restaurant offers a breakfast menu filled with traditional favorites that are enhanced with local flavors, like the Onolicious French Toast made with Molokai sweet bread and lilikoi butter. You will find the lunch menu filled with casual fare including sandwiches, burgers, salads and island favorites like Huli Huli Chicken and Ho Daddy Fish & Chips.

For dinner Duke’s Beach House not only serves up spectacular sunsets, but tantalizing pupus and share plates to start your evening. Entrees include a daily selection of the finest seasonal and sustainable fresh fish offered in a variety of preparations along with classic cuts of USDA Prime steaks.

No visit to Duke’s is complete without dessert and the Kimo’s Original Hula Pie® is not to be missed.  You’ve got to drop by and try the Hula Pie while staying at the Honua Kai Resort & Spa!

Read about Duke

Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily

Reservations accepted (808) 662-2900

Maui Arts & Cultural Center

Don’t be a carpetbagger and visit Maui without learning something about Hawaiian and Maui culture – lucky for you there are many places to pickup some culture while staying on Maui.  Try to imagine life on Maui without the Maui Arts & Cultural Center; It can’t be done.

Celebrating its 16th anniversary this year, the MACC is the undisputed cultural center of Maui.

It will come as no surprise to island residents, who have seen their children grow up dancing hula, or ballet, in the studios, then have watched many of the greatest dance artists in the world set foot on the same stage in Castle Theater.

“On behalf of all of us at the Maui Arts &Cultural Center, we are happy that our community enjoys the wide spectrum of programs we offer,” says Hokulani Holt, kumu hula and the MACC’s director of cultural programs.

“We invite our friends and neighbors to come and enjoy some familiar or new experiences with us.Mahalo for this great honor.”

With a leadership change this summer that made Art Vento executive vice-president of operations and Teri Freitas Gorman executive vice-president of external affairs, the center’s tastes are as far-ranging and diverse as its multi-ethnic island home.

Popular artists like Jimmy Buffet, Journey or Sheryl Crow have packed the outdoor amphitheaters in recent months with crowds approaching 4,000. The moon, the palm trees and the balmy night air add their own contributions, making the experience unique for the artists as well as the audience.

In the mean time, the annual season presented by the MACC has brought the wide world of culture to our shores, from classical and jazz giants to artists sharing the distinctive voices of their distant homelands.

Maui Culture

Hawaiian culture—its dance, its music, its mana—has long been the bedrock of theMACC’s programming, fromits Ho‘onanea Music Series to its free Ki Ho‘alu (Slack Key) Festival, sponsored by The Maui News.

“Since opening in May of 1994, the MauiArts&Cultural Center has welcomed more than 3.2million people,” notes Freitas Gorman. “MACC is also Maui’s largest classroom with more than 21,000 students annually learning through its Can Do!Days and arts education programs. Last year alone, nearly 236,000 people participated in over 1,000 activities including performances, films, exhibits, classes, teacher workshops, student band concerts and amphitheater events. The Center’s visionary inaugural slogan, ‘It’s for all of us,’ has certainly become a reality.”

First Place:
The MACC
One CameronWay
Kahului, Maui
808-242-7469

Second Place:
Old Lahaina Luau
1251 Front St.
Lahaina, Maui
808-667-1998

Third Place:
‘Ulalena
Maui Theatre
Old Lahaina Center
Lahaina, Maui
808-661-9913

Jaw dropping views

From the Honua Kai you are about 15 minutes from north Maui and sheer cliffs 500 feet high – you’ve seen them on many movies.  Why not have the wedding ceremony where the movie companies film?

Click to read more

The wedding coordinator that dominates the northern part of Maui is Maui Wedding Planners which have access to a private estate overlooking 500 foot cliffs of northern Maui.

Watch their slide show and judge for yourself.

This kind of wedding is sheltered from the rain, which happens every day on Maui normally just for a few minutes.  The reception can take place on the same grounds.

Another company that specializes in leasing private residences that overlook breathtaking ocean vistas is A Maui Wedding Day.  Basically they lease a mansion with a million dollar view from 10 am – 10 pm and the ceremony and reception take place at the mansion.

This kind of wedding can be influenced by stormy weather and just about every part of Maui has its own season – the wedding coordinator knows the best time of the year for the wedding and heed their advice.

Just about all these fantastic locations are on north Maui and just minutes from the Honua Kai.  I can take care of the accommodations for you and the wedding planner takes care of everything else.

The best part of all of this is that the honeymoon is on Maui and the guests can enjoy all the activities that Maui has to offer.

Whalers Village is a “must see” while on the northern half of Maui.  This fantastic mall offers all kinds of restaurants, shops, designer boutiques, art gallerias, fashion stores, museums and activities.  Whalers Village is right on the Ka’anapali Beach and you can swim in the Pacific Ocean and have lunch or dinner just steps away; in fact you will see folks doing just that.

Click the above map to see a larger version

Whalers Village
2435 Ka’anapali Parkway
Open daily 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Plenty of covered parking
808-661-4567

You can walk the boardwalk from the Honua Kai to Whalers Village – takes 45 minutes and the stroll is fantastic.  Its a lot of fun and 100% of the way you are on a boardwalk so a baby stroller can be pushed with no trouble.  Part of the walk is next to a golf course – listen for the “Fore” and golf balls – its easy to tell when you are on the golf course.

Whalers Village Museum
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily
808-661-5992
Free admission

Whales!

If you’ve never been to this museum you have missed out on a fine museum which does a great job of giving the history of whaling in the Hawaiian waters.  From 1820 to 1860 Lahaina was a very busy whaling town and this museum relives those wild and woolly days.  This is a “must see” when on Maui.

*** NOTE ***

Since I last published this article 6 months ago Honua Kai’s own restaurant, Duke’s Beach House has opened.  It’s too early for comparisons but if you are in the area or are staying at the Honua Kai you might want to give them a try.  Click here for more information.

• 1st Place goes to Nick’s Fishmarket-Maui
• 2nd Place goes to Lahaina Grill
• 3rd Place goes to The Maalaea Waterfront Restaurant

Nick’s Fishmarket-Maui

Nick's Fishmarket Maui; 45 minutes from Honua Kai

4100 Wailea Alanui Dr
Kihei, HI 96753-8449
(808) 879-7224

Website: tristarrestaurants.com

Who doesn’t want fast and courteous service at a restaurant?  Well Nick’s Fishmarket of Maui has been awarded that distinction for 2009!  This fine restaurant is located in south Maui in Wailea – we have been there and the service and food and location are just fantastic.

Each table of this two-time Best Service winner in The Maui News utilizes the concept of “team service” where every table gets a captain, front waiter,
back waiter and busser to attend to their every need. All the floor staff start as kitchen stockers and must complete intensive practical training and written testing before being promoted to the next level.

Nick’s is just south of the Wailea Shopping Village and about a 45 minute drive south from the Honua Kai.

Lahaina Grill

Lahaina Grill; 12 minutes from the Honua Kai

127 Lahainaluna Road
Lahaina, Maui  96753 (808) 667-5117

Website: LahainaGrill.com

Located in the historic Lahaina Inn in Lahaina this restaurant has won almost two decades of awards for their fine restaurant and food.  The HONOLULU MAGAZINE readers’ poll for 2009 voted it the best Maui restaurant in fact, and for 16 years in a row!

The Lahaina Grill is a 12 minute drive from the Honua Kai and reservations are a must.  Around the holidays call a month or two in advance!  We have eaten at this fine restaurant many times and it is fantastic!

The Maalaea Waterfront Restaurant

50 Hauoli St. • Maalaea, Maui • 808-244-9028

This waterfront restaurant is one of the best-kept secrets of Maui and hidden away near Maalaea Harbor which is halfway between Wailea and Lahaina.  It has won many awards for Best Service for the past 6+ years for Maui.

Website: Waterfrontrestaurant.net

Great Book!

When it comes to fashion, women want it all. It has to be stylish, comfortable and above all, affordable. Here on Maui, Mahina is the answer to every fashionista’s prayers. With three locations across the island, Paia, Kihei and Lahaina, this fun boutique is tops on Maui News readers’ best-dressed list.

Owners Joe Wilmot and Jody Curtin describe the Mahina look as “effortless, beachy chic.” In other words, the racks are filled with colorful, breezy and comfortable styles that range from dresses to blouses. Most items fall somewhere between $19 to $48, leaving plenty of room to browse the selection of jewelry, bags and shoes.

Joe and Jody hand-select each piece before it hits the racks, promising clothes that not only look good from afar, but feel good up close. “We’re very tactile and we love things that feel amazing against the skin,” reports Joe.

Maui Legends

Word to the wise: If you see something you like, snatch it up. The stores receive new inventory weekly, meaning many items have a short shelf life. And since Joe and Jody order just a few pieces of each style, the chances of running into someone wearing the identical dress are slim. When it comes to being style savvy and financially frugal, Mahina has got you covered.

First Place (3 locations):
Mahina
23 Baldwin Ave.
Paia, Maui
808-579-9131
Mahina’s Website

1913-B S. Kihei Road
Kihei, Maui
808-879-3453

Lahaina Gateway
Lahaina, Maui
808-661-0383

Second Place:
Bille J Boutique
444 Hana Highway
Kahului, Maui
808-893-0044

Third Place:

Chico’s
3750 Wailea Alanui Drive
Wailea, Maui
808-891-1647

One cook stirs organic fresh tomatoes in a cauldron hanging over a kiawe fire and then sweetens the soon-to-be sauce with maple syrup. Over the open fire next to it, another cook caramelizes organic onions in a humongous cast-iron skillet.

Flatbread Company in Paia has a “purpose” to use “clean food without unwanted chemicals or pesticides and to use organic and local ingredients, if possible.” Dough is made from 100-percent organically grown wheat milled into white flour. Meats range from nitrate-free pepperoni to free-range pork. Mozzarella is premium whole milk.

“We make all organic wood-fired pizzas in a primitive clay oven,” says General Manager Jenna Haugaard. “And Tuesday Night is benefit night, where non-profit groups get $3.50 back from each large pizza ordered. And, $1.75 from small pizzas. All you have to do is come in on Tuesdays to dine and these groups benefit.”

Popular pizzas include Pele Pesto of organic Maui basil, macadamia nuts and garlic with Surfing Goat Dairy cheese, Haiku organic tomatoes, Kalamata olives and organic herbs. Other sought-after pies are Jay’s Heart, Mopsy’s Kalua Pork, and Paia Bay Ohana.

The first Wednesday of each month features live music by the Haiku Hillbillies.

First place:
Flatbread Company
89 Hana Highway
Paia.Maui
808-579-8989
www.flatbreadcompany.com

Second place:
BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse
730 Front St.
Lahaina , HI 96761
808.661.5390

Third place:
Round Table Pizza
207 Piikea Ave. #61 • Kihei • 808-874-8485
Fairway Shops at Kaanapali • 808-662-0777

Gift Card