Kapalua News

For all you golf fans—specifically LPGA fans—out there, Kapalua Resort is hosting a brand new LPGA Tour tournament this October 2008. Known as the Kapalua LPGA Classic, it takes place Oct 13-19 on the Bay Course at Kapalua. While Kapalua has been hosting the PGA Tour’s Mercedes-Benz Championship in January for years, this is Kapalua’s first ever women’s golf tournament.

Kapalua announced this event through this press release about the Kapalua LPGA Classic. It is a great addition to Kapalua’s fine lineup of signature events. The tournament pays out a $1.5 million purse, which will certainly attract the best women golfers in the world. The LPGA Tour starts in February and plays through November each year.

For accommodations to the Kapalua LPGA Classic on the Bay Course, Kapalua recommends the Kapalua Villas which are conveniently located.

The annual Maui Film Festival is being held at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Wailea, Maui on June 11-15, 2008. This is a wonderful, relaxing, fun event for the whole family – an excellent excuse to come visit Maui. The films are shown on a variety of outdoor theaters—the Celestial Cinema, the SandDance Theater, and the Maui SkyDome—providing a unique under-the-stars viewing experience. Festival attendees will be treated to a selection of 60 feature films and 25 short films, as well as 4 special Conversations & Awards Tributes to actors Pierce Brosnan, Virginia Madsen, Dennis Quaid, and Felicity Huffman.

Many people meet up with friends and family to enjoy the festival together. As one festival goer from MangoTree Photography says, “It has become the way we kick off our summers here in Maui!”

The Maui Film Festival and Wailea, Maui are just a hop, skip & a jump away from the Kapalua Resort, only about 30 miles away. Kapalua offers excellent accommodations and vacation packages for June, as well as an endless supply of activities for all ages and pursuits – it’s a great place to stay if you’re in town for the Maui Film Festival.

Image courtesy of Maui Film Festival

As summer approaches, vacation plans start to take form. No family vacation discussion is likely to occur without someone bringing up a Hawaiian vacation. A vacation to Hawaii is a certainly a candidate for one of the best family vacations around. There are so many activities that a family can enjoy on a trip to Hawaii.

Maui is an excellent choice for a family vacation to Hawaii. And the best way to enjoy Maui is at the beautiful Maui resort of Kapalua. In addition to luxurious accommodations that include villas or condos with kitchens that fit any family size, Kapalua offers fun activities for every family member. Activities at Kapalua run from mauka to makai (mountain to ocean). So there is sure to be something for everyone.

Kapalua Adventure Center - a mountain outpost in the rain forest above the resort

• Zipline Tours
• Challenge Course
• Climbing Tower
• Hiking

Tennis - an award-winning facility, on-site professionals, year-round tournaments

Golf - recognized as #1 in Hawaii for Best Golf Resort by Travel + Leisure Golf Magazine - two 18-hole championship golf courses - The Bay and The Plantation

Kayak - spectacular ocean trek along Maui coastline

Whale Watching - whale watching excursions, interactive educational displays, art and photo exhibits

Snorkeling - consistently ranked as a top spot for snorkeling on Maui

Other activities that are exciting Maui activities are avalaible through Kapalua’s expert concierges and include:

• Helicopter Tours
• Road Biking
• Mountain Biking
• Driving tours and sightseeing
• Luaus
• Magic shows
• Theater / Ulalena or Maui Film Festival or MACC performances
• Sailing
• SCUBA Diving
• Adventure Rafting
• Parasailing (in season)
• Jet Skis (in season)
• Sunset Sails
• Dinner Sails
• Private Chefs
• Private Charters for any of the above
• Custom Charters

The pineapple plantations of Kapalua are one of the many wonderful attractions of the Kapalua Resort, offering fun for the entire family, from golf at the Plantation Course to the very popular Maui Gold Pineapple Tour—these pineapple plantations are owned and operated by Maui Pineapple Company. Similar to this KapaluaNews.com blog, Maui Pineapple Company has also recently joined the blogging ranks with their new blog, PineappleNews.com, which they announced in this press release.

The purpose of the new PineappleNews.com blog is described as “an opportunity for Maui Pineapple Company to connect with their customers and share their pineapple expertise.” You want to know more about pineapple than you thought possible? Go to PineappleNews.com. Congratulations to Maui Pineapple for taking this important step in this modern online age.

If a Hawaiian vacation in your plans in June, be sure and head to northwest Maui the week of June 26 – 29, 2008 for the 27th annual Kapalua Wine & Food Festival at the world-class Kapalua Resort. This is always a premier event on Maui and draws Hawaiian tourists and locals alike. The theme for the 2008 Kapalua Wine & Food Festival is “Savor the Magic of Maui.”

The Kapalua Wine & Food Festival gathers hundreds of avid food and wine connoisseurs to the world-class Hawaiian vacation resort at Kapalua, Maui. Master Sommelier Fred Dame, President of the Court of Master Sommeliers will host “Savor the Magic of Maui.”

It is hard to imagine anything better than exquisite food prepared by top chefs combined with fine wines from around the world all presented in the beauty and splendor of Kapalua. There is something for everyone at the Festival including an extensive selection of dynamic wine seminars and tastings, culinary demonstrations and gala events.

You can attend this delectable event by purchase a four-day festival pass. Tickets for ala carte events are also available online. For more information, you can also call 1-888-665-9160.

The rainy season for Maui (Dec-Mar) is officially over, and now we are into the first of the “shoulder seasons,” which comprise Apr-May and Sep-Oct; the shoulder seasons are the seasons that provide the buffer between the two peak tourist seasons in Maui (the winter and summer vacation seasons). Because the shoulder seasons are slower tourist seasons, airplane flights and hotel rooms are usually discounted to attract travelers, so from now until the end of May is an ideal time to travel to Maui. The weather will be excellent, and you’ll be able to enjoy it with fewer other vacationers in your way and at more affordable rates.

For example, Kapalua Resort has a number of great vacation accommodations packages currently available at special rates. Please see this recent press release for more details. Many of these packages include golf, tennis, rental car, or other activity and event specials.

Right now, travel sites such as Expedia.com are also offering special discounts on Hawaii vacation packages and flights to Hawaii and Maui if you book within the next 2-3 weeks and/or travel within May. Check out the options from your home airport—you might find a deal too good to refuse.

TripAdvisor released its Top 10 Spring Beach Destinations. According to the website,

“We’ve tapped into millions of travelers’ opinions to create this free list of the best destinations in the world.”

And so we pass this list on to you.

1. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

2. Maui, Hawaii

3. Outer Banks, N.C.

4. Bahamas

5. Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

6. Key West, Fla.

7. Bermuda

8. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

9. Santa Monica, Calififornia

10. Turks and Caicos

No surprise to us that a vacation on the beaches in Maui, Hawaii vied for the top position. Maui offers some of the finest beaches in the world. Kapalua Bay at Kapalua Resort in Maui is consistently ranked as one of the best beaches in the world. In fact, Kapalua Bay has been ranked the number one beach out of a total of 650 beaches reviewed worldwide. The survey was based on 50 physical, biological and human considerations, including texture and color of sand, frequency of breaking waves and degree of solitude.

The highly anticipated 27th annual Kapalua Wine and Food Festival is coming up in just two short months, running June 26-28, 2008. This is the longest-running and most prestigious wine and food festival in Hawaii, and is a favorite among food and wine lovers. My eyes are wide and my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

This year’s festival is named “Savor the Magic of Maui,” and is hosted by Fred Dame, Master Sommelier and President of the Guild of Sommeliers Education Foundation. The festival is a wonderful chance for attendees to rub elbows with master sommeliers, premier winemakers, celebrated chefs, and other industry insiders. The festival is chock full of culinary demonstrations & seminars, wine tasting seminars, a seafood festival, and The Grand Tasting, which brings everyone together at the Ritz-Carlton.

Specifically, some of the scheduled highlights for the 2008 Wine & Food Festival are:

• In the Kitchen with Celebrity Chef Pano Karatassos: Friday, June 27, 2008
• The Grand Tasting: Friday, June 27, 2008
• Fred Dame’s Rare Wines Dinner: Saturday, June 28, 2008
• Kapalua Seafood Festival: Sunday, June 29, 2008

Do any of these events whet your appetite? For more specific details, visit the pages on Kapalua.com, also see Kapalua’s recent press release about the festival, or you can call 1-888-665-9160. Kapalua offers special accommodation and attendance packages for festival-goers, or a 4-day pass for the entire festival, or you can attend events separately, ala carte. This promises to be a gala event. What better place to savor excellent wine and food at such a festival than in the beautiful location of Maui?

More good stuff from Kapalua Resort in Maui, Hawaii. The luxury resort known for some of the best beaches in the world announced the opening of unique and exciting new amenities at this scenic Hawaiian property. The new state-of-the-art Kapalua Adventure Center and Mountain Outpost opened in March and offers travelers to Maui exceptional mountain and outdoor adventures.

Mountain Zipline in Maui

The Kapalua Mountain Outpost is sure to attract adventure travel enthusiasts. Maui, Hawaii provides an ideal setting for adventure activities. Located up mountain from Kapalua Resort, the Mountain Outpost is home to one of America’s largest zipline courses. Imagine nearly two miles of scenic zipping across mountain ravines and rain forest on eight dual-track ziplines. The Kapalua Mountain Outpost offers the only parallel zipline system in Hawaii.

If the views of the Pacific from the West Maui mountains don’t stir your soul, maybe a zip line that travels 2,100 feet and drops 243 feet in elevation and reaches speeds up to 40 mph will raise your pulse!

If speed isn’t your gig, the Kapalua Mountain Outpost also lets you test yourself against the a high ropes challenge course or scale its climbing tower. You can also walk across Hawaii’s longest suspension bridge at the Mountain Outpost. This 360 foot long walking bridge spans a steep gulch - up to 130 feet high in spots – and affords dazzling views and photo opportunities of Maui and the Pacific in all directions.

If you fancy yourself an observer of adventure rather than a participant, book yourself on the popular Mountain Outpost tour which features an eco-experience that combines adventure with education. Guests are immersed in Hawaiian culture, history, geography, flora and fauna.

Thinking about popping the question? Not sure how or where?

TripAdvisor isn’t helping with the “how” but they compiled a handy list for where.

Kapalua Bay Beach hit the third spot following Central Park, New York and the Grand Canyon, Arizona.

As reported in Forbes,

3. Kapalua Bay Beach, Maui, Hawaii

On the northwest shore of Maui, featuring mountain peaks and ocean views, Kapalua Bay beach is an uber romantic destination. Secluded and serene, Kapalua offers clear blue water, white sand, palm trees and amazing sunsets … need we say more? As one TripAdvisor traveler offered, “For pure and serene relaxation, the unencumbered beach ambience is almost unmatched.”

The report does not lie. While I could not have conjured a description such as “uber romantic destination,” Kapalua Bay Beach and the resident Kapalua Resort and Villas are truly “unmatched.”

And unlike Central Park (too cold in the winter) and the Grand Canyon (too hot in the summer), Kapalua on the Hawaiian island of Maui is a tropical with a mild year-round climate tempered by the trade winds of the Pacific Ocean. The average daily temperature is 78 degrees in summer and 72 degrees during winter months.