Kapalua Wine Festival with Ritz-Carlton

July 13, 2019

Written by ssgoldtravel

I just got back from an INCREDIBLE week at The Kapalua Wine Festival with The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. I grew up going to Maui quite a bit and to be honest, I had never stayed on that side of the island before. I always heard the weather wasn’t as good and that it was very windy but I have to say I have been missing out. The wind was actually so nice! We had 70-80 degree weather and if it weren’t for the wind it would have been way too hot. After this trip I have fallen in love with Kapalua and will be going back there next time I’m in Hawaii. I felt like it was less crazy busy, more things to do, great beaches and incredible restaurants. I listed my agenda below as well as some recommendations on restaurants and what to wear!

Thursday:

LAX – Maui

I was greeted at the airport gate with a very sweet man that had a lei ready to go and he carried my bags and escorted me to baggage claim. He then helped with our luggage and brought us to our private SUV car service to The Ritz-Carlton. The drive is about an hour so it was nice to have the private transportation and space.

Once we arrived to the hotel we were given welcome drinks and taken to our One Bedroom Oceanfront Suite! This suite is a MUST! It has a separate living room, bedroom, two full bathrooms and a large balcony that overlooks the ocean and part of the golf-course. The decor of the room is light, bright and felt like home 🙂

That day we had a cabana by the adult-only pool so we lounged in there, got some work done and had some lunch. The cabanas are great because it gives you some shade but also comes with you lounge chairs that are out front in the sun. It also has a TV, fully stocked fridge with non-alcoholic beverages and comes with a beautiful fruit platter. The pools are stacked at the hotel and the adult-only pool is up top so you really don’t hear any kids, etc. I actually think there were far less kids here than on the Wailea side as well.

That evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner at their newly remodeled restaurant called Banyan Tree! They have fresh seafood, tapas and incredible mixed cocktails. Even if you are not staying at The Ritz you should go to Banyan Tree for dinner!

Friday:

Every morning I’d wake up early and go to the gym or for a run. Then we’d pig out at their incredible breakfast buffet! The omelette bar was fabulous and the chef was very accommodating of all our allergies. I’m allergic to dairy so every time he would get a fresh new pan and use fresh eggs. They also had clearly marked common food allergies on all the dishes so it made it easy to know what we could and could not eat.

We then took private tennis lessons that the concierge arranged for us. It was such a great experience. After tennis I was so lucky to have scheduled a massage at their spa and it was one of the best massages I have ever had. My massage therapist knew pressure points very well and he got out some knots without it hurting at all!

The rest of the day was spent by the pool relaxing and enjoying the sun before the Kapalua Wine Festival White Party! This was such a fun event. If you like wine, seafood and Hawaii you HAVE TO GO! The first event was at The Montage set by the pool and overlooked the ocean and sunset. That night they had a DJ and dance floor next to the wine and food tasting.

White Party Outfit details//

Saturday:

We repeated our workout and breakfast buffet this morning.

This day we had a beautiful breakfast set out for us with Maui Jim. I loved the sunglasses I got – they are so durable and cute. They also are the best with making sure you are always happy with your sunglasses! I was with a friend that had hers for years and the frames completely cracked and they fixed them for her for free. They are a great company and I will be buying more Maui Jim’s for my future travels.

In evening we had the most incredible sunset sail with Trilogy Sailing and La Crema wines. We got the opportunity to be one of the first people to sail their newest catamaran Trilogy 4 which holds up to 80 people! It’s a huge catamaran that has seats with gorgeous wood tables throughout the upper deck. I could go on and on on how wonderful it was but I think photos will do it more justice!