Hangin’ with Abby

Ok, so after 2 years of not flying anywhere for vacation we finally booked it. I wanted this vacation to be long, relaxing and fun for the whole family. After a month of searching online and debating between Turks and Caicos Islands , Mexico and Hawaii we decided with Hawaii. Yep, with the rest of California 🙂 I am not really crazy for Hawaii but it seems like that is the only place I find to be hmm not sure what the word is but ..maybe accommodating ….or like a place where you will be treated like you are actually on vacation. The right word isn’t coming to me. In short, I was disappointed with Turks and Caicos because of all the comments I read about how you have to get a butler service in order to enjoy basically everything. No, thank you. I am already paying $$$ to stay in these nice resorts and now you want more from me so I can get pool chair or get a seat at a restaurant before anyone else. NOT! Ain’t no one fighting for a pool chair and no one is standing in line for hours …that isn’t a vacation. You will never see me there. Then Mexico, well we are definitely going there next summer. I miss Cabo and Puerto Vallarta but my friends were suggesting to skip it this year due to the news on cartel. Again, I am trying to relax on my vacation. Soooo Hawaii won! I was looking for the best resort that will make both parents and kids happy. I looked at Turtle Bay …too expensive and out in the boonies. I like convenience. Plus they didn’t have enough at over at the resort itself. That’s just my opinion. I watched tons of videos and gave up until one night… I found Koloa Landing in Kauai https://koloalandingresort.com. What caught my eyes is that it said ‘ Best pool in America’. okay, that works. We have also never been to this Island so why not. The price was also way better than all the other fancy resorts I checked out. Of course you can find cheaper prices in parts of Honolulu but that is just too busy for me. I just can’t do busy places like that. Anyway, it turned out to be a great vacation. I will recommend activities and restaurants at this location below.

Kauai/ Koloa Landing- recommend (R) or don’t recommend (NR)

1. Always take advantage of the complimentary things the resort offers (R).
   • Yummy complimentary coffee and iced tea everyday
   • Smores night
2. Pastries and Acai from the market (R)
3. Cafe Portofino – not far from the resort (R)
4. $10 for kids meal at the one and only restaurant on the resort…not a bad price for Hawaii. You get a burger/ hotdog with fries (R)
5. Bring your own floats or pool items (R)
6. Lots of pool features and slides (R)
7. Two shopping plazas on both sides of resort that you can walk to (R)… one has Starbucks although I am not a fan of Starbucks anymore… was chasing some good Hawaiian coffee from the local cafes..honey late is my fav!! )
8. Sunset cruise to see Na Pali coast (NR for those that get motion sickness. Also ask about the food if you are doing a dinner cruise, it wasn’t all that for us.)
9. Surf classes at Titus Kinimaka’s (R) Try the Brazilian food truck right next door (R)
10. Fire show at Hilton Garden Inn (NR, not worth the money)
11. Last but not least, RELAXATION BY THE POOL (R)