canoe

Hawaii's Kona Village Resort: Unplugged, Unpretentious, Unmatched

Kona Village Resort, on the Big Island of Hawaii, is a nominee for a Luxist Awards' Readers' Choice Award for Best Luxury Family Summer Vacation. The pristine resort features serene lagoons surrounded by lush, tropical landscaping as well as dramatic, surreal, black lava cliffs that plunge to meet the ocean.

Guests stay in thatched roof hales (Polynesian-inspired bungalows) on 82 oceanfront acres. No televisions, telephones, radios, air conditioners are there to distract. Coconuts supplant traditional "no disturb" signs,

Included in the guest rate are all daily meals, an award-winning, traditional Hawaiian luau and activities from snorkeling and tennis, to lei-making, stargazing and fishing the traditional way with bamboo poles.

Water-based activities include an Outrigger Canoe Program in which guests learn to paddle a canoe, Hawaiian-style. A Wiwo'ole Ribcraft Adventure is available for seasonal whale watching as well as cruises to hidden snorkeling sites with Scooters (dive propulsion vehicles). There's also standup paddleboarding, kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, and SCUBA diving (scuba dive instruction and certification programs are available as Kona Village is a PADI certified resort).

Gallery: Kona Village Resort, Hawaii

Tags: awards-main, canoe, Hawaii, Hualalai Golf Course, kayaking, Kona, Kona Village Resort, luxist-awards, SCUBA, scuba diving, stand-up paddle boarding, whale watching, windsurfing

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Maui Four Seasons Announces Special Rates

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

The Four Seasons on Maui at Wailea is consistently rated as one of the top hotels on earth, and so as you'd expect, this newly renovated property, owned by Michael Dell, isn't meant to be a bargain: its 1,400 square foot stunning ocean-view suites run $2,495 a night. (The sunrise as seen from one those rooms pictured here.)

But the hotel has always been notable for the extras it provides, whether you're in a standard room or a suite. There are no nickle n' dime charges for poolside cabanas, for instance, nor for the sunglasses-cleaning service provided by attentive poolside staff. Also included: yoga, snorkeling, intro to scuba diving classes, and even an outrigger canoe excursion, in which you learn how to row in a traditional canoe, while learning canoeing commands in Hawaiian. What's more, the hotel has no plans to roll back (or start to charge for) these extras given the tough economy.

Still, the Four Seasons Maui is a bit more of a bargain now, as the hotel has just announced a new $395/night entry level rate, for its mountainside rooms, as well as a book four nights, get the fifth night free special. Personally, I'd use the savings to book a spa treatment at the property's hale hau, a traditional Hawaiian thatched roof hut. It's perfectly private, but situated right on the ocean, so you can hear the waves crashing while you're getting massaged, wrapped or facial-ed. A 110-minute massage costs $340 at the hale hau, couples get massaged together for $660.

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Tags: bargain, bargains, canoe, hawaii, hotel, spa

Whale Watch From A Canoe In Hawaii

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

I've been whale watching from a boat but never an outrigger canoe. That's the experience on offer at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. This is the time of year for whale watching in Hawaii as the North Pacific humpback whales make their annual journey toward warmer waters. The Four Seasons Whale Watching Package includes a free daytime excursion along with a four-night stay and a complimentary fifth night. For the less adventurous the whales can also be observed from shore. Rates start at $640 per night.

Last year brought a record number of humpback whales and this year's migration is expected to be similarly well-attended. Maui celebrates the return of the whales with a month of special events to learn more about these majestic creatures. Whale watching is a popular tourist event each winter but although the whales are in full force, as USA Today reports, some of the tourists are not. A video shot from one of the canoes is after the jump.

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Tags: canoe, four seasons, FourSeasons, maui, whale watching, WhaleWatching

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20ltd Caillou Boat

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

The latest limited edition from 20ltd is a perfect summer fantasy. They are selling a black fiberglass sailing canoe from Caillou, a company whose small but extremely well-made boats we recently profiled. The 20ltd Caillou boat can be used as a sailboat or as a kayak. It has a solid fiberglass deck and hull with mahogany trimming, two fiberglass seats with floatation cusions, two kayak paddles, a carbon fiber mast and a Dacron sail rig with carbon fiber batons. The boat weighs around 100 pounds and can be transported on the roof of your car using a Thule or Yakima rack. The boat is 17.5 feet with a 41-inch beam. There are just five of the special edition boats being made and they sell for $10,740 each.

[via Acquire]

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Tags: boat, caillou, canoe, kayak, sailboat

Caillou Boats: Smaller but Better?

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

When it comes to luxury it seems bigger is always better (with the exception of gadgets and technology, of course) but when it comes to boating Caillou is embracing a new philosophy: that small is good.

Inspired by sailboat designs from the 1800s and combining it with methods of today, Caillou strives to take the best of both old-fashioned boat building and modern technology to come up with a unique set of small boats that all have ease of use and convenience at heart. There are 3 different models available (Okume, Teak, and Glass) plus a small selection of used boats for sale on their website.

Gallery: Caillou Boats