Hale Pau Hana Blog

Escape the Traffic!

2008-06-26T11:33:00.009-10:00

Traffic jams? Not on Maui these days!

We have a new road from the airport that has changed the driving directions to Hale Pau Hana. With the addition of one traffic light, you now turn left on the 7th light in Kihei - Ke Ali'i Alanui is the street name. The road is 4 lanes and raised up in areas that were flood-prone. It has cut driving time dramatically and it should only take you about 30 min. to get to Hale Pau Hana from the airport.

The closures of Aloha and ATA Airlines in early May have affected the cost and number of available seats inbound to Maui. This means less traffic also, and it means we have more choices on units available for you. Unless you are wanting to come around holidays or dates when the majority also travel, there’s a good chance we can offer you a wide array of unit options. September is the slowest month we will see this fall - So how about a September visit to Maui?

Escape the traffic!

800-367-6036

BBQ Moved

2008-05-24T15:44:00.004-10:00

After some weeks of work the twin BBQ on the high-rise lawn have been moved to a new location close to the pool. It opened up the view towards the beach as well as a leaving more direct walking access to the stairs. This spring we have seen days with volcanic haze - we call it VOG - that originate from Madam Pele’s home in the Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island. Kilauea has, in recent months, been venting sulfur clouds into the air instead of lava down the slope and the clouds are carried to Maui from the Big Island with winds from the south – which is only 5% of the year – 95% of the year wind are from the north.

We do have seasons on Maui!

2008-04-20T16:22:00.005-10:00

Pau Hana Ohana,

Whales have all but a few left the islands and gone to gain weight up in the colder climates. They will return again next winter. “Winter Season” is surf season and with the many south swell days hitting our beach this season. The lava rocks under the property next door have been exposed for some time. Turtles have been spotted regularly eating the weeds growing on the lava.

Surf season is over now and we look to calmer less windy days for summer. Also our daytime high temperature changes 15 degrees and typically reaching a maximum of 95 degrees in August and September. Water temperature changes 10 degrees from what we call a chilly low 70’s to a comfortable low 80’s in mid-summer. On property, in winter you may catch the staff in longer sleeves during the morning hours, while our guests enjoy the morning sunshine in a bathing suit. So you see - Seasons do change over here – just not the color of our fauna. May Spring be in your steps!

Kasper, Resort Manager

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-29T15:31:00.013-10:00

The Easter Egg hunt at HPH is always egg-citing for both adults and children at Hale Pau Hana. As adults we see busy little bodies run across the lawn with baskets or bags in hand to collect eggs with eager facial expressions on their faces while we watch whales and turtles in the distance – hard to beat. This year we had a bit fewer children than prior years but with face painting and Hawaiian palm weaving they all got an extra treat. The eggs do not hold chocolate anymore here at HPH – we found that chocolate left out in the 80 degree temperature makes a mess. We give prizes to all the children instead. Melissa from our office did the face painting while Uncle Francis, who is the MC at our Tuesday Hula shows from time to time, taught weaving to the kids. Adults with their coffee in hand watched from their lanais and I saw a lot of smiles – and a few big ears - Good Fun!!

Golf Tournament Benefit in Kihei

2008-03-17T14:54:00.005-10:00

Hale Pau Hana Resort was asked to help some of our return guests with their golf charity event last weekend, March 15th. We donated a sign which benefited Trinity By The Sea church here in Kihei, and it’s members. Hale Pau Hana participants posted a Photo album of their fun at the event. Most of all, some of our guests had a ball and some good laughs together and we were happy to help.

– Kasper, Resort Manager

Whales celebrate the Green Flash!

2008-02-21T18:02:00.000-10:00

Spectacular sunset at Tuesday night's hula show. Music and dance paused while guests looked for the "green flash" as the sun set. Much to our surprise, two humpback whales breached right in front of the orange sun, just seconds before it completely disappeared below the horizon. What timing! Not one, but TWO whales gave us all a breathtaking show - right in front of the sun's disk! Then, just to remind us that we really are in paradise, we got the green flash as well. Not an evening any of us will forget any time soon. (Read about the green flash here.)

Snow On Maui

2008-02-01T11:12:00.000-10:00

Aloha Friends,
This week "cold" on Maui means a sweater in the morning and bikini in the late morning. On January 29th, all day for just the second time in 12 years, we had what looked to be snow on top of Haleakala Crater – 63 degrees in the morning at Hale Pau Hana – horrible cold! It lasted through Thursday ~ See the story in the Maui News.

Whales A'Hoy

2008-01-22T20:22:00.002-10:00

The Whales have arrived and we see them daily from the lawn - it seems they are staying out in the deep water as we have yet to see them in close to shore along hale Pau Hana Resorts beach.

Talking about beach - the beach sand has been collected and moved out under the surf. This is the winter surf season and the surfers are loving it as it has been hitting north and south shores with big and small. The sand will be brought back up on our beach as mother nature decides to slow down the surf a bit - but as you will be able to see via our web-cam it is not keeping anyone from the water.

Chilly winter in Kihei: Brrrrr.... Air is in the 60's during the dark hours and the 70's and 80's during the day.

Enjoying the whales from the water...

Kasper (Resort Manager) and his son, Little Kasper, took a whalewatch last weekend for his birthday. A perfect Maui present!

Staying Busy Full for Christmas 2008

2008-01-18T16:19:00.000-10:00

If you do not have your reservation in for Christmas 2008 or New Year 2008/2009 - I am sorry to say we have already booked every available room and wait list we will start in late November 2008.

New Years Eve Fire Dancing

2008-01-05T10:05:00.000-10:00

The New Year came with a bang of a Hula Show where we this year had 10 dancers to overwhelm and bring in the new year - the finale was three fire knife dancers arriving in outrigger canoes - they came as a surprise out of the darkness over the water onto the beach to perform for us. Amazing show and I am told we have started working on next year's show topper.

Out with the old, In with the new

2007-12-27T14:46:00.000-10:00

It New Year's eve soon. If you are on Maui stop by on New Years Eve and enjoy a hour long hula show with a few surprises included... May you all have a Happy New Year that includes a trip to Hale Pau Hana
~ Kasper

Special Maui Christmas

2007-12-26T14:52:00.000-10:00

In most places Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, etc. are associated with Santa's arrival. Here in Maui, we get our own special version. Aided by the Kihei Canoe Club, Santa arrived by boat to bring a Ho Ho Ho right to our own Hale Pau Hana beach. Christmas caroling and festivities followed.

To share the fun, you can view a slideshow of Santa's 2007 visit, or even purchase pictures!

Santa's Coming to Town!

2007-12-21T05:33:00.000-10:00

A heads up: We have heard from a little elf that Santa will arrive in an outrigger canoe on the beach in front of Hale Pau Hana at 9 AM Hawaiian Time Saturday December 22nd

Note: The webcam use is limited to 50 viewers so we suggest you log-on early for that event. Remember there is a 2 hour difference to Los Angeles and 6 hour difference to the East Coast.

Flooding in Kihei

2007-12-12T05:28:00.000-10:00

On Tuesday December 4th a high wind warning caused us to cancel our Tuesday Hula show. The following day we heard that Honolulu had been hit by a storm that was coming our way so we tried to get the housekeepers finish fast so they could get home before the storm came to Maui. When they left at 2 PM the storm was right over us with winds up to 40 miles per hour and heavy rains. The ground up the mountain was saturated and on Wednesday the storm brought a flash flood down to the road South Kihei Road (along our parking lot) which was closed several places due to standing and running flash floods. The flash flood washed debris and runoff down on the beaches and the excess water caused the lifeguard tower to lean forward about 45 degrees. The beaches surrounding Hale Pau Hana were closed for two days after the storm due to dangerous conditions. View flood pictures >>

The water and sand were found to be in good condition as usual and eventually they opened up part of the beaches for us all to enjoy again. As mentioned, debris was brought down onto the beach and the waves kept the floating matter of wicks and branches on the beaches. This debris was picked up and removed by volunteers and our life guards. The life guard tower is currently getting a new foundation. The weather has turned nice again and the beach sand that is scattered out below the waves is slowly coming back to us and we expect you will be able to view a full beach via the web-cam again before New Year.

Turkey Luau

2007-11-22T13:09:00.000-10:00

This year's Thanksgiving event was attended by nearly 100 people. Catered by Big Wave Cafe in the Long's shopping plaza in Kihei. We had Hawaiian entertainment with a hula show.

Boo! Creatures on the Beach

2007-10-30T16:23:00.000-10:00

Today, the guests at the resort appear to be "normal". But beware. Tomorrow, many will mysteriously transform into strange and unique creatures and ghouls. Every year the staff and guests have a blast gawking at each other's costumes or sometimes just plain trying to figure out what everyone is. We take special events seriously, with lots of fun required! Stop by our little spot of paradise to get a chill or a laugh.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Whale Season is here!

2007-10-28T14:27:00.000-10:00

Technically "Whale Season" begins December 15th, but there are a lucky few who may see them now. Hale Pau Hana is a good place to catch them. Because all the units have an ocean view, it's easy to lounge around, gazing out over the sea, and you just might see something irregular out on the water. The upper high rise units are especially good for seeing far out. The first whale was seen weeks ago from a snorkeling boat. Early in the year, but exciting, none-the-less. This is the time of year we keep our eyes on the ocean, looking for a blow or splash.