enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

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Last week I shared photos from our family trip to Maui. We arrived on a Saturday and left on Saturday. In the middle – late Tuesday morning to Thursday morning, Paul and I got away to Wailea to celebrate our five year anniversary. We were very lucky to be traveling with both sets of Grandparents, so Ellerie had a lot of folks to love on her while we were gone.

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We decided early last year to go all out for this trip and so to find our hotel I google searched “fanciest Maui hotel.” I have no idea if the Andaz Resort where we stayed really is the fanciest but their website made it look the best so we booked (well actually… we forgot to book. Yes. We were the freak-shows that arrived, put on the complimentary leis and drank the complimentary lavender lemonade during check-in only to realize despite the fact that I had spent hours pouring over the website I HAD NEVER ACTUALLY BOOKED OUR STAY).

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Thankfully they had room because once I’d seen that entry way in real life, I was committed to at least setting up camp in lobby.

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The first day we were there I got a massage (it was my mother’s day gift) and the spa was amazing. If I hadn’t been pregnant I could have really taken advantage of the sauna and whirlpool, steam room but as it was, I sat in a comfy robe in a room that smelled great and read my book for an hour (which felt like all the worldly luxuries combined).

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The rooms themselves were beautiful. I didn’t get great photos but the bathroom set up was so beautiful and smartly designed. It made me want to re-do our bathrooms at home (which we WILL NOT be doing).

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Paul and I are the most low-key vacationers. We always have been and since having Ellerie have gotten even worse (better?). We really just like to sit. Eat good food. Drink good coffee. Go for walks. And most importantly, do the NY Times crossword. Talk about a luxury. Getting to take an hour playing with word clues while sipping coffee? This is my dream life. Also Eggs Benedict forever and ever.

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We walked a lot – about 45 minutes both mornings after breakfast – and there was a great (crowded!) trail that went for miles down the beach. We just hung out by the pool on Wednesday (which was the only full day we spent there).

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Other than one trip off-site to check out Monkeypod which we had heard great things about (and it was delicious! Get their non-alcoholic made in house Ginger Beer!) we stayed at the Andaz for dinner.

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We ate at both restaurants on-site for our dinners. Of the two, Morimoto Maui was the winner. I didn’t take photos of the food because I was too busy eating it, but we found that it worked great to just split everything so we could taste the most stuff.

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It was such a special, important, relaxing and revitalizing two days. We were grateful for the chance to spend it together. I would highly recommend the Andaz, especially as a honeymoon trip. There were tons of pregnant ladies there (I think it’s a popular babymoon destination too!) but if you’re being really strict about the no-shellfish, no raw fish rules, it might not be ideal. Anniversary trip though, good idea. Paul and I have already planned to return for our 10 year. And this time I will for sure make the reservations.

Clothing sources I have links for … my swimsuit (similar), hat, sunglasses. The dress in the top photo is from Nordstrom last spring. That super colorful dress is Anthro last fall. My white dress in the last photo is from Madewell clearance last summer. 

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18 responses to “the adult friendly portion of our trip to maui.”

  1. Erica Ambrosio Avatar
    Erica Ambrosio

    I can’t believe you didn’t book it. lol I’d go crazy, as I did once in a similar situation. Glad they had rooms available.
    Once we went to Toronto and my sister was in charge to book everything. It turns out we’d check out on Saturday and she booked our check out for Friday. Early on Friday I wake up and there was an “eviction notice” on our door. I couldn’t breath when I saw that. It was high season, we knew no one in Canada, we had lots of luggage and we were flying back home. Before decinding to sleep on the streets, we asked the manager if there were rooms available for that night. And there were! Twice the price we paid, but at least we didn’t sleep on the streets.

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  2. mandie Avatar

    Looks lovely! Today is my 9th anniversary, and we celebrated over the weekend by watching Pitch Perfect 2. Oy. 😉 Next year, I told my hubby we’re at least splurging for a fabulous photographer instead of doing our own photos!

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  3. Erica A. Avatar

    I have the feeling that I would also be a low-key vacationer. I just love to soak it all in. I feel like adding too much to my “to-do” list makes the time soar by. Not that it’s not fun, just that I don’t get to enjoy it as deeply.

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  4. Anna Avatar

    I am headed off on a trip to Guatemala/Belize/Mexico tomorrow and these gorgeous photos are making me excited for some serious beach time! This sounds like such a lovely vacation. And I ate at Morimoto Napa a couple years ago and it was fantastic!

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  5. Carol Chastain Avatar

    Whew! What a blessing you got a room! That will be a story you’ll talk about for Years! 🙂

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  6. Sarah Milligan Avatar

    Lovely. We spent our honeymoon in Lahaina and I would love to go back. I’m so with you on the slow breakfasts with good coffee, and poolside reading… perfection!

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  7. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    Elise, your trip looks wonderful and thank goodness they had a room for you! I have a strange question…is there any way you could post front and back full shots of your bathing suit on a flat surface? I would love to try to recreate the straps on a sewn suit but I can’t tell how they attach. It is lovely.

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  8. Becca Groves Avatar

    Oh man, not actually booking the hotel…hilarious! I can totally see that happening after hours and hours of drooling over the website. That is a funny story and I’m so glad it worked out for you guys! That they had room! This trip looks very worthy of a repeat. And thanks for bringing us all along on instagram. It was a lovely cyber vacation for the rest of us. 🙂
    Joyfully,
    Becca

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  9. Kristin B Avatar
    Kristin B

    Last year when my sister and I were travelling to Portugal, I accidentally booked us our room one day before we actually arrived. They were very confused at the desk when we turned up as they thought we were no shows the day before so didn’t have our reservation on hand. Luckily we had a room but I was definitely nervous throughout check in!
    The food looks so delicious and those pools are amazing! Glad you had fun!

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  10. Evalyn Avatar
    Evalyn

    Love Monkeypod! We were there (twice!) in January while on a family vacation. The garlic fries and fish tacos are delicious. I am planning on going to Maui at the end of July and staying at Andaz. The hotel looks amazing! (We usually stay at the Maui Beach and Golf Resort or 4Seasons.)

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  11. Nell Avatar
    Nell

    You did indeed stay at the fanciest hotel here in Maui 🙂 It was the talk of the island when it was being built! The Grand Wailea would have been the next best choice for Ellerie, they have an amazing kids center for the children as well as lots of water play activities for the small ones! Glad you enjoyed your trip! Cramming all the touristy stuff into a few days is over rated, the best vacations are the lazy ones!

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  12. Cari Avatar
    Cari

    Thanks for the great info. We went to Oahu in February and had a great time! Isn’t MonkeyPod the greatest? There is one in Ko Olina too and we really like it. Can’t wait to go back.

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  13. Carrie Avatar

    Ah, that sounds awesome. Good for y’all! And Andaz resorts are always a good choice.
    Carrie
    http://www.wearwherewell.com

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  14. Kelly Jean Avatar

    What an awesome trip! Such beautiful photos!

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  15. san Avatar

    That looks absolutely amazing! I am glad you got some couples’ time 🙂

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  16. natasha Avatar
    natasha

    Beautiful destination which is now on my list! On a side note, your bathing suit is gorgeous; would you mind sharing where it is from? Thanks!

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  17. Megan Avatar
    Megan

    In Napa we have an Andaz and Morimoto too! Just aheads up for a closer escape. Both are wonderful.

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  18. Monica Avatar
    Monica

    Hey Elise! Your stay at the Andaz looks amazing. We are going on a babymoon to Maui in September and leaving our 18 mo. old at home with the grandparents. Would you recommend Wailea over Kanapaali for a relaxing, kid-free vacation? We would love to stay at the Andaz but it’s out of our budget for 4 nights, so we will likely be staying at the Marriott next door. The other option is the Westin in Kanapaali. Thanks!

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