The week before the trip we began hearing about a hurricane that was supposed to hit the Hawaiian islands the week that we were arriving. In almost all of the models, Kauai was going to be hit hard. At this point we kept our fingers crossed and hoped for the best. As of the day of departure, Kauai wasn’t going to be hit directly but the forecast called for heavy rain throughout our trip. Having been warned that the weather in Kauai is impossible to predict and that it can be raining one minute and sunny the next, we tried to stay optimistic.
Erev Shabbos before our trip, I saw saver award availability open on our flight to LAX in first class. I quickly grabbed the ticket. We had a 10 am flight out of JFK, a 4 pm from LAX-HNL, and HNL-LIH at 8:19. This meant we would be arriving in LIH at 8:56 pm which is 2:56 am EST.
Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny and we stopped at Giant bagel on the way to the airport since we were already starving (it was 8 am). We checked in, hung out in the AA business lounge (it was closer to our gate than the first class lounge) to eat and waited to board. It was hard to sit still since we were so excited. Finally it was time to board and our trip was really getting started! We really enjoyed AA first, the seats were great and the service was outstanding. Every time the steward spoke to us, he crouched down so as not to look down on us. We were offered drinks immediately upon boarding and once again before takeoff. From my understanding, the business class on those flights is very similar to first, the main difference is in the service and the food. The seats are also slightly narrower, although we couldn’t tell just by looking at them. We tried to get some sleep knowing it would be a long day! At this point, the weather reports were still looking pretty gloomy and there were hazard warnings about ocean currents around the entire island of Kauai.
AA first class3 by
n d, on Flickr
AA First class seat
After rechecking our luggage at LAX, we decided to get a quick bite to eat. Our first choice, La Gondola, was closed until 5, so we ended up trying LA Burger Bar and we really enjoyed. Nice portion sizes and good food. We stopped at the bakery next door (I think it was Delice) to pick up some pastries for the trip. We Ubered it back to LAX just in time for our flight.
United’s BusinessFirst was a huge disappointment. Although the seats were wider, I actually found Delta’s economy comfort seats to be more comfortable. There was no IFE unless you brought your own device, but since there were no outlets our laptop died within the first hour of the flight. We were not offered drinks or anything else until after takeoff, and even then we had to wait a while. They did not have bottles of water, so we had to sit with open cups if we wanted to have water throughout the flight. My KSML was expired, although it probably was not edible even if it had been fresher. Luckily, we brought our eyemasks from our AA flight, since they did not give out any amenities on this flight. Neither of us were able to get a good sleep in, and we arrived in HNL pretty exhausted. As soon as we got off the plane we were hit with the humidity and it was pouring. Our luggage was soaked through as well. When we checked in with HA they were sticklers about the weight of each bag and we ended up paying overweight fees on all four bags! When we finally arrived in LIH, we were tired, cranky and soaking wet. Thankfully, the car pickup went quickly (Advantage booked through Discount Hawaii Car Rentals) and they upgraded up to a Camaro (DH’s favorite car). However, we had a very hard time fitting all of our luggage in the car, and since it was raining we couldn’t leave the top down. I ended up with luggage on my lap, in the back seat and the trunk. Luckily, the GHK is not far from LIH.
Our first impression of the hotel was WOW! Seeing the hotel lit up at night, with torches all around the property, it had a fairy-tale feel. As soon as we got to check in, we were offered free valet service for the evening, free access to the spa for the duration of our stay and an upgrade to an ocean view suite. They also called someone from the kitchen to come and take our food for the freezer. A large part of the lobby was closed off due the rain, but we could still see the beautiful trees and flowers in the center. At this point, it was almost 4 am on our body clocks and we could barely keep our eyes open. Fearing that our entire trip would be ruined by the rain, we went to bed.
Bedroom by
n d, on Flickr
Our fears were unfounded. Even in the rain, Kauai is a magical place. We woke up around 4 am Monday morning to a drizzling, dark sky. We decided to check out the famous GHK pools before sunrise. Although the pools were deserted, we were able to find a maintenance worker to bring us some towels. The pools seem to go on forever, and we spent a few hours between the pools, Jacuzzi’s and the lagoon. Shortly after sunrise, it began to rain for real. Talk about perfect timing! We went back to the room to daven, have breakfast and plan our day.
