The suite was really gorgeous. It had a huge bathroom with the famous toto toilet. They had set up a plate of cut fruit and had flowers strewn throughout the suite. We spoke to the kitchen staff prior to our arrival, and we were assured that all fruit was cut with dedicated fruit/vegetable utensils. It was quite a long walk to get to our suite from the lobby. (We were wondering if that room was used for all the free upgrades because it was a shlep and whenever we needed anything we had to wait a long time for someone to make it up to our room.) The view from the room was breath taking. I could have spent the entire vacation sitting on the lanai (porch) listening to the waves. I went down to the concierge to find out what they recommend for rainy days. Apparently it was raining all over the island at the time. We were told that even in the rain the waterfalls on the east side would be a good bet, so off we went. We also made spa appointments for 3:00 that afternoon. On the way out, we were offered bottled water, towel and umbrellas.
IMG_0062 by
n d, on Flickr
Tree Tunnel
We did not put on suntan lotion since it was raining and we weren't planning on being out for too long. Huge mistake! Once the sun came out, it was STRONG! Luckily, we both were only slightly burnt by the time we got back. We passed a few beaches, but the water looked dark and murky. We were told that due to the rain and the strong ocean currents, the water on the beach was full of sediment. By the time we got to Opaeka'a Falls, the rain had stopped. The falls were all muddy, but still beautiful. At Wailua falls, there was a couple that climbed over the fence and went down to the falls but it looked very steep and slippery and the water didn't look that inviting anyway.
IMG_0001 by
n d, on Flickr
Opaeka’a Falls from far
IMG_0003 by
n d, on Flickr
IMG_0055 by
n d, on Flickr
Wailua Falls
We used Waze for most of the trip and it was great. I can't imagine how people survived before GPS! We used it to get to Ho'opi'i Falls but we were not sure if we were in the right place. We found a small trail but after a few minutes we ended up at what seemed like a dead end on private property. So we turned around, having seen 2 out of the 3 waterfalls so far.
We had some time to kill before our spa appointments, so we decided to check out Larsen's Beach. By this time it was sunny and beautiful outside, if not a little too humid. I honestly don't remember why we chose that one. After driving down a dirt road, we came to a small parking lot. After changing into swim gear (and stupidly putting on crocs) we headed down the trail. It was very wet and muddy and it took us a while to get down. There were a few people on the beach, and the water was choppy so we skipped the snorkeling. On the way back up, a little boy around 3 years old was walking ahead of us with his mom. He was barefoot and seemed to just run right up. It was quite embarrassing for us, who were slipping and sliding and clawing our way up.
IMG_0035 by
n d, on Flickr
IMG_0031 by
n d, on Flickr
We stopped at a small fruit stand to grab a snack. The guy cut up some fruits for us to try. I can't explain how incredible the mangos were! My mind was literally blown. I am not a huge mango fan, but I couldn't get enough. They were sweet and juicy and the texture was perfect. As we would find out, the perfectly ripe, delicious fruit on Kauai is incomparable to anything we have ever tried.
On the way back to the hotel, we made reservations to have our food served to us at Tidepools after our spa appointments. The chef had requested a minimum of 2 hours notice before we wanted to be served but we figured that the earlier the better.
The spa is beautiful. There is a separate area for men and women, including a jacuzzi, a steamroom, a sauna, outdoor lava showers and lockers. There is also a co-ed lap pool. The treatment rooms are also co-ed, so I had to get dressed to walk from the ladies spa area to the treatment room. Although outrageously expensive, we really enjoyed it! Since all of the other activities (aside from the heli tour) were free, we didn’t feel so bad splurging.
Dinner at Tidepools was the perfect end to the day. At this point we were exhausted, it was around 7 pm. We bumped into another DDFer who immediately asked if we were 3yummyboys
Although he directed the question to DH who just shrugged and looked at me. The waiter offered us drinks and asked if we were able to eat some of the restaurants bread. Our table was all set with plastic ware already. We sat right at the edge of the koi pond, whenever someone would throw food into the pond the fish would all jump to catch it. POM meal #1 was excellent, just what we needed after a day of running around.
Tidepools by
n d, on Flickr
Tidepools pic from hotel website
