Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Big News!! We Got It!!

 
Oahu Villa Aerial View

Hey Ya'll,

Well, I have been chomping at the bit so to speak, wanting to post about this.  But I wanted to wait to make sure that we had our vacation set, and I wanted to contact our friend regarding it first.  This is because we had originally planned on going with her.  But she is only able to go during a specific week in September, and she only wants to go to Maui.

At first we attempted to get rooms on Maui during the week she is able to go, but it was starting to worry us, that we weren't getting rooms.  So we made the decision to open up our request to any of the Hawaiian Islands, at any time from September through the end of December.  When we opened up the time frame, we got rooms on Kauai, but in December.  Since it was still early, we decided to reject that Resort, still hoping to get rooms on Maui.

Then, after more time passed and nothing else was coming up, we decided to open up our request even further, to 2 sequential weeks rather than trying to get 2 rooms in the same week.  This week, we got them!!  We have a One Bedroom Suite during the week of Dec 9th-16th, and a Hotel Room the week after, from the 16th-23rd.  The One Bedroom Suite includes a Living Room, full Kitchen and a Dining Room, PLUS a Washer and Dryer!  So we can take fewer clothes and wash them while there.  Since the Airlines charge for every bag you check in, this will save us some money by only taking one check in bag each!!  We are currently trying to upgrade the Hotel room for the second week to a One Bedroom Suite as well.  If we are able to upgrade, it will cost us another $100, well worth the money!!  As the Hotel room is only 360 sq ft, and the One Bedroom Suite is 920 sq ft!

The Resort we will be staying at is the Ko Olina on the West side of Oahu.  It is about 25-30 miles from Waikiki.  So it is close enough to visit if we want to, but far enough away, that we don't have to deal with the traffic and congestion if we don't want to.  If any of you have been to Oahu and attended the Paradise Cove Luau, it is held on the Ko Olina Resort property.

So yes, we will be staying for 2 weeks!!  The last time we were in Hawaii, we stayed at the Hilton Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Hawaii, for 2 weeks as well, and we loved it.  That time, we went the week before Thanksgiving, and the week of Thanksgiving.  The first week, the Resort wasn't crowded at all, and the second week it was!  This time will probably be the same.  We will be going the week before Christmas vacation, and then will be there the week before Christmas!!  We will be leaving for home the day before Christmas Eve.

So now we have to make our Airline reservations and lock them in as well.  Hopefully we will hear back from our friend Laurie, who is a Travel Agent in the next few days.  We want to see if she can get us a better deal on the Airline tickets than we can get ourselves.  If not, then we will be booking the tickets hopefully in the next few days, or by next week at the latest!!  Well, I guess I should go for now.  I am trying not to sit too long in one position, as I have been having Sciatica type pains the last couple of days.  I will leave you with some more photos of the Resort.  The first one is another view of the Resort from the Beach.  The second and third photos is of two of the pools.  The third, fourth and fifth photos are of the One Bedroom Suite.  And the last photo is of the Hotel room.  Till next time.....

Aloha My Friends  :)

Hotel Exterior

Hawaii Ko Olina Villa Pool
Hawaii Ko Olina Villa Pool

Villa Master Bedroom 
Hawaii Ko Olina Beach Villa 
Hawaii Ko Olina Villa Bathroom 
Guestroom

7 comments:

jo said...

Congrats! You're going to have a blast.

Debi said...

Thanks Jo!! I can't wait, and as you can see by my Ticker Tape, I have 6 1/2 months to go!!

Jacquie said...

Very nice! We were in HI for 2 weeks in April and it feels like a lifetime ago!

Cat said...

Just gorgous!
We are going to the bahamas by cruise in September! Enjoy, I'm so jealous!

Debi said...

Jacquie - Thanks, and yes, I too always feel like a lifetime has passed since I was in Hawaii last. For us, it was about 4 years ago!

Cat - Thanks, the Resort looks just gorgeous. I tried, but unfortunately I couldn't copy the photos off of the main website which shows the whole property.

And I am so jealous of you getting to on a Cruise! I love to cruise! The last Cruise we took was a Cruise from Vancouver, Canada to Hawaii, which was a 12 day Cruise, and 5 whole days at sea before we reached Hawaii! We both loved it. That was about 6 yrs ago!! Way too long....

Lonicera said...

Having followed your blog for over a year now, I realise how very special this is for you Debi, and I'm so glad for you. It sounds heavenly. I love photographing waves and one of the things on my bucket list is to visit that beach in Hawaii with the very high waves at certain times of year, and stand there for days clicking my camera!! I hope you'll be taking some wave pictures... I'm sure they're spectacular wherever you are.
Caroline

Debi said...

Thanks Caroline! I know the Beach you are talking about. There are several Beaches on what is termed the "North Shore" that has the big waves. And they happen during the Winter months! I am not sure that we will be that close to the Beach as it is always crowded then. But I will definitely try to get some nice photos. And yes, I truly LOVE HAWAII!!