Newspaper Article

At the End of A Hard Drive, Maui Luxury

Malabar Hornblower is a food and travel writer living in Boston whose most recent cookbook is 'Do-Ahead Dining' (Globe Pequot Press), Hornblower, Malabar

1989

Overview

''We survived the Hana Highway,'' many Maui bumper stickers proudly porclaim. But what they fail to relate is that the agonies are worth it all. For the tantalizing town of Hana is a magical spot, a bastion of old Hawaii replete with extraordinarily lush foliage, pure-blooded Polynesian fishermen, leathery-faced paniolo, cowhands and lei-bedecked citizens comfortably dressed in flowing aloha shirts and mumus. Perched on the ocean's edge, clinging to the slopes of the brooding, dormant Mount Haleakala, a 10,000-foot volcano that dominates all of Mauie. Hana is a cluster of small, corrugated-roof houses encircled by acres of verdant working ranchland. Made remote by dint of its rutted road, it is an island within an island. The Hana-Maui was built in 1946 by Paul Fagan, a San Francisco entrepreneur, who did much to reverse the town's sugar-related economic doldrums. In 1984, the Rosewood Corporation - of the Bel-Air Hotel and the Mansion on Turtle Creed fame - acquired Mr. Fagan's hotel and his abutting 4,500-acre cattle ranch. Almost immediately the corporation undertook a multimillion-dollar program to renovate and expand the resort, at the same time preserving as much of the original as was feasible. Hana-Maui perpetuates the essence of old Hawaii, presenting the hotel as the embodiment of Aloha, love, and Ho okipa, hospitality. One thing to be said in praise of the Hana-Maui's rates, which range from $455 to $855 daily, double occupancy, American plan: they are all-inclusive, with the exceptions of gift shop purchases, alchoholic beverages and horseback activities, tipping and taxes. This means that, once the guest has anesthetized himself to the amounts involved, his room, or suite, and all the meals, services and activities are included as well as the transportation to and from Hana Airport, tennis, golf, bicycles, snorkeling and beach equipment, jeep tours, picnics and cookouts, luaus, room-service Continental breakfasts, lectures and special evening entertainment. There are no hidden charges or unpleasant surprises in store. Although the luxury is dear, there is no stinting on it. While the lobby may be open to the world, the guestcottages scattered around the grounds afford visitors a sense of privacy and calm. The interiors are decorated in muted tones - off-whites, sands, beiges - to dramatize the colors of the flowering plants set in the rooms. Bleached hardwood floors covered with rattan, oversized bamboo furniture, tasteful contemporary island art, kin- or twin-size beds made the more beguiling with reporductions of old Hawaiian quilts, and private lanais or patios, all bespeak comfort and elegance.

• Publisher: New York Times Company
• Subject: HORNBLOWER, MALABAR / TRAVEL AND VACATIONS