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 The
Kaanapali Beach Club Last July, our family
of four went to Maui to meet up with friends from CA.
They were going to stay in their timeshare at the Kaanapali
Beach Club for 5 days and 4 nights.
We decided
to book our accommodations there as well so we could
be close to them, even though it meant we have to sit
through a 90-minute timeshare presentation.
Since we
live on the island of Kauai, it was a mere hour-long
flight to Maui, including a stopover in Oahu. "Oh, it
easy to find. It's the only pink building on that street,"
the rental car person reassured us.
Sure enough, we were able to
spot Kaanapali Beach Club a mile away. We got to the
resort two hours before the normal 3 pm check-in time.
We were told to wait as
most of the rooms are still being prepared. I was a
little disappointed because we had two little toddlers
who were tired and sleepy.
We decided to get back in the
car and drive around a bit. Fifteen
minutes later, we got a call from the front desk saying
our room was ready.
We excitedly checked in and
lo and behold, the room was gorgeous! It has a living
room, dining area and a private bedroom - just perfect
for a family with little kids.
It was adorned with tasteful
island décor.
The mini-kitchen was equipped
with a microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher, sink, utensils,
flatware and glassware. The bathroom was oversized,
almost as big as the bedroom. It had a huge tub, glass-enclosed
shower stall, toilet and two sink vanities on opposite
corners of the room.
Our stay included complimentary
breakfast buffet every morning and complimentary cocktail
reception every 5 pm
Staying true to the word "vacation",
our days went on like this: wake up to eat breakfast
downstairs (no need to dress up or bring money), go
out on a sightseeing trip with our friends, come back
to the resort and swim at the 1-acre pool (the kids
loved the slide and the waterfall), take an afternoon
nap, have a cocktail or two at the lobby (Shirley Temple
and Roy Rogers for the kids), go out to eat dinner with
our friends, watch TV and sleep in the private bedroom
while the kids snooze on the sleeper bed in the living
room.
This was turning out to be a
really great family vacation!
Even the 90-minute timeshare
presentation wasn't that bad. We didn't buy any but
they gave us a $125 coupon just for attending.
We decided to use it to go on
the Atlantis submarine ride which was a blast.
One afternoon, we were a little
tired so we decided to try one of the resort's restaurants.
Even though it was fine dining, we made a dinner reservation
for 6 pm because you know how kids are: they get sleepy
and grumpy as the night wears on.
We got on the elevator at 5:50
pm No hurry - it only takes 5 minutes to walk to the
restaurant anyway. The elevator door closed. It didn't
move. We pushed a button, then pushed all the buttons
- nothing happened. Uh-oh, our perfect vacation has
hit a snag.
The four of us were stuck in
this glass elevator on the 11th floor. My husband used
the emergency button and they tried to reassure us that
the technician was on his way. In the meantime, the
resort manager, other resort employees and guests were
milling around the corridors.
Since it is glass, everybody
can see us stuck there and were worried for us, particularly
the kids.
Thank God for that glass enclosure
because it didn't make any of us claustrophobic. Ogled
at, yes. Claustrophobic, no. They were able to finally
get us out of there at 6:20 pm
The resort manager was profusely
apologetic and said the resort is going to take care
of our dinner. The restaurant manager met us at the
door, showed us to our table and reiterated what the
resort manager said.
Yes, it was a little late than
we planned but we ended up eating a fabulous $250+ dinner
complete with a bottle of wine and dessert and a huge
tip for our waiter - all on the resort's tab.
Our stay was perfect after all!
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