Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of Hawaii Press maps. Updated peri-
odically, they include a detailed net-
work of island roads, large-scale insets
of towns, historical and contemporary
points of interest, parks, beaches, and
hiking trails. They cost about $3 each
or about $15 for a complete set. If you
can't find them in a bookstore near
you, contact
University of Hawaii
Press,
2840 Kolowalu St., Honolulu,
HI 96822 (
&
888/847-7737;
www.
uhpress.hawaii.edu). For topographic
and other maps of the islands, go to
the
Hawaii Geographic Society,
49 S.
Hotel St., Honolulu; or contact P.O.
Box 1698, Honolulu, HI 96806
(
&
800/538-3950
or 808/538-3952).
12 Tips on Accommodations & Dining
ACCOMMODATIONS
Hawaii offers all kinds of accommoda-
tions, from simple rooms in restored
plantation homes and quaint cottages
on the beach to luxurious oceanview
condo units and opulent suites in
beachfront resorts. Each type has its
pluses and minuses, so before you
book, make sure you know what
you're getting into.
The larger hotels and resorts offer
supervised programs for children. By
state law, hotels can accept only chil-
dren ages 5 to 12 in supervised activi-
ties programs, but they often
accommodate younger children by
hiring babysitters to watch over them.
TYPES OF
ACCOMMODATIONS
HOTELS
In Hawaii, “hotel” can
indicate a wide range of options, from
places with few or no on-site amenities
to places with enough extras to qualify
as a miniresort. Generally, a hotel
offers daily maid service and has a
restaurant, on-site laundry facilities, a
pool, and a sundries/convenience-
type shop (rather than the shopping
arcades that most resorts have these
days). Top hotels also have activities
desks, concierge and valet service,
room service (though it may be lim-
ited), business centers, airport shut-
tles, bars and/or lounges, and perhaps
a few more shops.
The advantages of staying in a hotel
are privacy and convenience; the dis-
advantage is generally noise (either
thin walls between rooms or loud
music from a lobby lounge late into
the night). Hotels are often a short
walk from the beach rather than right
on the beachfront (although there are
exceptions).
RESORTS
In Hawaii, a resort offers
everything a hotel does—and more.
Nickel & Dimed
Several upscale resorts in Hawaii have begun a practice that we find dis-
tasteful, dishonest, and downright discouraging: charging a so-called
“resort fee.” This daily fee is added on to your bill (and can range from
$12-$23 a day), for such “complimentary” items as a daily newspaper,
local phone calls, use of the fitness facilities, and the like. Amenities that
the resort has been happily providing its guests for years are now tacked
on to your bill under the guise of a “fee.” In most cases you do not have
an option to decline the resort fee—in other words, this is a sneaky way
to further increase the prices without telling you. We are very opposed to
this practice and urge you to voice your complaints to the resort manage-
ment. Otherwise, what'll be next—a charge for using the tiny bars of soap
or miniature shampoo bottles?
