First two days in Hawaii

We arrived in Honolulu on Sunday, April 13th. That day also happened to be our six year anniversary! Anyway, due to the changes in our airlines, we were not checking into our hotel room at the Turtle Bay Resort as planned. Our new flight included a layover in LAX so we spent most of Sunday traveling. We had appointments all morning on Monday so it would be silly of us to drive to North Shore at night only to come back to Honolulu the very next morning. Instead of driving to where our wedding would take place, we made our way to the Holiday Inn Waikiki.
Here's the thing - I am not above staying at a Holiday Inn. I think I have a few friends who wouldn't step foot into one and I totally understand. But that's not me. I've stayed at many hotels and my only requirement is that it's clean. Hell, the last time I was in Hawaii I stayed in a room that smelled slightly of urine (my over active imagination made me think that frat guys had occupied the room before us and one of them had gotten so drunk that they peed somewhere on the carpet. Kind of gross but whatever.) But you know what? My friend and I just dealt with it because the room was clean and we were hardly in the room except to sleep and shower. Anyway, my point is that while I'm not above staying at places like the Holiday Inn ... it just wasn't part of the original plan. But we adapted because it was the reasonable thing to do.
The Man and I had checked in by 8:00pm. Thank jeebus, it was a very clean room. But unlike all my other vacations in Hawaii, I was not relaxed. Our first appointment on Monday was at 6:00am in Pearl City. Serious. We didn't want to have to leave North Shore on Tuesday so the only way I could fit all our appointments comfortably was to set our wedding license appointment at 6:00am. I had never been to Pearl City so we didn't know how long it would take for us to get there from Waikiki. We set our alarm for 4:30am. The Man, bless his heart, knew this was not the time to futz around and was really good about getting ready on time. I know, it sounds crazy but our internal clocks were still three hours ahead so it wasn't soooo bad. Anyway, this is what our Monday looked like:
6:00am - Appointment with the wedding licensee in Pearl City
9:00am - Appointment with the wedding photographer in Waikiki (he thought it was at 10:00am so we ended up meeting them at 9:30ish.)
11:30am - Hair & make up run through for me/ haircut for The Man
Afternoon - drive to Turtle Bay, check-in
3:00pm - Appointment with Turtle Bay Resort coordinator
We were HELLA busy our first full day. Yes, I wrote HELLA ... because it's true! But the reward was when we finally got to go to our hotel ...
Turtle Bay Resort is beautiful. It is the first four star hotel I've stayed in (I know I sound like a bumpkin but I told you my reasons.) I didn't tell many people but I chose this location from the feedback I received from close friends when I grilled them. I had never stepped foot on the resort but I knew I loved the beauty of the North Shore because I had been there many times. I had asked one friend who had attended a wedding at TBR what she thought. She told me she considered the resort for her own wedding but knew her family would want it to be in Waikiki. But she thought it was very pretty and definitely recommended it. Then I asked another friend who grew up there and he said that, hands down, that is the spot he would pick if and when he ever got married. He said, in his opinion, it was the nicest spot on the island. From those testimonials, and from the pictures I saw on the web, that is how I made my decision.
Another thing that you have to understand is that I just love being in Hawaii. I love it for a many reasons and it's why I go back year after year. For one, people celebrate their brown skin there. One too many cultures look down upon having dark brown skin and, unfortunately, have a society that aspires to be very fair or the lightest shade of brown possible (I know some of y'all have taken Asian American studies and we have talked about how horrible this is!) Hawaii also reminds me a lot of my favorite aspects of the Philippines - lush tropical beauty, friendly atmosphere, and, by physical appearance, I blend in! It was a nice change from many of the other places I've visited and have stuck out like a sore thumb. And just like the Philippines, the hospitality can't be beat (I should mention that The Man and I noticed during this visit just how many Filipinos work in hospitality - there are a lot!) and there is just a different pace - a little slower which is a lot nicer. Of course, what really did me in was the the few years that I danced hula. This made me appreciate the beauty and history of Hawaii because so many hulas and chants are about that - places in Hawaii, the appreciation of nature and the history of its people. My kumu made sure that we studied and understood the importance of each hula and chant and it really made a difference.
When we arrived at TBR, the front desk told us that our room was not yet ready. They apologized and said we could walk around for a little bit and then check back in with them. So The Man and I explored and saw that the resort was simply gorgeous. What I loved about TBR was how the property let the ocean be the main point of attraction. They kept the grounds very simple and clean yet made it look very natural. Here's what I mean:

OK, I included this picture because I'm wearing false lashes from the make up run through? I love false lashes!!!


So beautiful. I was so happy that I could barely contain myself. The Man was very happy because he saw it was the complete opposite of Waikiki which he cannot stand. My boy is a country boy at heart so he was quite pleased with the open space and lack of crowds. We checked in and were pleasantly surprised that we would be staying on the top floor - a guarantee for a beautiful view, I thought. We schlepped our bags to the room and that is when I completely fell in love with the place:

My friends asked the concierge to cover our hotel room with rose petals! They also left chocolate and coconut covered macademia nuts, passion fruit wine and an orchid lei! This wouldn't be the first time that my two close friends showed their fabulousness.

Can you believe this view? As soon as I opened the sliding glass doors, the sound of the waves filled the room.


A couple of minutes later, a bellboy brought up sparkling wine sent by the general manager.

I have never, ever had a room with an ocean view, much less an ocean view like this. Usually, my hotel scenery have been what I called "look left" views - I crane my neck out the window, look left, and in between two skyscrapers, I could see the ocean. And I was quite happy with that view! But this ... this was something else. I read somewhere that when TBR was taken over by it's the present owner, they had done a ton of renovations instead of demolishing and starting over. It was because if they did demolish the hotel, with the current laws, there is no way the state would let them build the new property so close to the water. So instead, they did over $70 million in renovations. And I completely understand. To be this close to the water is amazing. I visited my parents and my sister and both had spectacular views too.
I couldn't stop hugging and kissing The Man because I was so happy. This absolutely was the perfect place for our wedding.