Sale of Kihei Surfside 405

October 19, 2020 condos

In July 2010 we moved to Maui with the intention of buying a few vacation rentals. We’d stayed in vacation rentals on Maui before. We had owned long-term rentals before. Surely this would be doable.

On September 26, 2010 we became the proud owners of Kihei Surfside 405 and Sugar Beach 104. This was the beginning of a rather steep learning curve of vacation renting.

I remember taking the previous owners (the Pontinens) out to lunch at Gannons and soaking in as much information about vacation renting as I could. They had so much good information to pass on. We got our wonderful cleaner Cindy through them. Cindy cleaned our condos from 2010-2019 when she retired. Check here for a blog post I wrote a few years back on Four things that will make or break your vacation rental business.

We’ve seen a lot of change in the past ten years. We remodeled the kitchen and bathrooms, I sat on the Kihei Surfside HOA’s Board of Directors for four years (two terms) and helped oversee the huge exterior remodel. We’ve hosted hundreds of guests, many of them repeat guests. We’ve enjoyed Valentine’s Day parties and eaten our Christmas dinner on the Kihei Surfside lawn.

And so it is with mixed feelings that we announce that we have sold our Kihei Surfside 405 condo as of October 15, 2020. The decision was not lightly made. However, seven months of Covid and the complete standstill of tourism on Maui have necessitated the sale of one of our condos to keep the others strong.

Many of our Kihei Surfside guests have become repeat guests, a handful have been staying at our condo for ten or more years. We will miss you. We will continue to vacation rent our remaining four condos at Maui Oceanview Condos. I will continue to blog about life on Maui right here on this page.

We wish our Kihei Surfside guests aloha and a hui ho! We would love to host you at one of our Maui Oceanview Condos soon!

Final picture of the view from our Kihei Surfside lanai

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Lunch at Ami Ami

October 18, 2020 Restaurants

Prior to Covid our family frequently ate out for lunch or dinner to celebrate special occasions. Covid has changed that, but this past week we had cause for celebration and I insisted. After much deliberation, we agreed to try ‘Ami Ami’ for lunch.

Ami Ami is located along South Kihei Road and is part of the Maui Coast Hotel complex. It is part of the Cafe o Lei family of restaurants (Cafe o Lei in Kihei, The Dunes at Maui Lani in Kahului and Ami Ami in Kihei). I’ve always admired the dining room from the road while walking or driving past, but they didn’t used to be open for lunch. On Maui the cost of dinner is almost always more than the cost of a similar meal for lunch. We have though frequently had dinner at the Kamaole Poolside Cafe behind Ami Ami, pre-Covid that is. The two locations share a kitchen, and the poolside cafe has live music in the evening (and cats).

Our lunch was fantastic. The menu has some similarities to that of Cafe o Lei. The boys enjoyed the burgers, Sig had the fish special and I found a poke bowl on the menu! Yum!

my tuna poke bowl with sriracha – delicious

Of course there are Covid rules. There very few tables and chairs set up, all appropriately spaced out. Hand sanitizer both at the host desk and bar. The wait staff all wore masks, and yes, you wear a mask at any time NOT seated at a table. They also took my name and phone number for contact tracing purposes.

What other restaurants were we considering?

In an ideal world, we would have gone to Gannons. However, Gannons is still closed. We hope one day soon that will change.

Mulligans on the Blue was a serious contender for an early dinner to enjoy sunset. And I was favoring the Maui Brewing Company for happy hour. Both solid choices.

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Hawaii’s Grand Reopening

October 11, 2020 Travel

Can you believe it – after nearly 7 months of Covid, our politicians are going ahead with Hawaii’s grand reopening! Kinda. Sorta.

Nearly a month ago the Governor announced October 15, 2020 as the official date when travelers can take a pre-travel Covid test to avoid the mandatory 14 day quarantine. Then a few weeks later the individual County mayors piped up with their own ideas. Nothing like waiting until last minute to add more confusion to the mess.

The long and short of it is, many of Hawaii’s residents are worried about the reopening. Those not personally affected by the disappearance of tourism would rather just keep things as they are and wait out the pandemic. Maui and Kauai are offering voluntary secondary Covid tests to be taken 3 days after arrival. There are additional rules for inter-island travel.

EVERYTHING IS STILL IN FLUX. PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK THE STATE’S RULES REPEATEDLY IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO YOUR ARRIVAL TO ENSURE YOU HAVE THE UPDATED INFORMATION.

Maui’s economy thanks our politicians. Kinda. We could have done without the added drama.

Hawaii's grand reopening — Kahului airport – where is everyone?

How will this reopening work?

Great question. The mandatory 14 day quarantine will continue for all who do not take a pre-travel Covid test.

Please purchase a trip cancellation insurance policy which covers Covid-19 cancellations.
Read up on the Hawaii Travel Covid website for much more information including frequently asked questions.
All travelers will need to sign up on the Safe Travels website/app prior to travel.
Figure out where and how to take your pre-travel Covid test at your expense. Note you need to take this test within 72 hours of your scheduled flight (or the scheduled last leg of your flight to Hawaii). The State of Hawaii requires very specific tests (make sure you get the right one) and you will want your results back PRIOR to arriving on Maui. All traveling in your group will need to take the test including children 5+ years old.
Upload your negative test results to the Safe Travels website/app.
Keep a copy of your results on hand to provide to your condo/hotel provider. The rental car people may need them also (they are currently not able to rent to those in quarantine, so you will need proof of test results).
If you are staying at one of our Maui Oceanview Condos, you will not be able to stay in our condos should you or anyone in your travel group have a POSITIVE test. Again, as noted in all of your rental agreements, PLEASE PURCHASE CANCELLATION INSURANCE. We can be fined if one of our guests break their quarantine. We are not able to take that risk.

Please note, everything has been changing frequently. If you have an upcoming trip, please keep a close eye on the official government websites for changes.

What can you expect on Maui?

As with everywhere, Maui also has Covid rules. Here are some of the highlights. Read here for much more detail.

Indoor/outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people are permitted.
Everyone must wear face coverings/masks when away from your place of residence. All ages 5 and up must wear masks with exception of when swimming or when engaging in strenuous physical activity (with proper social distancing). Note, to date enforcement has been rather lax. We expect with the arrival of more visitors, enforcement will pick up. Hey – this is your chance to add some Hawaii-themed face masks to your collection.
People who are sick are to stay in their residences except to seek medical help.
Try to maintain social distancing of 6 feet from those not within your immediate group.
As of right now, if traveling inter-island (except to Oahu), you will need to quarantine on that island for 14 days. The Governor and mayors are hoping to have a pre-travel test option, but this is NOT confirmed at this time.

Many shops and restaurants have shuttered in the past 7 months, some temporarily, some permanently. Some are on limited hours, while others are waiting to reopen once tourism restarts. We are all waiting for Hawaii’s Grand Reopening. Yes, we are a little worried but also very relieved.

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Lessons learned from my mango tree

October 1, 2020 life on Maui

In the past few years I’ve written a few blog entries about our mango tree. When we first bought our Kihei house ten years ago, we planted a dwarf mango tree. We were so excited to taste our first mango, but our tree had other ideas. We knew of course that it can take a few years for the tree to produce but…. the waiting was still hard.

A few things went wrong. For starters, the dwarf mango was no dwarf. It’s a a large mango tree that just keeps growing taller (infringing ‘just so slightly’ on our neighbor’s ocean view – oops). One year the mango tree objected to pruning and punished us the following year.

Lessons from my tree

I would like to start with a disclaimer – I am not a gardener. I have a pretty black thumb. Thankfully Sig does an amazing job with our landscaping, assisted by our teenaged lawnmowers.

The most surprising thing to me about our tree is that it blooms at least two months after all the other neighborhood mango trees are done blooming. I presume it’s a different variety.

Our mangos ripen at least two months after other mango trees in our area. This means I am drooling over everyone else’s mangos for two months until ours are finally ready. Fortunately I have a friend whose tree ripens in May. It is wonderful to have friends with mango trees!

Our tree’s fruit ripens over the course of several months. This year we picked our first mango in early August. Here it is October and we are still waiting for half our mangos to ripen. This is so different from my memories of apple harvesting as a child. The house I grew up in had some 20 apple and pear trees. They all seemed to ripen within a few weeks of another.

Mangos ripen most evenly when picked green. When allowed to ripen on the tree, our mangos ripen very unevenly. The bottom of the fruit will be overripe while the top is still rock hard. Today I went and picked three green mangos that are starting to soften. They are now quarantining in a paper bag on my lanai table – I don’t know why this works but it does.

Mangos grow in bunches. Generally on my tree, in any given bunch the lowest mango will ripen first.

Mangos that turn color are not necessarily ripe. In fact, we have beautifully yellow and orange mangos that are rock hard while green mangos are softening. When cut and peeled, they taste equally delicious. I don’t know why some of our mangos are colorful and some stay green even when ripe. From what I can tell, sun exposure does not make much of a difference.

Despite all the oddities of our mangos, they are amazing. I don’t know what the variety is called, but they taste very similar to Hayden mangos, though they are larger – 5-6 inches in length. We call them our breakfast candy.

Curious how best to cut a mango? I wrote a blog about that a few years back – check it out!

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How can I get a pre-travel Covid test?

September 30, 2020 Travel

As you may know, Governor Ige recently announced that starting October 15 travelers can avoid mandatory quarantine by taking a pre-travel Covid test up to 72 hours prior to arrival. This sounds great, until you start thinking about how to get that test.

In the past few days United Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have stepped up and announced they will be offering pre-travel tests for a fee. Of course, we will need to see if the tests meet the State of Hawaii’s guidelines, but I would certainly hope they do. Airlines have been suffering severe financial losses throughout this Covid period. It seems to me they would be highly motivated to get people flying again. Hopefully we will be seeing more of these announcements in coming days.

Oakland airport (California) announced yesterday they will be offering FREE rapid tests to Hawaii travelers – more details to come. Free. Really? Free?

I am hopeful in the next few weeks we will see more airlines and airports come up with pre-travel test options to simplify the process for Hawaii-bound travelers. I also hope the cost of the tests comes down (although free would be best, of course).

How are bookings going?

In the past month or two we had lost most of our fall and Christmas bookings due to the uncertainty of when the State would reopen, health concerns, financial difficulties, job losses etc.

Since the October 15th reopening announcement we have been taking a few bookings and our schedules have been filling up again. No worries, if you are still thinking of a fall Maui trip, we still have some openings. In fact, we have a sale! 20% off all bookings of one week or longer between now and February 2021. And for fall we also have a monthly discount (Christmas excluded). Please send me an inquiry or give me a call and I’d be happy to give you more information!

We can’t wait to welcome visitors back to our condos!

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Sports are back!

September 26, 2020 life on Maui

If you love sports, I assume you’ve been enjoying the NHL Stanley cup playoffs, basketball, baseball and the now restarted NFL season. We were of course cheering for the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley cup playoffs. Sadly they are out, but it sure was fun to watch hockey again. It is really strange to watch games without fans and with piped in cheering.

Thankfully Hawaii’s Covid numbers are improving again. Maui’s numbers are steady at 0-5 cases/day after the earlier spike among staff at Maui Memorial Hospital. We are thankful.

As a result, things are starting to loosen up again and guess what – Maui sports are back! Kinda. Covid-style.

Public tennis courts reopened a few months ago, but not for group lessons. The tennis courts are our Kamaole Sands and Maui Kamaole condos are open, but with restrictions.

Soccer has resumed, but for practices only. There are no games – which means that our weekends belong to us! No soccer tournaments (I know I should display less enthusiasm, but those of you who know, know).

Kids’ hockey practices resumed this past month and last week the rec/adult hockey league jumped through enough hoops to be allowed to have practice/scrimmage time. There are of course a lot of extra rules and there is a lot of cleaning involved, but – yeah after 6 months #HockeyNightInKihei is back!

sports — the rink, with a sand dune between the ocean and South Kihei Road

Last night I went to watch one of our kids play a scrimmage at Kihei’s oceanfront inline hockey rink in Kalama Park. Actually it is Maui’s only skate rink and it is open air. Pre-Covid the rec league and adult league games were always played at night. Now that per County rules they have to be out of the park by 7pm, rec league practice is late afternoon Friday afternoons. This conveniently coincides with sunset.

Here are a few pictures from last night. I wasn’t allowed into the bleachers area (for sanitation reasons), but I had rink-side standing room next to the fence! It was fun watching my goalie son in action again. And it’s really nice to see the familiar faces and visit with hockey acquaintances again. We’ve been part of this tight-knit community for eight years now. Love the Maui Inline Hockey Association!

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Pre-travel testing News!

September 16, 2020 Travel

We got some good news today! The State of Hawaii is rolling out it’s pre-travel testing program which would allow visitors to avoid the mandatory 14 day quarantine.

Don’t get too excited too quickly. There are still many things to figure out – but at least there is a plan! I’m telling you, as a vacation rental owner, it’s been pretty bleak the past six months. Maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Please read all about it here at Hawaii News Now and if you are planning a trip to Hawaii, please do keep a close eye on the news for further announcements.

So far I see a few problems:

You have to be able to get pre-travel testing 72 hours before travel (I’m told often you need to be showing symptoms to get a test).
You need to get your negative test results back prior to your trip (this also could be a problem).
If you don’t get your test results back on time, you will need to quarantine upon arrival until you get your negative test results.
Per County of Maui rules, you cannot at this time quarantine in a vacation rental but would need to stay in accommodation on the ‘approved list’.

Here is a pre-travel testing flow chart issued by the State of Hawaii that shows some answers.

Also, check the Frequently Asked Questions on the State of Hawaii’s Covid page for many answers.

Let’s wait a little and see what else the State comes up with. I for one am encouraged – at least they are finally talking about having a plan…. six months after the pandemic shut down Hawaii tourism.

Is this the answer to Hawaii’s economic woes?

No, let’s face it. I don’t see visitors streaming back en masse with the current Covid uncertainty. However, at least those who want to travel will have an easier time doing it. I foresee visitors taking advantage of discounted prices to stay for longer periods of time and working remotely (hottest travel trend?).

What about our Canadian visitors?

Good question. At this time the Canadian government has not eased their 14 day mandatory quarantine requirements for travelers returning to Canada. (Trust me, I am watching for this – I would love to go visit family again).

Sig went to Costco today and look what he found…. while not Canadians per se, he did buy some Canadian bell peppers.

pre-travel testing — it may not be you, but Canadian bell peppers have made it to Hawaii!

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Hottest Hawaii travel trend

September 14, 2020 Travel

It’s been six months since Covid-19 brought Hawaii travel to a standstill. As we anxiously await Hawaii Governor David Ige’s announcement of when tourism can resume to the Hawaiian islands, here is a trend to consider.

Yes, we are getting inquiries again. The big trend I’m seeing is longer-stay inquiries. Specifically we are seeing one or two month inquiries. At this time it’s mainly younger professionals, looking to escape the West Coast wild fires, or just work remotely from Maui since they are working remotely anyway. We’ve also had families whose kids are doing school remotely inquire.

Can you work remotely from Maui?

Well, why not? The main hurdle you will face is the State of Hawaii’s 14 day mandatory quarantine. Starting October 1 there is supposed to be a workaround, a ‘test negative pre-travel to avoid quarantine’ option. I hate to say this but….. it doesn’t sound like the State has the details worked out yet (what are they waiting for???). We will see if it gets further delayed (we were supposed to have this option August 1).

UPDATE: Per today’s KHON News story, the governor says ‘tourism’s return October 1 is unlikely’. Sigh.

Should you need to quarantine, you will need to do your quarantine in one of these places per the County of Maui mayor. Once your quarantine is finished, you can move to a vacation rental of your choosing.

What to expect on Maui?

Well, Maui isn’t exactly the way you may remember it from your last trip. The disappearance of tourists has meant the closure or at least reduction of hours at many stores and restaurants. Many activities have shut down. We hope some of them will be able to restart their businesses once tourism resumes. Instead of having a fully packed and planned agenda, plan on a relaxed beach vacation. The businesses open will be thankful to serve you.

Are there any deals?

You bet! At this time we are offering 20% discounts on weekly, 35% discounts on monthly rentals. We may be able to give a better deal, depending on when you are planning to come? Please do get cancellation insurance. We will not refund due to Covid, however, if the State of Hawaii does not have a ‘test to avoid the quarantine’ option for your travel dates, we will give you a refund.

Guests!

We are thrilled to welcome guests back to our condos. Today I cleaned and prepped our Kamaole Sands 2-206 condo for tomorrow’s arrival. We are thrilled to have them! Enjoy this walk-through video I shot today.

A pre-arrival walk-through. We are thrilled to welcome guests back to our condo!

We can’t wait for Hawaii travel to resume!

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Wailea’s best walk

August 24, 2020 Maui to-do

A number of years ago someone told me to advertise our Palms at Wailea condo‘s proximity to the Wailea Beach Walk. The distance to the beach, you mean? (It’s about a 10 minute walk) No, the Wailea Beach Walk – Wailea’s BEST walk!

On further investigation, I discovered what they meant. In my opinion, this is Wailea’s best walk. Specifically, the Wailea Beach Walk is a paved walking trail that runs from the Andaz resort on Keawakapu Beach all the way to the Fairmont by Polo Beach.

The best part about this walk is the amazing ocean view. The worst part….. the crowds. As it runs oceanfront of all the resorts, it is a busy place. Except these days. Did you know it’s been nearly five months since Maui’s tourism shut down thanks to Covid?

Usually we park at the public Polo Beach parking lot just south of the Fairmont Kea Lani and walk north. Yesterday we took advantage of available parking at Ulua Beach (just south of the Andaz) and walked south.

A map of the Wailea Resorts, courtesy of the Wailea Resort Association

We walked past Wailea Elua (condos), the Wailea Marriott Resort (I always see turtles bobbing for sea weed here), the Grand Wailea and the Four Seasons. At that point we turned around and walked back to the car. From the Andaz to the Fairmont and back is about a 1 1/2 hour walk, or longer if you stop along the way to enjoy the views.

The Wailea Beach Walk was pretty empty yesterday as there are still virtually no tourists on island. As long as you look out over the beaches and ocean it’s a beautiful place. But I couldn’t help looking at the empty resorts and thinking of all the unemployed people struggling to make ends meet while the world deals with Covid.

When will tourism resume?

That is the million dollar question. Hawaii’s 14 day mandatory quarantine continues for now, severely restricting incoming travel. At this time Hawaii is trying to get its own Covid numbers back under control. There is some talk of bubble tourism which would allow tourists to return to an ‘all inclusive’ style vacation, unable to leave the resort. While this would help the participating big hotels, it would do little to help all the mom and pop tourist shops, restaurants, condo businesses etc.

So we continue to wait and see. It’s been five months without tourism.

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And here we go – another inter-island quarantine

August 18, 2020 Travel

How are things going Covid-wise in your neck of the woods? Here, after months of good numbers, the Hawaii governor has re-instated the inter-island quarantine AND pushed back the start ‘avoid quarantine by showing a negative test’.

We were doing well with low numbers, thanks to an island-wide shutdown and the mandatory quarantine. Then we got complacent as things opened back up. On Oahu the numbers have been increasing rapidly, with new cases numbering 200+/day in the past week.

Last week Hawaii Governor Ige (pronounced Ee-geh) instituted a new inter-island mandatory quarantine. It will run August 11-31, 2020. Oahu is also doing a partial shut-down, while Maui and the other neighbor islands are staying their current course. We’ll see what happens.

Negative test to avoid quarantine

Did you know, starting October 1 those traveling to Hawaii can circumvent the mandatory 14 day quarantine with proof of a negative Covid-19 test. The tricky part is, you will need to take the test 3 days prior to travel. This date has now twice been pushed back. We sure hope October 1 is a firm date.

Quarantine Options

The Maui County mayor has recently announced that visitors may no longer quarantine in vacation rentals. Should you need to quarantine, you will need to book a hotel or stay in a long-term (6+ month rental) or someone’s private home. Fun!

Canadian guests

A week or two ago Canadian media outlets were running stories that Canadians will be allowed to travel to Hawaii once the mandatory quarantine to Hawaii is lifted. I haven’t seen this on any of the official sites here in Hawaii, so I’m not sure if it’s true. For now Canadians still have a mandatory 14 day quarantine upon re-entry from the US into Canada.

Cancellations of upcoming trips

Since everything is so up in the air with Covid-19, I have temporarily pushed back the ‘balance due date’ to 30 days prior to your arrival (from the usual 60 days). If you need to cancel your upcoming stay, please do so prior to the due date and please give as much notice as possible so we can reopen dates for others (mainly staycations).

Once you have paid your balance in full, your stay becomes non-refundable even for Covid-19 reasons. We always recommend trip cancellation insurance. As I understand, the only trip cancellation insurance that covers COVID-19 cancellations is a CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) policy. Please study the terms of any cancellation insurance carefully to know what is and isn’t covered.

Newsletter

If you would like to be added to my newsletter mail list, please send me a message, either here or directly through email. I foresee sending newsletters every few months and you may always unsubscribe if you don’t find the information useful. As always I invite you to check our blog for updates and things to do on Maui. Let me know if there’s anything in particular you are interested in reading about.

inter-island quarantine — sunset on the lawn at our Kihei Surfside condo. Wish you were here!

I would love to have you follow us on social media

Wishing you a beautiful day from Maui!
Aloha!
Cara

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Blog: A taste of what you may find on Maui

What other restaurants were we considering?

How will this reopening work?

What can you expect on Maui?

Lessons from my tree

How are bookings going?

Is this the answer to Hawaii’s economic woes?

What about our Canadian visitors?

Can you work remotely from Maui?

What to expect on Maui?

Are there any deals?

Guests!

When will tourism resume?

Negative test to avoid quarantine

Quarantine Options

Canadian guests

Cancellations of upcoming trips