Ritz-Carlton Kapalua - MAUI’S ELEGANT OASIS

*originally published in Cruise and Travel Lifestyles, Winter/Spring 2011

by Janice Mucalov

Two red-crested cardinals eye us from the lanai’s banister as we sip champagne and nibble on appetizers. Tonight’s treats include lobster, caviar, seafood crepes, bocconcini salad and more. Had our feathered friends flitted by earlier at lunch, they would have spied us finishing off with luscious cheesecake cups drizzled with chocolate.

We could be dining at a gourmet restaurant. But this is just the Club Level Lounge – part of the “hotel within a hotel” – at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua. Club Level guests get five complimentary meals with drinks (plus the services of two private concierges). And a dedicated chef prepares fresh delicacies right in the lounge for the evening appetizer and dessert presentations.Even if you don’t book the Club Level, you’ll be wowed by the oceanfront Ritz. After shutting down for six months for a sweeping $160 million renovation, the AAA Five-Diamond resort reopened in 2008 and now sparkles like new.

One wing was converted into 900-square foot one-bedroom and 1,300-square foot two-bedroom suites. They each feature a spacious living/dining room with large gathering table, full kitchen (except for stove/oven), 42-inch LCD flat-screen televisions, dark wood floors, area rugs with Kukui floral designs, marble bathrooms and private lanais. Rooms too are spacious, fresh and appealing, with elegant furnishings.

A new 17,500 square-foot spa with curved walls and bamboo groves is especially inviting. Most of the 15 treatment rooms open to private outdoor shower gardens, and indoor/outdoor relaxation areas with lava stone grottos and rain showers overlook a taro patch garden. Spa treatments are Hawaiian-based and include authentic Lomilomi massage. A state-of-the-art fitness center and yoga studio also boast Pacific Ocean views.

For the ultimate in poolside relaxation, you can reserve one of seven new luxury pool cabanas for the day (extra fee). They come with a personal attendant bearing a tropical fruit platter upon arrival, flat-screen TV with wireless headphones, iPod docking station, electronic safe, ceiling fan and refrigerator stocked with non-alcoholic beverages for four.

Snuggled between the sea and lush mountains on the quiet northwest coast of Maui, the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua was always an oasis of luxury and refinement. Now it shines even brighter than before.