The Andaz Experience

 Experience: Def. verb. Encounter or undergo.

This concept hotel is indeed an experience for us. It is sleek, contemporary, and modern. We are gradually learning how things work. I find myself shaking my head and tut tut tutting over engineering and design. Wondering if an Aggie was involved. 

My day started with the 6 o'clock alarm set by the former occupant of Room 708. Guess they had a plane to catch. Ricky was already awake catching up on news. 

I decided to give this nespresso machine a chance to impress me since the flavors are different from the choices in Kauai.  Either due to machine malfunction or operator failure, I only got a millimeter of beverage. Coffee will have to wait.

We decided to try the "Breakfast Experience" at Ka'ana Kitchen.  It was a sumptuous all you can eat buffet served Luby's cafeteria style. 

Those baby waffles were delicious! Nom nom! But the star of the show is the Maui Gold pineapple. The best pineapple ever. So mild and sweet. I could eat it everyday. The Breakfast Experience was delightful!

We are on the 7th floor. The closest ice machine is on the 6th floor. Ugh. So far I have been the ice fetcher. One pleasant experience this morning was the rainbow on the wall that greeted me on my ice run. 🤗

These are the interesting light switches in our room. I have been experimenting but haven't figured out the code yet. 🙃

Maybe this doesn't look interesting. But this wall of doors in the bathroom without obvious handles or knobs has been a challenge. The room is narrow, so if a door is open there isn't room to walk through.

The door into the toilet is large and heavy. I feel like I'm going into a barn when I tug it open or pull it closed. 🤣

We love our glass wall facing the ocean and spectacular sunsets! It does get really bright in the afternoon. Bright enough to wear sunglasses in the room. A switch lowers a screen (in lieu of curtains.)

Note the small headboard. 🤔 I love to prop up in bed to watch TV or scroll on my phone and this was a challenge. 

I love the down soft pillows. Ricky is not a fan. He got housekeeping to bring him a firm pillow for  tonight. 

Also note the sliding doors behind the bed. They open wide to allow the person in the shower full view of the room. Or vice versa, allow the people in the room full view of the person or persons showering. WTF?! Kinky Hawaiians I guess. 

The bathroom sink is about 1.5 inches deep. I guess it works as long as the water drains efficiently. It's like running water out on a flat rock. 

We spotted this siren from our balcony. Ricky says it's for tsunami warnings. 

Most hotel rooms have a safe. This large one is anchored in a drawer. I suppose most tourists to this resort have lots of valuables to be safely locked up. 

We wondered why they never came to clean our room. Ricky flagged a housekeeper down and asked if she could make the bed and bring fresh towels. She gladly helped and kindly pointed out we need to push the "service" button to let them know we would like the room cleaned.  🙄

Long flight of stairs leading down to the pools. There is a winding path alternative,  but no elevator, which is a shame. While we can manage, an elevator saves Ricky's knees the strain. 

Ricky has the infinity pool to himself for the time being. Nice experience! 

This is a different kind of palm tree than we have seen before. 

                                 Hibiscus 

       The ladies room looks more like a spa

The infinity pool is edged by plumeria bushes.

                               Beach path

I walked down to the beach. At first it was lovely. Then the wind really kicked up and started blowing sand. The water is beautiful blue and the sand is soft and fine. No signs of shellfish or crabs or other sea life. Just little bits of shells and coral broken into small pieces. 

These people were pulling an outrigger canoe up onto the beach. 

Artwork in the lobby by the resident artist,  Welzie.

Nice experience for me today. Ricky treated me to a massage at the Awili Spa. Ahhhhhh. A real treat!

We decided to eat dinner at The Monkeypod. We took the courtesy shuttle for the short ride.  Then we waited for an hour for seats at the bar. I had pizza and Ricky had a burger. 

This pair of lizards seem to be waiting too.

Another beautiful Maui sunset. They were having the luau out on the lawn so we had a nice serenade while we watched the sun go down. Actually the music carried on into the night and drifted up to our room well past our bedtime. Part of The Andaz Experience!