See below for MISC REVIEWS,
but check out the rest of the pages for detailed info.
Girls’ Spa-day: Lunch at Tommy Bahama: A
Great. Had a lovely section waiting for us, were prepared for split checks and served quickly. No complaints, yummy!
Girls’ Spa-day: Massages at the Grand Wailea, B-
Normally love them, but this was horrible. This is a time-sensitive complaint: they were under construction. I made these reservations 3+ months in advance, and we got a phone call a week before saying that appointment times would have to change due to construction. On the day of, we found out that the terme was open during hours that our wedding schedules wouldn’t permit. The terme is the best part of the G. Wailea. I wasn’t happy with their communication or customer service in this regard, at all. So, be wary of construction!
Rehearsal Dinner Chef: Paul Alkire, A-
http://www.paulalkire.com/
Lovely. His staff kept the night flowing perfectly, which meant Mom could enjoy the night (event at her house). Food was excellent, and their clean up was very efficient. The whole event including service, his grocery shopping, food and preparation cost less than $1500 for 50 people. And we had heaps of leftovers! He is a bit chatty, which a week before the wedding got on my nerves. But, it’s only because he wants it to be exactly what you want.
Welcome Activities: Snorkeling with Pacific Whale Foundation, A-http://www.pacificwhale.org/
Nice boat, generally good service, good food on board, ginger ale and ginger available for sickies. Complaint: offices don’t open until 6AM with 6:45AM check in (we were already in the car when calling asking about weather conditions). And, they took us out for two hours to three spots that were all deemed “unsafe.” Back to the harbor by 9:30 AM. We got our money back, so it was simply a “free boat ride” that made a handful of people sick due to weather. I think the whole group would’ve preferred it if the captain called off the tour in the first place J
Welcome Bags: CYMA on Amazon.com, ABC store, Safeway, Costco, Walmart. I think we probably spent about $15-20 per bag. OK, so here’s the list of what our welcome bags included and from where we got them:
Amazon: CYMA reusable bags, Frisbee, “Emergency Kit” (Tylenol, Purell wipes, shout wipes ordered separately), Black folder to hold all paper/info
Walmart: 2011 Hawaii Calendar, Hawaii plastic key chain, Hawaii Playing Cards (some ABC store & Safeway, too)
Longs: Kauai Cookies
Costco: Maui Chips, Choc. Covered mac nuts, singles (variety), Variety sandwich cookies
Pita Paradise: A
Also part of my surprise Hen’s night. Pita Paradise is located in Kihei &Wailea, my Mom loves it. She ordered take-out from them and had our bus stop at a picnic bench along the highway for everyone to have a “pita picnic” on the way to our surprise activity. I don’t recommend eating this on the go and in the dark (as we were) simply for convenience and messiness’s sake, but it was very very yummy. And, the service my mom received with multiple confirmation emails, etc, was excellent.
The Pole Room: A+
www.thepoleroom.com
This was a surprise Hen’s night—it was so much fun. My MOH organized it with the instructor Amanda, and damn, she has got skills. Everyone from myself to my 66 year-old aunt got in on the action. Amanda also taught me a sexy “floor routine” for my honeymoon (doubted any of our Hawaii resorts would have poles in the bedroom). There were two poles, she provided sexy heels for those who wanted, and a table/grazing area for my MOH and Mom to bring drinks and snacks. If it weren’t for our 6AM check-in the next morning, I think we would have gone out and practiced the moves in town J
Fred’s Mexican Cantina: A+
I called Friday afternoon and asked if they could reserve a spot for 20+ people that night. It sounded iffy, but when we arrived we were asked if we were part of the wedding group, “why yes,” and we were led to the back of the bar and we had the whole section to ourselves. Drinks and food yummy as always! They served quickly and were able to split bills quickly.
Five Palms: B
Everyone couldn’t stop oohing and awing over the location. Beautiful. The food was excellent too. Comments ranged from ‘wow, that looks amazing’ to ‘this is huge’ to ‘have you tried the bread?!’ However, it took them about an hour after everyone was done to split the checks. I had made the reservation saying it would be split checks. The waitress just didn’t take orders according to who was together. That was very disappointing. Personal quibble: I went to check on the bills, and I got snapped at “it takes a while to separate 40 meals!” Okay, then. If you’re thinking about this for a one-check party, go for it!
Stranz Nail & Hair Salon: A+
We had three girls working on the four of us, and we often had our manicures and pedicures being done at the same time—felt like a total diva! I still say her pedicures are the best I have ever had. 4 girls, manicure & pedicure, and one pink/white fill for myself came to $230 (about $60 each including tip). My MOH from AZ was really impressed with her French Tip manicure, it lasted so long…
Website: www.mywedding.com A+
Easy to use, free, loved the RSVP feature and the capability to set up a “wedding” mailing list.
Registry: www.honeyfund.com A+
Easy to use. Upgraded to the premium account. Our guests loved that they knew their monetary gifts were going to build memories, etc. As one put it, she enjoyed going “shopping.” Tip: guests seem to like “purchasing” items that they could purchase in whole (i.e. instead of grouping all your meals into one item where they could contribute $50 at a time, do separate meals at the same pricing).
Kati @ ArtfulBeginnings (handkerchiefs): A+
Kati made two beautiful hankies for my parents with a quote, monogram and wedding date and location printed on them in our wedding colors. Sweet, helpful and quick to respond. They arrived already beautifully wrapped/presented so that I could easily check them and then give them to my parents. That’s the most I cried that day, btw, is when I gave Mom and Dad their hankies. Lovely. I also ordered her ring pouch.
Great. Had a lovely section waiting for us, were prepared for split checks and served quickly. No complaints, yummy!
Girls’ Spa-day: Massages at the Grand Wailea, B-
Normally love them, but this was horrible. This is a time-sensitive complaint: they were under construction. I made these reservations 3+ months in advance, and we got a phone call a week before saying that appointment times would have to change due to construction. On the day of, we found out that the terme was open during hours that our wedding schedules wouldn’t permit. The terme is the best part of the G. Wailea. I wasn’t happy with their communication or customer service in this regard, at all. So, be wary of construction!
Rehearsal Dinner Chef: Paul Alkire, A-
http://www.paulalkire.com/
Lovely. His staff kept the night flowing perfectly, which meant Mom could enjoy the night (event at her house). Food was excellent, and their clean up was very efficient. The whole event including service, his grocery shopping, food and preparation cost less than $1500 for 50 people. And we had heaps of leftovers! He is a bit chatty, which a week before the wedding got on my nerves. But, it’s only because he wants it to be exactly what you want.
Welcome Activities: Snorkeling with Pacific Whale Foundation, A-http://www.pacificwhale.org/
Nice boat, generally good service, good food on board, ginger ale and ginger available for sickies. Complaint: offices don’t open until 6AM with 6:45AM check in (we were already in the car when calling asking about weather conditions). And, they took us out for two hours to three spots that were all deemed “unsafe.” Back to the harbor by 9:30 AM. We got our money back, so it was simply a “free boat ride” that made a handful of people sick due to weather. I think the whole group would’ve preferred it if the captain called off the tour in the first place J
Welcome Bags: CYMA on Amazon.com, ABC store, Safeway, Costco, Walmart. I think we probably spent about $15-20 per bag. OK, so here’s the list of what our welcome bags included and from where we got them:
Amazon: CYMA reusable bags, Frisbee, “Emergency Kit” (Tylenol, Purell wipes, shout wipes ordered separately), Black folder to hold all paper/info
Walmart: 2011 Hawaii Calendar, Hawaii plastic key chain, Hawaii Playing Cards (some ABC store & Safeway, too)
Longs: Kauai Cookies
Costco: Maui Chips, Choc. Covered mac nuts, singles (variety), Variety sandwich cookies
Pita Paradise: A
Also part of my surprise Hen’s night. Pita Paradise is located in Kihei &Wailea, my Mom loves it. She ordered take-out from them and had our bus stop at a picnic bench along the highway for everyone to have a “pita picnic” on the way to our surprise activity. I don’t recommend eating this on the go and in the dark (as we were) simply for convenience and messiness’s sake, but it was very very yummy. And, the service my mom received with multiple confirmation emails, etc, was excellent.
The Pole Room: A+
www.thepoleroom.com
This was a surprise Hen’s night—it was so much fun. My MOH organized it with the instructor Amanda, and damn, she has got skills. Everyone from myself to my 66 year-old aunt got in on the action. Amanda also taught me a sexy “floor routine” for my honeymoon (doubted any of our Hawaii resorts would have poles in the bedroom). There were two poles, she provided sexy heels for those who wanted, and a table/grazing area for my MOH and Mom to bring drinks and snacks. If it weren’t for our 6AM check-in the next morning, I think we would have gone out and practiced the moves in town J
Fred’s Mexican Cantina: A+
I called Friday afternoon and asked if they could reserve a spot for 20+ people that night. It sounded iffy, but when we arrived we were asked if we were part of the wedding group, “why yes,” and we were led to the back of the bar and we had the whole section to ourselves. Drinks and food yummy as always! They served quickly and were able to split bills quickly.
Five Palms: B
Everyone couldn’t stop oohing and awing over the location. Beautiful. The food was excellent too. Comments ranged from ‘wow, that looks amazing’ to ‘this is huge’ to ‘have you tried the bread?!’ However, it took them about an hour after everyone was done to split the checks. I had made the reservation saying it would be split checks. The waitress just didn’t take orders according to who was together. That was very disappointing. Personal quibble: I went to check on the bills, and I got snapped at “it takes a while to separate 40 meals!” Okay, then. If you’re thinking about this for a one-check party, go for it!
Stranz Nail & Hair Salon: A+
We had three girls working on the four of us, and we often had our manicures and pedicures being done at the same time—felt like a total diva! I still say her pedicures are the best I have ever had. 4 girls, manicure & pedicure, and one pink/white fill for myself came to $230 (about $60 each including tip). My MOH from AZ was really impressed with her French Tip manicure, it lasted so long…
Website: www.mywedding.com A+
Easy to use, free, loved the RSVP feature and the capability to set up a “wedding” mailing list.
Registry: www.honeyfund.com A+
Easy to use. Upgraded to the premium account. Our guests loved that they knew their monetary gifts were going to build memories, etc. As one put it, she enjoyed going “shopping.” Tip: guests seem to like “purchasing” items that they could purchase in whole (i.e. instead of grouping all your meals into one item where they could contribute $50 at a time, do separate meals at the same pricing).
Kati @ ArtfulBeginnings (handkerchiefs): A+
Kati made two beautiful hankies for my parents with a quote, monogram and wedding date and location printed on them in our wedding colors. Sweet, helpful and quick to respond. They arrived already beautifully wrapped/presented so that I could easily check them and then give them to my parents. That’s the most I cried that day, btw, is when I gave Mom and Dad their hankies. Lovely. I also ordered her ring pouch.
