Putting on the Ritz
Photo courtesy the Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua
The AAA Four Diamond Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua boasts a new level of luxe, thanks to a 3-year, $100 million transformation of the 54-acre resort’s rooms, restaurants, and public spaces. The new Fire Lanai Collection comprises 21 ground-floor rooms, each furnished with a sundeck, hammock, shade trellis, firepit, and gourmet s’mores kit.
The resort’s Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge is also brand-new. Services and amenities include a dedicated concierge; mixology classes; cooking demos; musical performances; and daily breakfast, lunch, snacks, hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and cordials geared to gourmet palates. Buffet choices might include lobster rolls, seared ‘ahi bánh mì, French omelets with shaved truffles, Kona coffee–braised short rib tostadas, and chocolate decadence cake.
Rooms start at $871; kama‘āina receive 20% off. Club Lounge access is $800 per night per room, double occupancy; kama‘āina receive a 30% discount on lounge rates.
O‘ahu
The buzz about mead
Photo courtesy Mānoa Honey & Mead
Yuki Yuzuhashi once dreamed of becoming a sculptor, but he now finds artistic fulfillment making craft honey and mead for Mānoa Honey & Mead, which he and his wife, Erika Ota, own and operate. He brews light, effervescent meads with local ingredients such as ginger, mango, pineapple, liliko‘i, dragon fruit, Tahitian lime, and honey from Hawai‘i Island partners and his company’s 250 hives throughout O‘ahu.
Visitors on the 90-minute Bees to Mead Experience are shuttled from Mānoa Honey & Mead’s modest Wahiawā headquarters to nearby hives, where they learn about bee biology and how honey is produced and harvested.
Photo courtesy Mānoa Honey & Mead
Some guests don protective gear to hold hive frames containing roughly 2,000 bees at work. Back at the main facility, the group observes the mead-making step in progess: It could be fermentation, adding seasonal fruits, or bottling. Those 21 and older can enjoy a mead tasting. The tour runs 2 Fridays each month. Prices start at $75 for adults. Half-hour honey and mead tastings start at $20.
Limu in the limelight
Photo courtesy Sea Life Park Hawaii
Limu (native seaweed) was important to the early Hawaiians as a staple food and for medicinal and ceremonial purposes. Today, approximately 500 species can be found along coasts statewide; in Waimānalo Bay, however, they have dwindled to perhaps a dozen.
Sea Life Park Hawai‘i and the nonprofit Waimānalo Limu Hui (WLH) have partnered to help restore limu’s numbers in that East O‘ahu district. Hui members are propagating the manauea, pālahalaha, and lepe-o-Hina species, which once flourished off Waimānalo, where the park is located.
The new, 45-minute Limu Discovery Tour is a fascinating introduction to limu that begins with the screening of a film produced by WLH. You’ll then go behind the scenes to see the group’s work firsthand. The tour concludes at a pond that mimics how limu grows naturally. There, you’ll make limu lei that WLH volunteers will later take to the sea. Complimentary limu talks are held beside the pond at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. daily.
General admission to Sea Life Park Hawai‘i is $44.99; ask about kama‘āina rates. The limu tour is an additional $10 per person.
You might also like: 5 eco-friendly activities across the Hawaiian Islands
Hawai‘i Island
Fresh from the farm
Photo courtesy Hawai‘i Farm Trails
As founder and “chief executive farmer” of Hawai‘i Farm Trails (HFT), Kālisi Mausio builds local food security by assisting farms statewide with production, on-site tours, and marketing efforts. The relationships she has cultivated have helped her fledgling business flourish: Onomea Country Market & Café in Pepe‘ekeo sources products from HFT’s network of farms, some of which are within a 30-minute drive.
The market sells an array of goods—from honey, goat cheese, eggs, fruits, and vegetables to taro baking mixes and seasonings made from spirulina, mamaki, and ‘ōlena (turmeric). The café’s hearty fare includes bean-stuffed plantains, kālua pig tacos, beef and ‘ulu (breadfruit) stew, and a veggie sandwich (pictured). Among the Sunday brunch standouts are ‘uala (sweet potato) mochi waffles topped with fruit, honey, and haupia cream. Entrées range from $6.50 to $18.
Catering and private on-site dinners feature ‘ono options such as ‘ulu bars topped with liliko‘i, and ceviche made with heart of palm and freshly squeezed coconut milk. The market and café’s location in the former Low Store, a Pepe‘ekeo landmark since 1925, is a bonus for history buffs.
Kaua‘i
Farming it forward
Photo courtesy Common Ground Kauai
The 2-hour Pau Hana Farm Tour through the multifaceted enterprise Common Ground (it’s an organic farm, a food hub, a host of incubator programs, and a venue for agricultural events) makes the case that farms need to do more than merely operate sustainably.
The alternative is agroforestry, the integration of trees, plants, animals, and microorganisms to create a thriving agricultural ecosystem. Gone are the conventional rows of monocrops. Instead, Common Ground, which sits on 83 lush acres in Kīlauea, mirrors a natural forest with tiers of some 30 crops that—along with chickens, cows, and honeybees—not only maintain the ‘āina but rejuvenate it.
Photo courtesy Common Ground Kauai
Guests can arrive for the tour an hour early to walk on their own to Stone Dam, which the Kīlauea Sugar Plantation built in 1880 to supply water to its fields. On select dates, Common Ground’s Lounge Nights offer live music, a nonalcoholic drink, and a 3-course dinner prepared with seasonal local ingredients ($65; alcoholic beverages can be purchased).
Farm tours take place on Thursdays and Fridays. Adults, $115; $65 for kama‘āina 12 and older.
You might also like: 5 delightful farm tours on Hawai‘i Island
Las Vegas Corner
Martha’s new restaurant
Photo by Palm + Ocean Digital
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to visit Martha Stewart’s home, you’re in luck. The lifestyle maven has opened her first restaurant, The Bedford by Martha Stewart, at Paris Las Vegas. Able to seat 194 diners, it aims to re-create the charm of her 1925 farmhouse in rural Bedford, New York, including a replica of its faux-bois dining room.
Photo by Palm + Ocean Digital
The open kitchen features white marble counters. Copper pots and pans, displayed on shelves and hung on hooks in gleaming lines, double as decor. The chefs prepare dishes that Stewart herself might serve to family and friends. Menu items include oysters Rockefeller, a classic Niçoise salad, a whole roast chicken carved tableside, and a short rib ragù served over trecce pasta with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. A fitting conclusion to any meal is one of Stewart’s signature desserts, such as the Upside-Down Lemon Meringue Pie.
The Bedford is open only for dinner. Entrée prices start at $25.95.
For more places to go and things to see in Hawai‘i, check out our editor-curated list of the best fairs, festivals, events, and more.
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