SMT Travel Guide: Maui (Booked Through Costco!)
Plus, a recap of my favorite vacation outfits.
I have travel on my mind. Before I dive into my spring break trip, a quick note about this fall: Registration for my 2025 trip with Atlas Adventures is now open. YAY! We’re visiting London and the Cotswolds in October. This is the ultimate girls’ trip — solo sign-ups encouraged — with every detail meticulously planned by Atlas. Join us, won’t you? Details below and the registration form is here.
I just got back from a very different vacation — a kid-focused spring break spent on Maui. Matt and I visited this picturesque island years ago; I joined him on a work trip and then we stayed a few extra days by ourselves. That chapter of life feels so long ago. We were at the lowest point of our IVF journey and deeply unsure of what the future held. The Hawaiian sun, sea, and sand were so restorative.
It was surreal to return this month with three kids in tow — and it almost didn’t happen. As I was planning spring break, I scanned every hotel website I could find, hoping for Maui but unsure how to fit our family of five into a hotel room and stay within our budget. (We tend to prioritize space and opt for home rentals instead.) Fond memories of walks on the beach nudged me to keep searching and — would you believe it? — Costco to the rescue! We saved thousands of dollars booking through the discount retailer.
A full review below, including how we snagged two adjoining rooms and whether the perks panned out. The TL:DR: I highly recommend Costco for a family beach trip like this, where we spent most of our time at the resort. The package offerings meant considerable savings. For something more adventurous, elaborate, or luxurious, I would recommend a travel advisor (my experience with Atlas has shown me the perks of that first hand!).
Questions for me? Or perhaps you have tips on Maui travel? I will meet you in the comments!
PS: Keep scrolling for my favorite outfits from the trip. I wasn’t planning on doing an OOTD recap but one of my kids stepped in as a photographer. It was hilarious, and so much fun.
SMT Travel Guide: Maui (Booked Through Costco!)
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WHERE WE STAYED: The Wailea Beach Resort, a Marriott property situated along my favorite stretch of Maui. Wailea is home to half a dozen resorts along the ocean, with a beautiful path connecting them all that we walked each day.
The Wailea Beach Resort is on a rocky part of the coast, meaning no sandy spots directly in front of it. But the beaches are all public here and there are gorgeous options on either side. To the south is a bigger beach, with chairs and umbrellas for the Marriott as well as the Four Seasons Maui (of White Lotus Season 1 fame), the Grand Wailea (a Waldorf Astoria property), and the Fairmont Kea Lani. I preferred heading north to a series of smaller coves. My favorite beach is in front of the Andaz Maui, where you can walk to a secluded cove with beautiful rocks and palm trees. During the day, everything seemed a bit busy. But by sunset, most had cleared out, allowing us to splash and build sand castles delightfully on our own.
On our last, pre-kids trip, Matt and I stayed at the Andaz. It’s gorgeous. I would return in a heartbeat. But for this trip, with our kids ages 5, 7, and 9, the Wailea Beach Resort’s waterslides won us over. (Tell me you are a parent without telling me you are a parent, amIright?) We started each day in that pool, which also has a waterfall and several spray/splash features. After an hour or two, we all inevitably got overstimulated — it fills up fast! — and then walked along the coast to the resort’s pair of family pools. It was still lively there but somehow more calm, and with beautiful ocean views. (The hotel also has two adults-only pools, including one associated with the spa.)
HOW WE BOOKED: Through Costco! Yep, Costco. I have heard many recommendations for Costco’s travel offerings over the years, including in my discerning Los Angeles moms’ group. I browsed endlessly and skeptically, before calling the hotel directly to see what price they could offer us if we booked directly. Several exchanges later and I returned to Costco because it saved us thousands of dollars. We opted for a package that included a rental car and two rooms for six nights, including self parking and food credits at the hotel. (I fiddled with the flights, too, but ended up separating the two to get the times and seats we wanted.) A bit more on each follows:
Hotel: We needed two adjoining rooms. This was a must for me, which meant a little bit of extra work. We began asking, on one of our calls to the property, which room types connect. I then booked that specific class of room through Costco and, once confirmed, called back to the hotel again directly to request that they adjoin. We ended up paying an additional fee of $75 per night to guarantee the connecting rooms, which was annoying but worth it IMO. I wasn’t willing to risk it.
One more note on the rooms: We had zero negotiating power on the specific location of where we stayed. We arrived at the hotel and were given two rooms near a busy elevator and overlooking the (often noisy) lobby. When we requested to be moved, we were told there were no other options aside from some rather costly upgrades. There were likely many variables here, including the room type, the need for adjoining rooms, the busy time of year, and booking through an outside platform. (Matt’s frequent traveler status with Marriott did not help us.) It ended up being fine — we weren’t in our rooms all that often anyway.
Rental car: Booking a rental car through Costco felt like booking directly. We were able to choose the company we wanted and use Matt’s Avis account for easy pick-up. Self parking was included in the Costco booking, saving us as much as $45 (!) per night.
Food: The biggest upside BY FAR of booking through Costco was the food credits. Our package included a total of four adult breakfast buffets each day (two per room) and $200 in food credits per night ($100 per room). That meant we could head straight down to breakfast each morning and only pay for one children’s meal, about $15. The restaurant credits came with quite a few limitations (only applicable at certain restaurants on the property and excluding alcohol). But we made it work and those credits covered at least one more meal for our family, sometimes two. (Food is so expensive in Hawaii, this felt like a real win.) One downside: Because we could save money and dine at the hotel, we were not as culinarily adventurous as we might have been, seeking out restaurants off the property. But for this kid-centric vacation, the ease of food at the hotel was wonderful.
WHAT WE DID: Spent countless hours at the pool(s) and on the beach. Really! Part of the appeal of a resort vacation was all that it offered on site. My kids were THRILLED with the waterslides, plus they are all strong enough swimmers to really enjoy the pool. They also ran eagerly to the large grassy play area adjacent to the lobby with big swings, a fish pond, and games to play. At night, all three begged to go to the arcade, where all the games were “free” (in quotes because….this vacation was not free LOL). Did I want to jump in the car and explore more? Yes, definitely. But seeing my kids so happy at the hotel made me so happy.
We did explore a bit. We rented stand-up paddle boards and boogie boards at the beach one afternoon. Another morning we went on a hike in the ‘Āhihi-Kīna‘U Natural Area Reserve, along a rocky trail that tracks the coastline.
We sprung for two paid activities — the Te Au Moana luau at our hotel as well as a boat ride and snorkeling off the coast of Molokini. The luau was really well done, with delicious food as well as traditional dances accompanied by stories of Hawaiian history. It lasted for over three hours and we all had a wonderful time.
The snorkeling trip meant a great boat ride (something I love on ocean vacations!). The crew was so fun and I appreciated the very kid-friendly snorkeling rafts once the kids were tired of their masks. The photographer on board (an add-on cost) was a surprising highlight. As for what we saw in the water, I was a tad…underwhelmed. The spot our boat stopped at was filled with other snorkeling parties, too. And the fish were sparse. I think we would have seen as much (and saved a lot of money) renting snorkeling equipment to use on the beach near our hotel.
WHAT I BROUGHT: An oversized Kule striped tote was key for lugging everything to the pool. We brought goggles and a few pool toys, which kept my kids occupied for hours. That meant I could finally read Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake, which is as beautiful as everyone says.
And finally, SUNSCREEN. Any bronzed glow you might see in me is thanks to a spray tan I had before we left. In Maui, I lathered up many times a day — grateful for Supergoop’s expanded assortment. The Unseen Sunscreen is my kids’ fave (they love how easily it goes on). I doubled up, beginning with the Hydrating Cream as a top-notch moisturizer and then layering on the Glowscreen Drops for a bit of coverage. (And don’t forget: ELIZABETH10 gets you 10% off sitewide.)
(Edited to add: Hawaii has restricted the use of certain sunscreens to protect the reefs. You can read more about those rules here. Our hotel helpfully offered reef-safe sunscreen, which we used on our bodies.)
What I Wore in Hawaii
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I wasn’t planning to do an outfit recap from this was a family-focused trip. But then, at the start of the trip, sweet Oliver offered to take a picture. We started this years ago — here is my 2023 post on it — as a way to turn the tables and see things through their eyes. In Maui, Oliver got so into it he even began instructing me on poses! A hoot. I sprinkled in a few selfies to show some details, but the rest of the pics are all from seven-year-old O. ☺️
As for the clothes, there is less of a story to be told here and more of a motivation: Color and comfort were the guiding ideas. We dressed daily for breakfast and dinner, with long stretches at the pool in between (cover-ups FTW). When we could swing it, we caught sunset on the beach. All in all, a magical week. ✨
Layers were key for the early mornings. This new La Ligne sweater did the trick, and it’s in the perfect color.
We love a hat! J.Crew released a wider-brim bucket that paired perfectly with this (ever-so-slightly tailored — in a good way) Sail to Sable caftan.
I am new to matching sets but I think I am hooked? The comfort of these Rebecca Taylor top and trousers (full look a few pics up 🤙) won me over.
Continuing on the comfort theme, these Old Navy trousers (inspired by With Love, Meghan) have proven to be delightfully versatile.
You all went and sold this J.Crew Factory cardigan out! It’s a good one (here’s an alternative) and I loved how it offered a bit of coverage while dressing up the suit. Speaking of the suit! I was thrilled to discover Agua Bendita and all of its prints (since when did swim suits need to be solid?). The Janessa Leone hat is MY FAVE, as are these chunky (and affordable) Ryan Simkhai sunnies.
MEEP — Can you even? I loved our new matching Hill House dresses and so did Eleanor. I realize there is a finite amount of time she will want to twin with me and I am leaning in! (FWIW, the luau was a major twinning moment — I saw many parent-kid combos, including fathers and sons.)
This J.Crew shirt has matching bottoms, too. The whole look is a…well, LOOK. So I split it up for breakfast. The trousers look good with a tank, too. (Can you sense the theme here? Three cheers for vacation versatility.)
What says vacation quite like yellow stripes? This sunny Tuckernuck style works as well as a cover up as it does as a dress.
Putting this newsletter together has given me major TAKE ME BACK energy. I am so grateful for this week and looking forward to our return one day.
🌴 Maui questions for me? Happy to answer them. Thoughts of your own? Pop them all in the comments.
I live on Maui (west side). Is Unseen Sunscreen mineral based? If so you should add a note to your post that non mineral sunscreen is banned in Hawaii because it damages the reefs. Looks like you had a great spring break.
Our favorite days on Maui were the two Shaka Guide driving tours, North Shore and South Shore ($20/each tour) that we took to site see the island. Its a GPS tour guide that narrates a set drive but adjusts to your stops and gos (and skip sites). You can check it out on your phone for free (just download app). The Guide has expanded to other states and national parks, too. We did another one for Mt. Lemon in Arizona to see the fall colors, and it was good too