The Grand Wailea

Growing up on the East Coast, neither my wife nor I had ever been to Hawaii before last year when our friends suggested our families make a joint trip. If you've never been, well, holy crap. It's unreal. We flew Hawaiian Airlines (very nice) direct from Seattle to Kahului, Maui and stayed at the truly fantastic Grand Wailea resort.

Within a day we had our routine down: breakfast in our room, morning on the boogie boards at the beach, lunch next to the incredible pools, afternoon swimming in those incredible pools (connected by waterslides and rope swings), a nice dinner and off to bed. Repeat. My daughter and I did take one day to go snorkeling and "Snuba" diving at Molokini, a protected marine habitat in a submerged volcanic crater. I wish we'd brought my son and wife along; it's pretty much impossible to describe.

I have been fortunate in my life to visit many beautiful places --- Maui in general, and the Grand Wailea in particular, win the prize. If you've never been, definitely give it a shot.