When my friend asked me to join her in Hawaii, common sense would have made me say no. I was in the middle of launching Proprlifestyle and had just decided to also launch a new e-commerce store, called Propr Eyewear, selling designer sunglasses. But there was something about Hawaii… the beaches, tropical foliage, volcanos, Hawaiian shirts, Elvis and the snow outside my window…that made me stop and think, hey, why not. I decided to mix business with pleasure and use Honolulu as a launching pad to showcase my two ventures.
The trip was booked with Expedia.ca in February for a date in April. Seven days at the newly opened luxury hotel, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach (tip: when hotels newly open, they charge below the standard rates for the first 12 months or so) was just what I needed to look forward to after long hours required over the prior two months getting two ventures off the ground.
As the April holiday date approached my Proprlifestyle website had just been launched with the e-commerce store, Propr Eyewear due for launch one week later. I made my deadline.
We flew Westjet from Toronto to Honolulu, Hawaii via a Vancouver 2 hour stop-over and arrived at 11:00pm local time. Tired but excited and waiting patiently for our luggage to come through at the baggage claim carousel; we stood waiting and waiting until it was announced that the luggage for the Toronto residents did not make the Vancouver connecting flight. Much paperwork and documents exchanges later, we took a shuttle to our hotel luggage-less.
Choosing the Ritz-Carlton was the best thing we could have done under this disappointing circumstances. As a Ritz-Carlton guest, you are warmly greeted with a fresh flower Hawaiian Leis necklace at the hotel entrance; then you are escorted up to the 2nd floor check-in counter; you are then presented with a tropical drink while they process your booking details.
Everything about the Ritz spells luxury. They do everything for you. We quickly forgot about the lost luggage and enjoyed the tropical evening by the nightly-lighted pool while thee staff got our room ready.
We got a beautiful suite with two queen sized beds; a kitchen with oven; fridge and microwave; a living room and desk area; washer/dryer; spacious balcony with views of Waikiki beach and a bathroom that was almost the size of large living room.
The next morning, we devised a plan to hit Walmart right after breakfast to get essential items such as a couple of sun dresses, shorts, bathing suits, flip-flops, sun protection and hit the beach so not to waste a minute of our vacation instead of lamenting over lost luggage. We had tracked the arrival of our luggage online and it was due to leave Vancouver on a 2pm local flight heading for Honolulu arriving 5pm.
Our afternoon was spent at Waikiki Beach relaxing, swimming, and planning the rest of the week. It was challenging to say the least at moments. Imagining the worst-case scenerios, like what if we never get our luggage or if the luggage arrives at the end of our vacation.
This experience taught me that maybe I have too much stuff because all I really needed was a bikini, sandals and sundress to have a great holiday. In future I will always have spare clothes and a pair of shoes in my carry on. I was greatly relieved and grateful when our luggage arrived in our room at 7pm that evening after an eventful 18 hours.
I would like to give a big shout-out to all of the staff at the Ritz Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach. Thank you for your impeccable service and for accommodating all of our needs. Special thanks to Maria, Jennifer, Agnes, Dave, Ryan, Laurie and all of the breakfast staff.
Mahalo!
For your next vacation or staycation, check out Sunnies for under $200.00 below.
