We’re Going To Hawaii…

I told my brother we weren’t going to Hawaii.  It was too expensive and there’s no way I could survive a plane ride with two little ones.

Then he called to say he could get us half off the Disney Resort Aulani. 

We’re going to Hawaii. 

The sad part?  Even at the discount, we’re still staring at just over $200 a night which means we can only afford to stay a short while.  But I can’t stand the thought of jumping on a plane for 12 hours round trip and staying 4 days.  I had to find a cheap hotel for a few extra nights - but decent enough that I could stay with two small kids and not feel the need to sleep with a knife under the pillow (been there, done that, just not with kids.  I have no standards if it saves me money).

Challenge accepted.

I obsessively researched hotels in the area.  Turtle Bay.  Old school hotel on North Shore built in the ‘70s by Del Webb was intended to be a luxury resort - and it was… in the 70’s and 80’s.  Time was not kind and the hotel changed hands a lot.  It finally landed in the hands of an investment group who decided to renovate the hotel to bring it to its old glory.  The problem?  No one likes construction.  It led to months of bad reviews on the travel websites…which led to me asking the resort what they could do for me. 

That’s how you get a $429 room for less than $200.

The best part (because it gets better), construction finished in June.  The reviews have been glowing since then and if you call today, you’ll pay $429.

Oh but the flight!! Ugh!  $504 a person.  How will we get there at that rate?

When you log on every day to check the rates to monitor the best days to purchase through that airline, they e-mail you deals (maybe to give a break to their server??).

Three tickets to Oahu… $250 each. 

If I were a rapper, I’d drop the microphone and say ‘Boom’.