There is one singular mantra getting me through the dredges of stress at this, the 2 month out point of wedding planning.  It goes like this:

SWIM UP BAR SWIM UP BAR SWIM UP BAR SWIM UP BAR SWIM UP BAR SWIM UP BAR

I don’t want to emotionally “miss” the wedding by focusing completely on the honeymoon, but I find myself fantasizing about the sweet, sweet feeling of relief that will accompany the completion of something that has taken a good year to plan.  And I’m just saying, it’s a particularly sweet to picture that relief from within the safe & loving confines of a swim up bar.

Richie & I were torn about where to honeymoon.  And I should clarify- I LOVE to travel.  My favorite place on the planet is Queenstown, New Zealand.  Followed by Prague I think.  And then Costa Rica maybe.  So when I thought honeymoon, places like Bali & The Maldives came to mind.  Richie, on the other hand, considers an unpleasant drive to New Jersey “traveling”.

So I got thinking.  Hawaii is pretty much the perfect compromise.  It warms him up to a zillion hour flight but he can still speak English & get ahold of a cheeseburger.  Baby steps.  And ultimately, all I care about is RELAXING.  I don’t care if I ever leave the pool (which is why the swim up bar is a necessity).

Once we’d decided on the islands (Kauai & Maui!), it was time to research the resort of our dreams.  On my global travels, I’ve become a hardcore Trip Advisor advocate, so I started my digging there. But I’m a big ‘ol cross-reference with The Knot type of chick who then Yelp’s the heck out of something.  What I’m saying is, I do my research.  Before long, I found one name that popped up over & over again.  Being the altruistic woman I am, I’m going to save you a million hours of research & just tell you exactly where to stay on your future Hawaiian vacation.

Our first stop will be Kauai.  And I pretty much died when I found the Grand Hyatt Kauai ( http://www.grandhyattkauai.com/). When I read they made the Conde Nast Gold List for 2012 & were ranked as the #1 hotel on Kauai, I was done.  Please look at this ridiculousness:

Yeah, I know.  I’m not promising to ever come home.

After Kauai, we’re popping over to Maui.  And lo & behold, Hyatt won me over again.  The Hyatt Regency Maui (http://www.hyattregencymaui.com/) is equally ridiculous. Because when Travel + Leisure Magazine gives you the World’s Best Award (August 2012), that’s pretty much enough for me.  And if that’s not enough for you (you are being TERRIBLY difficult right now!), then I’m happy to bring up the Grotto bar, aka the bar…inside a cave…that you swim into. 

You had me at hello, Hyatt.

Yes, please.

Statistically, if you haven’t already been to Hawaii, you’ll be going there soon.  Ok, I made that math up, but here’s the point- it took me some digging to find the dream spots for our honeymoon & hopefully my expert blogging skills will make your future trip to Hawaii that much easier to plan. I’ll let you know what I think of these resorts post-vacay but I can assure you of one thing: with all of my world travels, I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to stay at any resort.

Side note, because I’m planning to make sure Richie is REALLLLLY glad we’re getting hitched (& also because I love a good shopportunity), I’ve gone on a quest to find a brand new super hot bikini for every day of the honeymoon.  You’re welcome, Mr. Wilson.

Some cliché with the word “Lei’d” in it,

Rach