FAVORITE B & Bs WEST OF THE ROCKIES
Story and photography
by Eric Anderson & Nancy Allen

MAUI

Tourists have their Old World upscale Hawaiian favorites places, of course. For some, the sprawling Mauna Kea Beach resort on the big island, the first of the Rockresorts and one blessed with Robert Trent Jones’ benchmark golf course. For other b each lovers it may be the gorgeous Manele Bay Hotel perched on a red lava cliff above the secluded beach on what is essentially the secluded island of Laina. For older romantics there’s the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the Pink Palace of the Pacific, an icon for more than a century and eight miles from the airport, thank goodness.

But for us, it’s a special spot on everyone’s favorite island, Maui: Wailuku, the real Hawaii where sugar barons and bankers lived a life we’d all envy. Some of the mansions they built have been converted to cozy B & Bs like the 10-roomed Old Wailuku Inn. www.oldwailukuinn.com. The inn was built in 1924 and recaptures that time although it has been beautifully restored. The owners spoil visitors with big quilted beds, full breakfasts -- and pantry guests can raid any time their stomachs feel empty. That’s a generous offer these days when travel has never been more expensive.

The inn is about 15 minutes away from the Iao needle and state park. Wailuku, like Avalon on Catalina, is a great walk. Every street corner in this old town seems to have a church perched there. Worth checking out are the local restaurants, the old cemetery and the street of antiques shops.