Finding the lobby

The view from my room at the Grand Hyatt Kauai. Photo by David Lansing.

Over the weekend I moved from the Hanalei Colony Resort on the North Shore to the Grand Hyatt in Poipu. It was kind of a shocking transition. Sort of like moving from your college dorm back into Donald Trump’s house. The Hanalei Colony Resort is funky and small and very laid back. The Grand Hyatt is glitzy and sprawling and buttoned-up. Hanalei Colony Resort’s motto is Unspoiled, Unplugged, Unforgettable. The Grand Hyatt’s is “A Hawaiian Classic.”

I’m not pushing one over the other. I’m just saying They’re very different. And I had a difficult time, at first, adjusting to my new digs beginning with just getting to my room which was a two day walk from the front desk. No, I’m kidding. It wasn’t that far. It just seemed that way after staying at a resort where I could actually see my car from my bedroom window. Here, when the bell man (he definitely wasn’t a boy) showed me how to operate the air-conditioning (something I’ve gladly done without for the last couple of weeks) by making sure my sliding glass doors were closed, I had just one question for him as he stood at the door: How do I find my way back to the lobby?

Seriously.

But I have to tell you it feels kind of cool to be here. Like staying in a very elegant Vegas resort like the Bellagio. Except there’s an ocean just outside my door. And I don’t have to pass by a thousand slot machines in the lobby on my way to dinner. If I can find my way back to the lobby.