(re: above shirt - J. Crew is offering a shirt in their menswear line that is made by Saint James from Normandy, France - makers of the real French sailor shirt, and perhaps what Chanel used to wear? An XS might work, it's $88 and really made in France!  Check it out here.)

It's hard not to compare it to the Coco Chanel movie on Lifetime with Shirley Maclaine since both covered a lot of the same ground.  I acutally liked both of the movies, although in the tv movie I preferred the part with young Coco played by Barbora Bobulova.  (I'm not a big fan of Maclaine.)

Audrey definitely looked like a professional smoker in the movie, which is quite necessary to play Chanel.  I wonder if she smokes in real life?  Here are some pictures of the real Chanel, if these aren't a good warning for why NOT to smoke, I don't know what is.  It looks like she aged quite poorly. 

Yikes!

Pretty much it was a week of pool-side lounging with the spa, yoga, a sunset cruise, whale watching and a snorkel trip thrown in.  ...oh and there was the private (for my boyfriend's company) Bon Jovi concert. Not too shabby!

We had an ocean view room that was quite nice, not huge, but a perfect view (you could watch sunset from bed!). The bed had a feather bed, a down duvet and nice damask stripe sheets. The furniture was classy looking, in that dark wood British colonial look. The bathroom was quite amazing with a huge soaking tub and separate shower.  The resort overall was very nice, what you would expect, except food prices were a bit crazy. Pool drinks were $13 each and dinner entrees in the mid $30s up to $50!  Yikes, that's expensive even to a New Yorker who is accustomed to expensive restaurants.  Mind you, these weren't really fancy places, just normal nice restaurants.

The pools were incredible, I don't even know how many there were... lots... and most of them connected by slides and a lazy river with some water falls and a grotto bar.  One day we got a cabana (mucho $) which was fabulous. They bring you a fruit plate in the morning and then later frozen grapes and chilled towels. And of course they will deliver as many $13 pool drinks as you want, and food from the pool restaurant. Very cool, I'd never had a cabana before...

The pools were so great, that the only time I went in the ocean was on our snorkel trip out to Molokini atoll.  Since the weather wasn't "hot" I was afraid that the ocean water would be cold, but it wasn't.  The water in the basin of the atoll was so clear and there were tons of fish. Near the rock there were some corals too... although I thought there would have been more corals.

Just a short walk away from the Grand Wailea, were the Shops at Wailea. They actually had Gucci and Tiffany, etc.  But I didn't even go in... I have those here, I certainly don't need to lug Gucci or Tiffany products all the way back from Hawaii!  They also had a Ruth Chris (again, just like home), Tommy Bahama Restaurant and Longhi's (a local Italian restaurant).

The most fabulous meal we had, perhaps was at Sarento's in Kihei. Their location is amazing, literally right on the beach and facing West for a perfect sunset view. Also, one would think Italian in Hawaii...dubious, right??? But no, this was some serious Italian food with an equally serious wine list.  We had a Bruno Giacosa Barbera (Giacosa is my favorite producer in the Piedmont region). They bake their own bread and had a whole wheat focaccia topped with carmelized Maui onions that was seriously one of the best breads I've ever had.  We had a lot of great meals though... of course tons of seafood. The fish tacos at the hotel pool for lunch were very good (ask for them grilled, not fried) and at $18, probably one of the more reasonable choices at the hotel.  Their main restaurant Humuhumunukunukuapua'a was good, but not really great. Honestly, the wine list was crap. The location however was quite cool (see below), a thatch-roof Polynesian style structure that stands on stilts in a little lagoon with fish in it. And at night they light up the entire grounds of the hotel with tiki torches so it is really quite spectacular. 

Oh, and I also have to put in a good word for United's P.S. service from JFK to LAX. To start, you get to go to the First Class International louge at JFK, which is even nicer than the regular lounge (free sparkling wine, nice foods, etc).  Then on board, the chairs are amazing. They recline nearly into a flat bed and it feels like you're in your own little cocoon. There are only 6 seats in the section, and behind there is a pretty large business class section. In these seats you can sleep any way you want, it's great!  The service was fabulous too, they really spoil you.  I could have drank Champagne (well sparkling wine at least) the entire time if I'd wanted to.  The only problem is that after this service, all other flying sucks.  First class from LAX to Maui seemed quite poor in comparison...

Grand Wailea, Maui

I've been digging through my things finding my summer clothes.  I hate packing... I always bring too much because I like to have choices, but then it seems silly because I bring back things that I never even wore.  But beach trips are always easier, the clothes are smaller to pack, and you don't have to worry about formal attire since the island vibe is always so chill. 

It's been quite cold in New York and we even got some snow this week, so it's a great time to go.  I don't think I'm going to post while I'm away, so I will fill you in when I get back!  Cheers!

They have more pictures including behind the scenes of the photo shoot here on their website.