Kapalua News

Pretty, huh?

That’s Maui, baby.

Which is where Kapalua is located (of course).

And where the 10th Annual Billabong Pro Maui was held at Honolua Bay at our very own Kapalua Resort from December 8-20, 2008. (See Flickr for a bunch of great pics from the event.)

As a conclusion to the WCT Women’s World Title race, the Billabong Pro Maui dished out a prize purse of $85,000 and welcomed 17 of the best female surfers on earth.

It featured Australian Rebecca Woods, Brazilian Silvana Lima and many other wonderful surfer girls.

Two-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore won her first Vans Triple Crown by conquering the strong field and taking home $22,000 in prize money.

The event was free and anyone was welcome to attend.

You can learn more about the event and all that happened (with videos too!) at the Billabong Pro website.

Watch highlights from the live webcast on billabongpro.com

photo by Randy Son Of Robert

We’re all about fun here at Kapalua Resort.

Here are some YouTube videos of people enjoying our Kapalua Adventures and other fun things where we are.

Video 1: Cruise the 3/4-Mile Zipline

Video 2: Watch the Zipline from the Ground

Video 3: Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle in Kapalua Bay

Video 4: Kapalua from the Air (By Helicopter)

Learn more about Kapalua Adventures here.

Whether you’re still saving up to travel to Hawaii or just wondering if Kapalua is the right Hawaiian vacation spot for you, we’ve got five fine reading options to recommend to you:

1.  No Worries Hawaii by Jerry and Janine Sprout - 18 customer reviews … 17 of them are five-star reviews, and the other one is four stars. So it’s safe to say people like this book. The authors have more than 20 years under their belts exploring the American west and combine photography and graphic design expertise with reporting experience.
2. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz - You might think this an odd choice, but listen: Maui’s in here, alongside a multitude of other places. So you’ll be forced to compare. We think you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful place anywhere on earth (in our biased opinion, it’s impossible).
3. Maui Trailblazer: Where to Hike, Snorkel, Paddle, Surf, Drive by Jerry and Janine Sprout - A total-island guide to Maui that includes Kapalua. Includes 240 photos and 10 maps. You won’t want to leave.
4. Maui (Lonely Planet) by Ned Friary and Glenda Bendure - Just a whole lotta great travel tips about Maui. Includes “green” traveling tips for sustainable living fans. In full color, with lots of maps.
5. Top Maui Restaurants 2008 From Thrifty to Four Star by James Jacobson and Molly Jacobson -Maui is one of the most expensive places to eat in the United States. But that’s partially because there’s so much great food here! The authors dine out on Maui more than 10 times a week on average.

Enjoy! And we hope to see you here someday soon.

Without Tiger Woods planning to play in the 2009 Mercedes-Benz Golf Championship, what’s worth watching?

Well, we at Kapalua Resort have a few things to say about that.

First, Kapalua is and always will be gorgeous, regardless of who golfs here.

Second, we’d love for the number one golfer in the world to be here next week for our tournament.

Third, we’re okay that he won’t be, because we’ve still got many of the world’s best golfers ready to go.

Fourth, Woods’ absence is fun to ponder in and of itself. Makes the whole competition even more interesting in a way - who might emerge as a potential competitor to Woods in the overall prize winnings bracket for 2009?

Fifth, why don’t you come see for yourself?  It’s next month, from the 5th to the 11th.

Kapalua Golf Resources

•  2009 Mercedes-Benz Championship - Our official website has a whole area devoted to this great tournament, the first of the 2009 PGA Tour season.
• PGA Tour Official Site - The PGA has a great tournament page set up for this golf event.

Kapalua Resort wants to wish you, your loved ones, and friends a very happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for—the harder we look, the more reasons for gratitude we find. Here in Kapalua, Maui we particularly are thankful for the beautiful land, the superb weather, and the wonderful people of our community. We feel it is second to none in the world!

We hope that this holiday season finds you healthy, and that you will find joy in the gift of life and the splendor of nature that surrounds us all. We invite you to come spend the holidays with us. What better place to escape to during the cold months of winter than a warm beach with sunny skies above you, soft breezes on your skin, and the merry sound of the ocean in your ears? Come to Kapalua Resort this season so that you can add one more thing to the list of things you are thankful for!

We all know that Hawaii benefits from a great deal of tourism from all over the world, but what other locations in the USA are popular? Where do the most tourists to the US come from? Questions and statistics like these fall under the domain of the OTTI. The OTTI is Office of Travel and Tourism Industries of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Most every country maintains an office of tourism of some nature, and the OTTI is the official such entity of the USA. Its role is that of “expanding travel and tourism business opportunities for employment and economic growth.” 

The primary functions of the OTTI are to:

• Manage the US travel & tourism statistical system and be the authoritative resource for such data
• Design and administer an international tourism promotion program
• Develop and maintain tourism policy and strategy
• Provide technical assistance in expanding tourism

For example, comprehensive 2007 US tourism data is available on OTTI’s website, as well as 2008 and other years, where you can learn that the country that sends the most tourists to the US is Canada. Makes sense, eh? What other countries made the top 10? And what US States were the most popular for tourists? Where does Hawaii rank? You can find out on the OTTI’s website. 

The efforts of the OTTI play a valuable part in bringing more tourism to Kapalua, Maui, which helps our community grow strong.

A press release this week announced some major changes in the management of Kapalua Resort’s parent company Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc (ML&P). On January 1, 2009, existing COO Robert Webber is to become Maui Land & Pineapple Company’s new President and CEO, and existing board member Warren Haruki will become ML&P’s new Chairman. The two men replace David Cole, who recently resigned after five years as ML&P’s Chairman, President, and CEO. Both Webber (photo right) and Haruki are extremely well qualified to lead the company in their respective new roles.

Of Rob Webber, David Cole said, “Rob Webber is exceptionally well-equipped to steer Maui Land & Pineapple Company through these challenging economic times. He understands and embraces the company’s vision and values and the larger role that ML&P plays in the Hawai’i community.”

“Warren Haruki is a seasoned community and business leader with deep roots in Hawai’i,” said Cole. “As executive chairman, Warren will bring an informed and nuanced understanding of policy and government relations matters to the management team.”

We warmly welcome these two competent leaders to the Kapalua and ML&P teams. We’re all one big family, and we eagerly look forward to a successful future for the whole Maui community.

Kapalua Resort in Maui, Hawaii is home to the season-opening PGA golf tournament – the Mercedes-Benz Championship. The 2009 edition of the Mercedes-Benz Championship takes place Jan 5-11, 2009 on the famous Plantation Course of Kapalua Resort. Tickets to the event are on sale now through Kapalua’s website or by calling 1-877-772-5425. And if you act soon, a one-year subscription to Golf Magazine is included with your advance ticket purchase.

The Mercedes-Benz Championship is a unique PGA tour event since the playing field contains only those golfers who won a PGA tour event in the previous season. Thus, it always attracts an elite field of the best golfers in the world. The tournament’s purse is another attraction to PGA pros – it is about $5.5 million, with the winner taking home about $1.1 million. The 2008 Mercedes-Benz Championship winner was Swedish PGA pro Daniel Chopra.

Beautiful accommodations for the event are available at any one of Kapalua Resort’s many award-winning Maui vacation rentals, including the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua and the Kapalua Villas. Act now to get your tournament tickets and save your spot!

When you’re looking for superior accommodations on Maui, the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua should be at the top of your list. Having recently undergone a $180 million transformation, the Ritz-Carlton offers luxurious rooms and residences, six restaurants and lounges, a lavish spa, a state-of-the-art fitness center, six tennis courts, and a three-tiered swimming pool with luxury cabanas. New 5-star Ritz-Carlton Residences at Kapalua Bay are in development and construction. If you want to get a feel for what they will look like, take this excellent virtual tour of the Ritz-Carlton Residences.

The Ritz-Carlton Residence will start at the shoreline of Kapalua Bay and be terraced up the gentle slope. There are 84  three- and four-bedroom luxury condominiums planned. Also available are two- and three-bedroom Ritz-Carlton Club Residences—the first of their kind on all of Hawaii. For more information, call 877.205.2141 or visit the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua Bay website.

In the first ever Kapalua LPGA Classic, golf pro Morgan Pressel won by birdying 2 of the final 3 holes and edging out Suzann Petterson by just one stroke for the victory. The inaugural Kapalua LPGA golf tournament on Oct 16-19, 2008 was a great success, with many fans from across the world following the talented golfers as they negotiated Kapalua’s beautiful Bay Course. We are thrilled for Morgan Pressel’s success—not only is Morgan the youngest LPGA golfer to win a major tournament, but she is also Kapalua Resort’s official LPGA Touring Professional.

After her win, Pressel said, “I’m excited, first to be a part of the Kapalua family, and it was a dream that we had to bring the LPGA Tour here. To be here and to win on top of it is just that much more exciting because I have my Kapalua family, as I’m now calling them, they just cheered me on all week.”

Morgan earned $225,000 for the win. The final leaderboard standings show the close race between the top 3 finishers:

What an exciting tournament. Congratulations, Morgan! We look forward to future LPGA tournaments in Kapalua.