Mondays are hard. So to help kickstart the week, we're going to call today Mai Tai Monday. OK, we're not really drinking before noon, but we are going a bit ga-ga for the baby penguins who hatched recently at the Hyatt Regency Maui. We're not sure if this is Mai or Tai in the photo with his mama, but he sure is cute.

Mai and Tai are African Black-Footed Penguins, and part of the hotel's thriving wildlife habitat. We know, we didn't think penguins were warm-weather creatures either, but this particular species dig the balmy temps of Maui, and we can't say we blame them. We'd take swaying palm trees over frigid ice floes any day.

]]> MsRebecca 2010-02-08T10:56:52-05:00 20.9126700 -156.69220 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/6/21/235141/943 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/whalerhawaii1.jpg" class="top"><p> <p>When a resort spends eighteen months doing reconstruction and renovation work, you want it to be obvious that something has changed, and <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Whaler+On+Kaanapali+Beach/ian/164631"><b>The Whaler on Kaanapali Beach</b></a> in Hawaii seems to have gotten that bit all figured out: they've plonked a three-tiered fountain in the middle of their lobby so every guest can see that things are different.<p>Of course, this is not the only renovation or addition that The Whaler has made. Their garden courtyard has been re-landscaped and they've also re-paved the deck around the pool.<p>The jet spa has had some work done on it too: the way they describe it is "the jet spa was enlarged to better accommodate guests", which makes us a amandak 2009-06-23T09:26:55-05:00 20.9219902 -156.69337 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/12/21/204933/52 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Sheraton_Maui_Notecast_Info.jpg" class="top"><p> <p>We love our iPod and we love anything new we get to do with it. Call us suckers for technology, but we actually do think it's cool that the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Sheraton+Maui+Resort/ian/105794"><b>Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa</b></a> has got together a <a href="http://www.sheraton-maui.com/notescast.htm">Notescast</a> for iPods.<p> <p>What that means is you can download a file off their site onto your iPod and bingo, you get a mini-website of information to enjoy whenever you want. The Sheraton's Notescast has got 81 pages of info so you can move around and find out pretty much anything you need to know, and you can make your friends jealous even before you leave by showing them pictures.<p>Now, skeptics, we see the obvious comment here: amandak 2008-12-22T09:20:35-05:00 20.9250193 -156.69283 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/6/26/61944/1538 <![CDATA[<p><i>We are suckers for a room with a killer view. &nbsp;We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the <a href="http://flickr.com/groups/hotelchatter/">HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool</a>, or by <a href="mailto:tips@hotelchatter.com">sending the photo along to us</a>. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.</i><p><p> <img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Killer_View_Lahaina_Shores_Maui.jpg" class="imgborder"><p> <p>It just goes to prove that there's no such thing as too many palm trees, when you stare long and hard at amandak 2008-06-26T09:00:06-05:00 20.867260 -156.67462 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/7/31/121633/457 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/kaanapali_beach.jpg"><p>Of course you never need a reason to go to Maui, but when you have one it's all the better. The <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com">Chicago Tribune</a> points out two reasons at the Kaanapali Resorts. The company is offering two packages that will appeal to either your adventurous side or the foodie that lurks within. <p> For the action lovers, go to the <a href="http://www.kbhmaui.com"><b>Kaanapali Beach Resort</b></a> for the "Maui Adventurer"package which: <p> <blockquote><p>Offers one activity for two--a horseback ride on a working cattle ranch, a bike ride down Haleakala, an ATV ride, a waterfall hike or a Molokini snorkel excursion--plus five nights in an ocean-view room, daily breakfast, daily rental car and admission to a dinner show blending Hawaiian dance with Courtney 2006-07-31T13:56:58-05:00 20.923044 -156.69297 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/