Property
Trying to find the real Hawaii, you know the one James Michener wrote about in his epic novel, where customs are intact and people welcome you with aloha spirit because they want to? Try the island of Molokai with its offbeat, traditional locals and nature uninterrupted by huge condo developments. The best place to stay? Hotel Molokai…quaint traditional Polynesian style bungalows are open-air allowing the ocean breezes and sounds of the waves to waft through while you relax on your private lanai.

Location
Hotel Molokai is located on Kailoloa Beach near Hawaii’s only great barrier reef. There in a beachfront pool and lush gardens for exploring. A short drive away you can tour a working macadamia nut farm (and taste a few too…yum!), take a mule ride down to witness the work of Fr. Damien, hike to Halawa Valley and more.

Sleeps
Open-air bungalows sleep up to four.

Highlights
The kids loved playing in the garden…we made leis and put on fire dancing shows. The beach is small but the water is calm. The live music every night is really the place the locals hang out, so it made for a really authentic experience and the kids had fun shaking their hips to the tunes.

Good to know
You may want to rent a car as the island’s attractions are spread out. We stayed here while filming Travel With Kids Hawaii: Maui & Molokai (more information at TravelWithKids.tv) and found that by just having the car for a couple days we were able to visit most of the places we wanted to see.

Contact
http://www.hotelmolokai.com/

Written by Carrie Simmons