My first trip to Maui was on business, which meant lots of running around, working and late night parties. I clocked in a scarce 4 hours of sleep the night before we left, but I felt amazing getting on the plane and slept like a baby.
My skin was glowing from the humidity, and the amount of fresh fruit and fish I was consuming (roadside farmers markets make the best fruit bowls! A halved papaya brimming with starfruit, apple bananas, and pineapple slices was one of my favorite indulgences). But also because I booked an hour long massage at the Four Seasons in Maui that ended minutes before we left for the airport – I thought this ingenius; my husband thought I was nuts.
The massage included oils from Isun, a Colorado based company that makes the most decadent, compelling fragrances. Their Carnelian body oil is by far my favorite, but you can't go wrong with any of them.
And the spa serves a hot fresh ginger, lemon and honey tonic that rejuvenated me to the point that I wasn't relying on my standard coffee to get through the day. I still make this on my stovetop when I'm feeling a cold coming on, or after a period of overdoing it, with.
The porch outside our hotel room at Lumeria.
When I went back – this time as a mom and on vacation – I knew I wanted to stay at Lumeria, a former retirement home for sugar cane plantation workers, which is now lush retreat nestled in bohemian enclave of Paia. Guided meditations and yoga classes before breakfast, hot tea around a fire pit, Balinese daybeds on the porch for naps, reading and zoning out while watching the rain fall, and moonlit dips in the outdoor saline pools were exactly what we needed. I wasn't ready to leave, but I picked up bottles of locally made facial washing grains and oil from their reception desk to take the golden vibes home with me. These didn't disappoint, and neither did the Lomi Lomi (a Hawaiian message practice that mimics the rolling waves of the ocean) body oil from Isun I took home as well.
