Advice on my venues: Honua Kai Lani + Spago

Hi ladies,

 

My first post in the Maui section!!

 

I've booked Honua Kai Lani (Sugarman Estate) for our ceremony/brunch in the day and Spago (at the Four Seasons) for our dinner reception. After searching the site, I am a little scared because no one else seems to have booked those two locations. Did I miss something? Is there something amiss about these two spots??

 

Huey

Hi Huey,

 

Yay! to more posts in the Maui section!

 

I don't think you have to worry. Most folks here on BDW go to Mexico or the Caribbean it seems, so it may not come up on a BDW search. I've seen the Sugarman Estate being used by other brides in other forums. Heck, just google the Estate and you'll get plenty of pictures of weddings there, and from what I've seen it will be a beautiful setting for your wedding! Heck my own Wedding coordinator just had a wedding there, and a few more: Tropical Maui Weddings - The Blog!

 

I've never been to the Spago in Maui, but Wolfgang Puck ain't a gazillionaire for nothing! If there's booze, food, and a view of the ocean, it will be an amazing dinner!

 

Don't worry, I don't think you have much to be scared of. I think anything in Maui will be fantastic.

 

Deb

Hi Huey! We didn't do Spago for our wedding, but while on our honeymoon portion of the trip we did make it a priority to eat there and it was fabulous! Their food was absolutely incredible and the view is fantastic!! I don't think you have anything to worry about at all! We also looked into Hanua Kai Lani for the wedding but in the end it was just way out of our budget. I think it's a gorgeous place and I'm sure you'll love it there, too!

Congratulations!

April

Hey April! I looked through your pics - you were such a beautiful bride and you both look so happy!

I'm relieved to hear that the food was good!! I think another struggle I've been having is I don't have a great sense of what the place is like from the few photos on the internet that I could find (or that Spago's could provide me). Were you out on the lanai or were you in the private dining room?

Did you also get to make a trip to Honua Kai Lani? You wouldn't happen to have any scouting pics, would you?

Huey

Hi again Huey! Thank you so much! It was truly like a dream!

It is hard to see what the place looks like with the photos available! We sat out on the lanai...we were towards the entrance to the restaurant, which put us further from the ocean, but we still had a great view. I didn't really get a great view of the dining room but I think they have large windows ocean side that will still get you a good view if you're planning to go that route. If you wanted to have the experience of the lanai, I would say the best thing to do is request the oceanfront portion of the lanai be reserved for your party...it's a fairly narrow lanai, so I think that would give it a more intimate feel that way (you really wouldn't see people coming in and out to dine) if your party size isn't large enough to fill the lanai.

We never did any scouting so haven't seen Honua Kai beyond the pictures online. I wish we would have gotten pics while we were dining in Spago!! After the fact it felt like a "Doh!" moment. I think we were just way too busy taking in the view, the sunset, and most of all, enjoying the food!

I tried doing a search for a floor plan of the place (got the idea because Mulligan's supplied us with one). I didn't come up with anything but I did find a company called Viking Design who appears to have done the design of the place...so maybe you can get a floor plan out of them if Four Seasons doesn't have it. Viking Construction || Resort, Spa, Restaurant, Retail & Residential Building || Maui, Hawaii

Sorry I couldn't be of much more help!! Good luck!

April

Since I've done the research, in case anyone else finds this helpful...

 

- PRIVATE DINING ROOM: There's a private dining room off to one side of the restaurant that looks like it has pretty open views of the ocean. The PDR buyout right now is $6000. Can hold dance floor plus 70 guests or so, more if no dance floor.

 

- LANAI: This is the balcony that wraps around the side of the restaurant, and also has a buyout of $6000, but it is the back part of the balcony (is covered). No dance floor or audio-visual equipment.

 

- POINT of the LANAI: This is the very tip of the balcony, completely unobscured with great views and no stragglers walking through, but seats only 40 and has a buyout of $10000.

 

- RESTAURANT BUYOUT: I have no idea. Really pricey I'm guessing.

 

Huey

 

PS. April - do you have any food recommendations?!?!

I'm getting married at Sugarman Estate in 2 months and I was able to do a scouting trip last fall. The location is beautiful and I am so excited! It's one of my WC's favorite venues and she has done many weddings there. I have not eaten at Spago but I heard the food there is fantastic. You made some excellent choices, good luck planning!

Aw thanks. Are you staying at the Sugarman for dinner as well? I debated back and forth, but it was really adds up after a while, doesn't it? Who is your WC? I think it'll beautiful...I'm really excited for you and can't wait to see the final product! Actually do you have any of your scouting pics that I can sneak a peek at?

Hey Huey! Sorry, somehow I missed this!

We only ate at Spago once, but I can tell you that what we ate was delicious. We shared a risotto appetizer which was unbelievable (although, I will let you know, neither of us had ever had risotto before, so nothing to compare it to lol). I had a pork chop which was very very good as well (and here, have a lot to compare to haha...as in high school and college summers, husband raised pigs with family on his families farm). My husband had a Thai dish of some kind. He really enjoyed that one as well.

 

From their website, here are the descriptions:

KULA CORN RISOTTO

Caramelized Maui Onions, Roasted Corn, Fresh Thyme and Parmigiano-Reggiano

 

PINEAPPLE RED THAI CURRY WITH ONAGA AND SCALLOP

Coconut, Galangal, Kaffir Lime, Thai Basil, Snow Peas and Green Papaya Salad

 

CARAMELIZED PORK CHOP WITH MAUI PINEAPPLE & PAPAYA

Baby Bok Choy, Big Island Vanilla, Anise, Cinnamon, Thai Basil and Molokai Yams

 

Hope this helps a little bit. It was truly a delicious dining experience!!

Hey Huey,

Yes, I'm having both my ceremony and reception there. Yes, it gets pricey since I have to bring everything in but it really is a gorgeous location and I wanted that outdoor oceanfront location and privacy. I'm using Events by Evonne for coordination and she has been fantastic. Give me your email address and I'll send pictures your way!