B on Hawaii

If you need an excuse to get out and eat on Maui, then here it is: Restaurant Week is back at Wailea, and the deals abound between Sunday, May 23 and Saturday, May 29, 2010. In addition, a portion of every prix-fixe menu at the sixteen participating restaurants will go towards feeding the hungry at Maui Food Bank.

Ocean enthusiasts and those with a penchant for adventure should consider the freshly announced program coming soon to the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island of Hawai`i. From June 25–27, 2010, guests of the Kohala Coast luxury resort can join National Geographic environmental anthropologist Dr.

Maui lovers rejoice! Perhaps one of the best "steals" out there in the accommodations scene is the newly announced kama`aina rates (for local residents) at the Kapalua Villas. Now managed by Outrigger Resorts, the Villas are currently being offered at $159 per night.

Fairmont Hotels are edging to become the islands' most eco-conscious large-scale resort group with yet another move to improve the 'aina. The Kea Lani (Maui) and Orchid (Big Island) just announced that they would participate in a global environmental event organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on Saturday, March 27, whereby the hotel will "go dark" for one hour at 8:30 p.m.

Four Seasons doesn't let much time slip by without a major renovation or improvement to one of their deluxe Hawaii properties. This week, it's the Hualalai locale that announces the completion of a 15-month, $40 million face lift.

On Saturday, March 6, the 10th Annual Great Waikoloa `Ukulele Festival will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Held at Queens' Marketplace on the Big Island of Hawai`i, the event will feature legendary "Ambassador of Aloha" Danny Kaleikini as Master of Ceremonies.

A last-minute "Island to Island for Haiti" benefit concert and food event has been organized for his Friday, February 12, to raise money for the victims of the earthquake there. Cecilio & Kapono will headline the concert, to be held on the lagoon-fronting Great Lawn at O`ahu's Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Those that have been following the developments at Kapalua know that here, in one of the most spectacular locales on Maui (and the entire island chain), things have been evolving for the better part of two years.

Large resort hotels don't need to go green. With corporate funding coming from overseas (and profits/losses headed in the same direction), there isn't much stigma for executive boards, chair people and shareholders to insist on sustainable processes.

Colin Hazama, chef de cuisine of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Kaua`i Grill at the newly unveiled St. Regis Princeville may be the most fortunate 28-year-old chef in America. We sat down with Hazama at a table hovering over Hanalei Bay, just days before he was set to open the pinnacle restaurant at what is being hailed at Hawaii's most luxurious resort.