Aloha! We’re glad you found us. We hope the story of how we came to love Hawaii and ultimately live here will give you some confidence in renting from us at Makai Vista, Kihei Akahi D-614.

A Love For Hawaii

The story of our life together is the story of our love for Hawaii. Each of us fell in love with Hawaii on our first visits over 25 years ago. We started making one or two trips a year, traveling extensively throughout the islands. With some planning and some luck, we both developed business interests in Hawaii, which brought us to the islands even more often. Within a few years we had traveled just about every public road in Hawaii—and a few not-so-public ones!

Each time we returned we learned a bit more about the land and people of Hawaii, and our love for Hawaii deepened. We started listening to Hawaiian music and attending performances regularly, both in Hawaii and on the Mainland. We learned a little of the Hawaiian language. We developed a strong interest in Hawaiian culture, music, and history, and a great admiration for the Hawaiian people.

A Wedding and an Eclipse

Each of us had started visiting Hawaii before we met, and our mutual love for Hawaii played a major part in our own relationship. When we decided to get married, we knew it had to be in Hawaii, and the solar eclipse of 1991 seemed like the perfect opportunity. The eclipse was to be one of the best of the century, with the path of totality passing directly over the Big Island.

Knowing how many people the eclipse would bring to Hawaii, we had made plans two years before to stay at the home of friends in Kona. When we suggested having our wedding there the day before the eclipse, they happily obliged, and we were married on their beautiful lanai overlooking the Pacific. The eclipse the following day disappointed many people, because much of the normally sunny Kona coast turned cloudy, but the skies over the house cleared after an early morning rain and the eclipse was perfect. We took it as a good sign!

Sharing Our Home

Like many visitors, we dreamed of owning a home in Hawaii and eventually living in the Islands. But for us, one of the best parts of having a home is the ability to share it with others. We have always loved welcoming guests. When Sharene lived in San Francisco before we were married, she opened her home to bed and breakfast guests from around the world, and we met many guests who remain friends to this day. From our earliest visits, we looked forward to doing the same in Hawaii.

During our first trips to Hawaii, we stayed in a variety of accommodations including large and small hotels, condominiums, bed and breakfasts, and private homes (including this llama ranch on the Big Island). We discovered that we loved the freedom and flexibility of a condo or house. We liked having the kitchen available for those times we wanted to eat in or invite friends over, and we liked having a separate bedroom so one of us could be up and about without waking the other. It was the closest we could come to having our own home in Hawaii!

Finding Makai Vista

After many years of planning (and saving), we were ready to purchase our first property. It was tough to choose a location, because we love all of Hawaii and each island offers something unique. We finally settled on Kihei, Maui, because it has a great combination of attractions for a visitor. Kihei’s location in South Maui, on the leeward side of Mt. Haleakala, gives it the sunniest weather on the island, and the area near Kihei offers a string of the best beaches on Maui.

It took several visits to find the right property, but we found it at the Kihei Akahi complex. From the instant we saw the spectacular view, we knew it had the “Wow! Factor” we wanted. We completely redecorated the unit, incorporating everything we learned from our years of being both travelers and hosts. Makai means “toward the sea” in Hawaiian, so we named our unit Makai Vista because of its sweeping ocean and island panorama.

The Rest of the Story

That was over 15 years ago, and what a time it’s been! We started acquiring other real estate in Hawaii and along the way found our dream Hawaiian hale (house) on Puna Coast of the Big Island. In Spring 2001 we left our California jobs, packed our possessions, and moved to that home full time, proving that sometimes dreams really can come true.

We have had a magical life in the years since. We have the joy of simply living in Paradise and we try not to take it for granted. Along the way we purchased more real estate, but Makai Vista, our first place in Hawaii, always holds a special place in our hearts and we continue to maintain and improve it. We also created our own business, Hawaii Holiday Hospitality, a marketing and management company for accommodations throughout Hawaii. That business included MauiHotels.com, a family of websites allowing travelers to book hotel reservations throughout Hawaii, and Hawaii Holiday Vacation Rentals, a vacation rental service for Maui and the Big Island.

After nearly a decade in Hawaii we decided it was time for a change. It’s hard to appreciate living in Paradise when you’re always working, so in 2010 we sold both our wonderful oceanfront home and Hawaii Holiday Vacation Rentals and decided to take some time for ourselves. At the beginning of 2011 we embarked on a year-long adventure that will take us across the U.S. and Canada and on to Europe. We will live in several U.S. and European cities for 1–3 months each, and we hope to reinvent ourselves once again as we did when we moved to Hawaii. We will return to Hawaii in 2012.

Although we’re away from Hawaii for a year, the same Internet technology that made our businesses in Hawaii possible also lets us manage them while we’re away. We get all messages from our websites almost instantly and we still respond quickly. We made sure that our properties were in top shape before we left. We have the same great people taking care of our properties so we can assure our renters they will have a wonderful time in Hawaii.

Hawaiians at Heart

We hope you have enjoyed getting to know us and learning a bit more about our long history of welcoming guests and making their stays in Hawaii memorable. When you stay at Makai Vista, Kihei Akahi D-614, you are staying at the Hawaii home of two real Hawaiians at Heart. We are not some big impersonal company, and what you see is exactly what you get.

We know that where you stay is important, and we know the only surprises you want are pleasant ones. We made Makai Vista a place we like to stay ourselves, and we think you will too. We hope you will be our guest very soon!

E malama i ka ‘aina (take good care of the land),
Sharene & Harrison