Travel

2. My hotel is located on an ancient burial ground.

So during the second morning at our hotel – we stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua – I was reading our Maui guidebook about the area where we were staying. I discovered that when the Ritz started to build the resort in 1990, they uncovered 900 some ancient Hawaiian bodies on the property. That didn’t go over well with the natives so the hotel had to quickly think of a plan B. They ended up reburying the bodies and moving the resort back away from the ocean. Today you’ll see on the lawn this looong line of bushes along the coast and a little-bitty plaque marking the burial grounds.

You’re not allowed to walk on it, but they do offer tours that take you around the property and explain Hawiian culture. The tour is called “A Sense of Place” i.e. “You probably didn’t know it when you made your reservation, but you’re vacationing on a burial ground!” I kid. I kid. I actually didn’t feel creeped out at all, but I still find it a little hilarious how they try to gloss over the fact there is a cemetery in the resort. Even the website reads as follows:

“This legendary hotel is located on the western edge of Maui, a paradise Hawaiians call the ‘Island of the Sun.’ Five bays and three white sand beaches create the area’s renowned shoreline, while a few meters inland, lush rainforests, a protected marine life conservation district, an ancient Hawaiian burial ground, and golf courses that double as wildlife sanctuaries await exploration.”

ERRRRR, wait. Back up. An ancient…Hawaiian…BURIAL GROUND? That’s supposed to be a perk? “Yay! Not only do I get to enjoy white sandy beaches and golfing with wildlife, I can do all of it over buried ancient bodies!”

Um, no.