About Your Hosts
Our Family’s Maui Story 🌺
Aloha! We’re Dana McDonald, Deanne Carroll and Dan Carroll, the family behind Hōkūlani at Pāpākea Oceanfront Resort .
Our connection to Hawaiʻi goes back decades, long before Hōkūlani became part of our family.
Dana and Deanne are sisters who grew up traveling to the Hawaiian Islands with their parents from the time they were very young. Our mom and dad loved Hawaiʻi and introduced us to the islands, creating a family tradition that has stayed with us throughout our lives.
Some of our happiest childhood memories were made there. There were countless trips along the Road to Hāna, long days snorkeling and exploring, bike rides down Haleakalā, and an extended stay when Dana and her dad became scuba certified and went on numerous dives off West Maui and at Molokini. Our dad loved golfing on Maui, and some of our fondest memories of both of our parents are the simple ones, like evenings spent outside together, barbecuing fresh fish and enjoying a Mai Tai.
By the 1990s, Maui had become an especially important part of our family life. Our parents purchased a timeshare in Kīhei, which gave us even more opportunities to return year after year. Our parents came close several times to purchasing a condo in Honokōwai, but never quite pulled the trigger. Still, that idea stayed with us.
As we grew older and eventually had children of our own, we began dreaming about having a Maui home where our kids could grow up experiencing the island together, just as we had.
Deanne and Dan’s Hawaiʻi Story
Hawaiʻi became part of Deanne and Dan’s story in its own way.
Deanne moved to Hawaiʻi in her twenties to begin her professional life. While she was living on the islands, Dan made more than a few trips from the mainland to visit her before they were married.
But Dan’s love affair with Hawaiʻi had actually begun years earlier.
He first stepped onto Hawaiian soil as a child in 1993 and immediately fell in love with all things Polynesian. As an adult, that affection grew into a fascination with tiki culture, its history, artwork, tiki mugs and, perhaps most enthusiastically, the art of the tropical cocktail.
Dan has spent years recreating legendary drinks like Mai Tais, Zombies and Piña Coladas and collecting tiki mugs along the way.
So, if you open the cupboards at Hōkūlani and wonder why on earth there are so many tiki mugs, now you know. 🍹
Dan will happily tell you that while you can find a great tropical cocktail around Maui, one of his favorite places to enjoy one is right on our own lanai.
His simple Maui favorite is 2 to 3 ounces of Kōloa Coconut Rum, P.O.G. juice, plenty of ice and, if you’re feeling adventurous, a Kraken Dark Rum floater. You can pick up the ingredients right across the street at Times Supermarket.
And according to Dan, whatever you’re drinking, it tastes better in a tiki mug!
Finding Hōkūlani
Our longtime family dream finally became real in the summer of 2021.
After the long COVID lockdown, simply being able to return to Maui felt extraordinary. We had spent so many months at home, and that trip was something we desperately needed.
During the visit, Dana discovered a condo for sale at Pāpākea. At the time, there were only two condos for sale in all of Honokōwai, and this one was by far the one that felt right.
We purchased the condo together that summer. After decades of family trips, our parents nearly buying a place of their own, and years of imagining having a Maui home for our children, stumbling upon this particular condo at that particular moment felt meant to be.
We named it Hōkūlani, from the Hawaiian words hōkū, meaning “star,” and lani, meaning “heaven” or “sky.” We loved the beautiful idea of a “heavenly star.”
For us, the name seemed to capture something difficult to put into words. Hōkūlani wasn’t simply a real estate purchase. It was the continuation of a family story that began with our parents and that we hope will continue with our children and, someday, our grandchildren.
Why We Chose Pāpākea
We had stayed at Pāpākea many times, so Dana knew immediately what made it special.
Between our families, we have five children, including two sets of twins, and Pāpākea is one of those rare places where everyone can find something they enjoy.
There are pools, pickleball, shuffleboard and beautiful grounds, with the beaches and adventures of West Maui nearby. You can fill an entire day exploring or accomplish absolutely nothing except reading beside the pool.
We happen to enjoy both.
After purchasing Hōkūlani, we refreshed the condo with new appliances, beds, bedding, furnishings and thoughtful touches throughout. We wanted it to feel beautiful without feeling precious, comfortable enough that a family could genuinely settle in and live there.
We arranged the furnishings to take advantage of the ocean and West Maui Mountain views, and we equipped the kitchen for people who actually enjoy cooking because that’s an important part of how our own family spends time together.
A Special Piece of Lahaina
One of the most meaningful parts of Hōkūlani is something guests might initially think is simply decoration.
It’s the artwork.
For many years, Dana had purchased prints from Lahaina Printsellers, a shop in historic Lahaina whose artwork captured the landscapes, colors and character of the Hawaiian Islands.
In July 2023, Dana was staying at Hōkūlani and decided the condo needed more of those pieces. She spent considerable time choosing prints specifically for the home and having them professionally framed.
Only a few weeks later, the devastating August 2023 Lahaina fire destroyed the shop, along with so much of historic Lahaina.
We could never have imagined what those pieces would come to mean when they were selected.
Today you’ll see them throughout Hōkūlani. They’re beautiful, but to our family they have become something more. They remind us of a beloved Lahaina business, the town as we knew it, and the many years of memories our family has made in West Maui.
We hope guests will pause and enjoy them as a small piece of Maui’s story.
What Maui Looks Like for Us
For all three of us, the best Maui days aren’t necessarily the elaborate ones.
Morning coffee on the lanai is a must.
Often, that is followed by a long walk toward Kāʻanapali Beach. The rest of the day might involve snorkeling at a favorite beach, hiking, exploring somewhere we’ve never been, or heading back out on the Road to Hāna.
For some reason, we never get tired of the Road to Hāna. No matter how many times we make the drive, we seem to discover something new.
We’re an active family, but we’re also perfectly happy spending a lazy afternoon beside the pool with a book.
We love to cook at the condo, barbecue, explore Maui’s restaurants, spend time at the beach and make sure we’re somewhere with a view when the sun goes down.
And there are the quieter moments.
Even when there’s a light Maui rain, there’s something wonderful about sitting on the outdoor sectional with a blanket and a cup of coffee, listening to the rain and watching for the rainbow that so often follows. 🌈
Those moments are every bit as much Maui to us as the big adventures.
The Three of Us
Our lives on the mainland are quite different. Dana is a financial advisor, Deanne is a nurse, and Dan is a schoolteacher.
What connects us is family, travel, the outdoors, good food, a sense of adventure and, of course, Hawaiʻi.
Dan even brings a little of that island spirit into his classroom. He enjoys introducing his students to Hawaiian words and traditions, along with the occasional Hawaiʻi Pidgin expression. One favorite is “broke da mouth,” an enthusiastic way of saying that something tastes incredibly delicious!
Dana and Deanne personally communicate with our guests, and all three of us are involved in the decisions and care that go into Hōkūlani.
Because we live on the mainland, we’re also fortunate to have Dave Mathews, our cleaner and property manager, caring for Hōkūlani on Maui. Guests regularly compliment Dave’s easygoing, friendly aloha spirit, which means a great deal to us.
From Our Family to Yours
Hōkūlani is much more personal to us than a vacation rental.
It’s connected to our parents, who first gave Dana and Deanne their love of Hawaiʻi. It’s part of Deanne and Dan’s story together. It’s where our children are now making their own Maui memories.
And hopefully, one day, another generation of our family will sit on that same lanai.
That’s ultimately what we hope Hōkūlani gives our guests too.
Have coffee on the lanai. Watch the sunset every night. Cook together. Take the kids snorkeling. Drive the Road to Hāna. Read by the pool. Drink something delicious out of one of Dan’s tiki mugs. Don’t worry about seeing everything.
Just be together.
We hope you leave Maui feeling relaxed and rejuvenated, with stories and memories your family will still be talking about years from now.
That’s what Maui has given our family, and it’s exactly what we hope Hōkūlani gives yours.
With aloha,
Dana, Deanne & Dan 🌺