Mahalo, Papakea Ocean Front Resort.

Looking back to February 2021 I was bored out of my gourd after being furloughed for 11 months because of the pandemic. Wanting to get back into the Pool Attendant game, I perused a fancy-pants employment website (rhymes with spindeed) and saw that Papakea was looking to staff up as Maui was gingerly beginning to open up. Papakea, shoot, it was literally right down the street. I could walk there in six minutes and drive in 25 seconds.

Applied. Interviewed. Background check. Hired. What a treat. Papakea is a gorgeous 13-acre oceanfront campus with 11 rental-unit buildings, two pools, and exquisite landscaping all packaged in a private paradise setting with Molokai as the island backdrop. Oh yeah, free parking for owners, guests, and employees. Winner winner Hawaiian BBQ chicken dinner. Let the games begin. Sorry kids, no Marco Polo. House rules.

The Molokai Pool and Cabana became my open-air workspace. The cabana was less than 50 feet from the ocean seawall and no one on the planet had dreamier digs – blue skies, crashing waves, ocean breezes, swaying palm trees, and nightly sunsets! More than a few guests stated they “wanted my job” and I politely told them to “get in line.” After certain shifts I walked home barefoot along the water’s edge. How’s that for the coolest commute ever?!

Well Planted, Papakea Ocean Front Resort.

As a green-thumb advocate, Papakea offered me and every guest a healthy abundance of tropical greenery and native flora with non-stop growth engines. Beauty and lushness everywhere. Holy hosta, check out the monkey pod trees, crotons, and Koi ponds. Kudos to the landscaping team for maintaining all the visual treats. Hawaiian ginger – it grows tall like Iowa corn but delivers a vibrant and long-lasting red flower. I’d never seen a bird-of-paradise flower/plant, have now. Around the pools and walkways. What a stunningly beautiful creation symbolizing joy and paradise. Just plain wow. Bougainvillea – a rainbow of bushy colors that thrive in dry climes.

Much Appreciated, Papakea Ocean Front Resort.

After one month on the job management offered a terrific perk – Covid-19 vaccination shots. Early April came the first Moderna needle during work hours on work property. Early May, round two and the all-important vaccination card. Special thanks also go out to the men and women of the Hawaiian Army National Guard for setting up the portable testing-site canopies and handling all the needle work. Easy and efficient. Hooah!

Mahalo Lui Noa, Papakea Ocean Front Resort.

After three months came stark reality – all Pool Attendant positions were being eliminated and pool activities were going back to unmonitored status. I was given the opportunity to stay and join the sanitizing team. Appreciate that – but not what I signed up for. Feelers went out. It took two weeks to hit PA paydirt at Black Rock Beach.

Papakea, you rescued me from the couch and provided PTO. Your staff was friendly and fantastic. Ditto for management-consulting partner Columbia Hospitality. Keep up the excellent work. Aloha for now.