Maui: Places to stay

In My Humble Opinion
1

Mr. Pundit and I are celebrating 15 years of marriage in April '04 and are headed to Hawaii sans the WeePundits (who are not so wee anymore) for 9 days, 8 nights. We’re spending the bulk of our trip at Maui.

I’ve been checking out hotel/condos in the area and have holds on a few places. Now I’d like to narrow it down a bit and would appreciate any advice.

We’d like something nice and CLEAN but not necessarily the Ritz or the FourSeasons, which we can’t afford. ($500/night is not realistic.) An ocean view is a must because we’re from Ohio and we don’t get to see the ocean that much. Our budget is ~$250-350/night with tax.

Here’s what I have held:

The Mokapu wing of the Renaissance in Wailea ($310/night. It includes breakfast.)

An ocean view at the Sheraton at Black Rock for $300/night. Doesn’t include breakfast.

An ocean front at the Marriott Outrigger in Wailea for $275/night. Includes breakfast.

A 1 bdrm. condo at the Mahana at Kaanapali for $207/night. Doesn’t include b’fast, but has a kitchen.

Do any of these properties rank high on your list? Any other recommendations?

2

Congrats!! Have a beautiful, wonderful time. If you are looking for romantic, you cannot beat the Hana Hotel. Incredible black sand beach, remote romantic location, incredible snorkling, waterfalls, amazing service, and sunsets you will never forget. Wailea and Kaanapali are both nice, I had fun there. But Hana… I will NEVER forget Hana.

3

Outrigger Wailea is nice, and seemes to be inexpencive. Try the Maui Coast Hotel in Kihei. It’s walking distance from great beaches.
Kaanapali is great to stay, but Lahaina is a must for a day’s walking tour. The Lahaina Sushia Restruant on Prison street has Spam Tempura.

4

I was there a couple years ago. We stayed at Hyatt. Very nice place. Not sure how much it was, probably pricey. They had a louau (sp?) every night. I would probably recommend you stay in Lahaina. There is a lot to do, and it will be on the beach. I think even the Holiday Inn out there is on the beach. I don’t remember any of the places you listed. Although, I do remember seeing the Four Seasons. Neat looking hotel. My parents have been there nearly a dozen times. I can’t help too much with the hotels, but I can recommend a couple ristorantes. You must go to the Hyatt for the breakfast buffet one day. Don’t plan on having lunch that day. It is not cheap ($20 something a person), but good Lord did they have a lot of good food. Anything you could ever want. Create your own omelets, smeggs of all kinds, breads, cereal, doughnuts, fish?, all kinds of fruit, different juices, kona coffee… If you go, try to the banana bread. It is breathtaking. And you should take a look at their lobby area. They have a little oasis deal built inside. They have penguin’s and koi and the like. Also, the Ruth’s Chris out there is very nice. The Plantation has great food and desserts. And you have to go to Mama’s Fish House. Great food. That’s about it.

Enjoy your vacation!

5

have you considered a Bed and Breakfast?

http://www.maui.net/menu/accommodations/bed__breakfasts/west/

6

Sept & Oct are hot months for Maui, it’s also hurricane season for a few months, so bring clothes for both types of weather. Didn’t Hana have a tourist alert of some kind?

I usually get something from Suntrips.com they have great deals. I can fly round trip to Maui for $199.00 from Oakland & they also have hotel deals so check there. HEre are some from today:

Oakland - Hawaii
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only $529

Oakland - Hawaii
SUNSATIONAL DEALS!
Nonstop R/T Air
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Vacation Packages
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7

Congrats! My husband, son and I have stayed at the Rennaisance twice, and we were just there last month. It really is a fantastic hotel. We didn’t stay in the Mokapu wing, but we had an ocean view room in the Kihei wing. If you are high enough, the view is still beautiful, and you are slightly closer to the pool and ocean.

We ate at all three restaurants and attended the luau. My husband golfed at all three Wailea courses as well.

There is also a great path that runs from the hotel along the ocean that provides breathtaking views. I love this place, and we’ve decided that we will always stay here when visiting Maui.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to e-mail me.

8

handy, we’re traveling in April. I figured we’d bring along mostly shorts and t-shirts with a few nicer outfits to wear in the evening. Still deciding whether to do the bike ride down the mountain thing. If so, I guess I’ll pack the long johns, too.

Monster, the Renaissance has gotten negative reviews on a couple of the travel boards, saying that the carpet was smelly and the rooms needed refurbishing. I take it you had no such experience.

Terd, made notes about your restaurant recos. Thanks!

Maureen,

When did you go to Hana? Did you get a lot of rain? I’m actually considering staying one night at the Hana when we do the drive to Hana. Am renting a convertible just for the occasion. :slight_smile:

Appreciate the advice!

9

Lisa, I was on the island for a year…my dad lives there and he had two ulcers that went pop. So I packed up my family and we stayed while he healed. I took care of him and the business. February through April is the best time. Hana does get rain almost all year round; it’s smack up against the rain forest. But it doesn’t last long, and smells beautiful afterward. Take LOTS of pictures; you’ll see lots of flora you’ve never seen before and the birds are gorgeous. Excellent choice on the convertible…no motorcycle rental places allow their bikes up that road. This one seen in my dad’s buddy’s shop: “No Hana, No Hana, NO F***ING HANA!!”

10

No way! We had no such experience there. We stayed there twice, and each trip was for 8 days. We had nothing but good times. That’s too bad to hear someone else didn’t have it as nice as we did.

11

This past June we spent 10 days at Papakea on Kaanapali - the resort is very well maintained, clean and quiet. They have oceanfront buildings but I think that every condo has an ocean view. Check www.mauidreams.com for for rates and availability.

12

Both times I was in Maui, we stayed at the Kea Lani hotel. It’s next to the Four Seasons, I believe. I checked their site, and it’s a tad more than you wanted ($369 per night), but it’s a beautiful, comfortable hotel, spacious, fun as all hell to walk around in, it’s got its own private beach (with a small reef just offshore, excellent to go snorkelling), and is just beautiful and wonderful and amazing and excellent in every way, shape, and form.

And you definitely want to go to Hana. It’s an amazing place to visit.

13

Aviator, I’ll check out the site. Thx.

SPOOFE, checked out the Kea Lani, which was recommended highly by everyone. Too expensive for me. I want oceanview and it’s in the $500+ range for a room with a view. Looks beautiful, though!

Re: Hana. If you had your preference would you stay in Hana at night or is it okay to complete the loop or drive back in the late afternoon/evening. If we decide to stay in Hana, then I’m leaning towards booking a condo for the week in Kaanapali then booking one night at the Hana Hotel. I’d rather spend money doing activities (e.g. sailing on America II, ATVing, Snorkeling) than on paying for luxury lodging.

14

I just got back 3 weeks ago from a week in Maui for a friend’s wedding. His wedding was at the Four Seasons in Waliea and there was no way we were spending that kind of money.

What we did find was a place called the Kihei Surfside that is extremely affordable, (we’re talking ~$100 per night), has an Ocean view, and a kitchen in each unit. They have a large well-kept grass lawn so that each room looks out right over the nice lawn and the water and not at another hotel. They also have outdoor grills that you can use to grill out. The only downside is that there is no A/C in the units, and the pool is a little small, but for the Kihei area with an ocean view it cannot be beat. In fact, it is much closer to the water than most nice hotels in Waliea - Four Seasons, Renaissance, Kea Lani - all are farther away from the water.

There’s a book by Wizard Publishing called “Maui Revealed” that I would highly recommend purchasing. This is the same company that puts out “The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook” - they are truthful, direct, funny, and list all prices, phone numbers, tons of maps, etc. You should easily be able to find something in that book.

As for other parts of the island, I have been to Maui several times and I have found that I prefer Kihei / Wailea. The West end (Kaanapali, Napili) doesn’t have very many good snorkeling beaches (outside HonoLua which gets too crowded with the snorkelling tour boats). Kihei has tons of almost-deserted beaches that are all great for snorkeling / swimming / whatever. Plus, south of Kihea are some of the greatest secret snorkeling beaches I’ve found - Aquarium and Fishbowl. (Both are shown in the book).

If you have ever been to Kauai, Hana is a total waste of time. It takes FOREVER to get there, it is OVERLOADED with tourists, cars everywhere, and the locals that go on that drive HATE all the traffic and pass illegally and angrily. Several wedding guests wasted an entire day of their vacation doing it, and none of them were pleased at all. I know that’s no popular opinion, but I can only tell you what it was like when I’ve done it, and what the wedding guests had to say about it three weeks ago.

And if you stay in either the Kaanapali area or Kihei, you must try the Sushi restaurant “Sansei” - 25% off if you arrive before 5pm, 50% off if you arrive after 10pm, and it’s some of the best sushi I’ve ever had. (And I live in San Francisco and eat sushi several times per week. Urp.)

Congrats and have fun!