Revisiting this thread as we’ve decided to “hop” over to Maui after attending our friend’s wedding in July. I would love any recommendations that anyone has. I’ve looked at The Grand Wailea, The Westin and Hyatt Regency properties as well as The Fairmount Key Lani - I’ve had a friend recommend the Andaz…
All these properties are $$$$, which part of me is like “go big or go home” but I’d also love to find others that are less expensive. Many also have condo & vacation club properties - not sure which is better. Has anyone Airbnb or Vrbo’d there? I’m leaning toward hotel or resort because I really don’t want to have to wash sheets & towels or take out the garbage on my vacation.
I definitely want to do a luau, and I see that some properties offer one on site, but then I also see quite a few independent companies offering luaus elsewhere on the island. Is one better than another?
Maui recently voted to eliminate all AirBNB & VRBO, so be careful if you go that route. It’s a much safer bet to stay at a place that is NOT either of those.
There’s a lot of vacation rental condo resorts on Maui that you could consider…lots of good options in Kihei or west side of the island.
Our family of five rented a two bedroom condo at the Honua Kai in Kaanapali and it was perfect for us. Right on the beach, nice gym and pool. Washer and dryer in the unit. Rainbow sightings daily from our balcony. There’s a Duke’s restaurant right on the beach there. No daily housekeeping was the drawback, but we loved having a lot of room to stretch out and also be able to have a full kitchen for breakfast and lunch. We rented through a local company (KMB, I think).
Napili Kai Beach Resort
Napili Sunset Beach Front Resort
Napili Shores Maui by Outrigger
Napili Point
The Mauian Hotel
Kahana Sunset
Kahana Outrigger
Hilton Vacation Club Kaanapali Beach
Aston Mahana at Kaanapali
Outrigger Honua Kai Resort
Westin Nanea Ocean Villas Kaanapali
Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas North
Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas
We took our boys to Hawaii 2 decades ago and stayed at the Maui Fairmont - highly recommend. I’m biased on Fairmont as they have long been my favorite choice of places to stay. All rooms were suites, at least on the ocean view sides, so we were allowed to let the kids share a pull out couch and we slept in the private bedroom. We loved the grounds, open air lobby and small beach. It’s adjacent to the Four Seasons which we also like, but didn’t want to pay their price for a separate room for the boys. We went to a luau somewhere not too far away at another hotel, maybe the Westin or Hyatt, but we were picked up at the Fairmont and driven. It was fun, especially for the boys. I’m jealous of all these travel trips planned - I have to save for Christmas trip to Banff and a 2027 wedding, so just running to the beach for a week in May. Have fun! Edit to add: I remember we were initially looking at the Grand Wialia but were discouraged for staying there due to the over abundance families with lots and lots and lots of kids. Although we had our kids, we didn’t want to be over run with other families - staking out the beach chairs, tables, etc.
Keep in mind that the Maui road network is like a star radiating out from the Kahului / Kihei area. So if you stay out at the end of one of the arms (e.g. Lahaina / Kaanapali), you could be doing a lot of driving to get to places on the other arms.
How many of you traveling? I’ve stayed here at least once a year (sometimes twice) for more than 10 years (and it’s not part of the short term rentals going away)…love everything about it. Sadly their bookings are way down, but for me, that meant 40% decrease in cost for my upcoming trip in March. https://www.destinationmauivacations.com/all-properties/makani-a-kai-resort-b-7
I’ve visited Napili Kai Beach Resort and think it’s a beautiful property (and feels so relaxed) - and while they don’t have a luau, they have a slack key guitar show that is absolutely amazing.
I attended a conference at the Fairmont last year. It is a nice property. I did not eat in any of the resort restaurants, but the conference food was the worst I’ve had. There is a nice shopping mall next to the resort.
We were looking for more of a small town feel than resort vacation and rented a condo at Kamole Sands in Kihei. We felt it was very convenient. It was close to a nice quiet beach and the whale watching boats. We drove to Paia (Mama’s Fish House & turtles), Lahina/Kaanapali, and the Road to Hana. The Shaka guide made the drives more interesting.
If you want to be able to do a lot of sightseeing in different parts of the island then staying kind of in the middle makes sense. Kihei or Wailea resorts may be best to be able to go in different directions. Kihei is a little more reasonable for costs. Maybe decide what you want to do and see what part of the island is best. Going from north resorts like Napili or Kapalua to south can take a while and there is really only one road between. That said we stay in Ka’anapali area every year. But we stayed in Kihei in the beginning to get around easier. We like condos or time share properties so we can cook when we want or at least have breakfast and/or lunch without the high restaurant costs.
This is my concern about a large resort. My D & SIL stayed there for their honeymoon and loved it but that was in October, not over the summer when everyone has off.
Good advice. I also saw what looked like a nice property but we’d have to take the Road to Hana to get there
Just me & DH. - I will check those out. Thanks!
Staying in the middle does make the most sense since this is our first time. A friend just went and stayed in Kihei as well. I’ll check there - thanks!
We used to stay at Honua Kai a lot in the past. It is a condo resort located in North Kaanapali beach. Hint: all studios are facing the ocean; with the other units, you get whatever you get. I believe Outrigger is now managing the rentals (we haven’t been there since pre-pandemic). There is a grocery store within a short walking distance so easy to replenish supplies. There is a Duke’s right on the beach, and a nice beach walk path that goes all the way to the Whalers Village in Kaanapali. About 3 miles round trip. The beach by the condos has some great snorkeling, but is not very baby friendly.
The condo we stay has a/c and plenty of windows (with screens) and screened doors to open with wonderful cross ventilation due to being on the 2nd floor.
But also note that the doors may have switches that turn off the AC when a door is open, to prevent useless wasteful use of AC when leaving the door open.
My son has attended multiple work events at the Four Seasons Maui at Wailea and says he likes it. (Clearly, I was in the wrong line of work since any work events I ever went to were in something like the Holiday Inn in Akron.) Bonus: it’s the resort that White Lotus was modelled after!
