Tasha

Staying at Kaanapali Beach Hotel in Maui for 2 weeks Apr. 2001. Trying desperately to get a general idea of the food and drink (alcoholic) costs.

2 adults eating 3 decent meals a day (nothing too fancy, just average), and we like to enjoy the nightlife. How much should I budget for? $3000? $4000 (not including extra activities like sailing, air tours, car rental, etc) for the 2 weeks?

I keep getting conflicting reports; like "its SOOO expensive, bring tons of $$" to "just as expensive as any major US city". Whats the real story?? Help please...

Barry

You will have every conceivable dining option available to you, within a short drive from Kaanapali Beach. All the usual fast food haunts are nearby, as are middle and top-end dining options. There is also a supermarket about 5 minutes away by car (good idea for cost-cutting breakfasts/lunches, if cost is a concern). The short answer to your question is "Yes, food costs are comparable to any urban city."
There really isn't that much "nightlife" on the Hawaiian islands to drain your resources, so you can, and should, try some of the "better" restaurants (they are all casual), such as Roy's Kohana Grill, Hula Grill, Sansei Sushi Bar & Grill, etc.
You might want to consider splurging for the breakfast buffet at the Hyatt Regency (Swan Court), which is very nice and will fill you up sufficiently to skip lunch that day. As a general rule, I avoid most hotel restaurants at dinner time, because they are usually quite expensive and almost always are inferior to the local restaurants, some of which are quite good. Enjoy!

sammie

We have traveled quite a bit and found the Maui prices to be very very expensive, even for a resort. It is every bit as expensive as New York City and it is much more expensive than other resorts we have been to.
However, it is heavenly.
I cant remember exact prices, the breakfast buffet at Renaissance was $19. evening buffet was about $35. Menu prices were not a lot cheaper.
We had one meal ( family of 4)in which the tab was over $150 before tips/ dinner only , no liquor.
There are less expensive alternatives, there was a Mcdonalds in Kihea, we found a Tony Romas in Kihea that was very reasonable. There is a reasonably priced Italian restaurant near the airport, Marco's?. We picked up breakfast bagels / muffins one morning from a bakery in Kihea. There are other fast food places around the island.
Lahaina has several inexpensive hamburger type places like Cheeseburger in Paradise.
Enjoy yourself but plan on spending more than you expected.

Anthony

In terms of food, I think breakfast at the resort hotels are the most overcharged meal. We stayed at the Renasiassance in Wailea, and nver had breakfast there . Instead, we drove to kihei and went to an Ihop, where breakfast for 2 costs less than breakfast for 1 at the hotel. I mean, sunnyside eggs and toast seems to taste the same when it's $7 as it does when it's $19.

scigirl

Well $3000 for 2 weeks works out to $214 per day - which seems like plenty for 2 people. Eating out in Hawaii is more expensive than on the mainland. There is a Safeway near Kaanapali where you can stock up on juice, muffins, etc. and not have to eat breakfast out. There is also a ABC store in Whalers Village where you can get chips, etc. Generally, the restaurants around Whalers Village and in Lahaina offer moderately priced menus. The hotel restaurants and some of the finer resturants on Maui it is easy to spend $100 for dinner for two. (Maui is actually pretty well known for gourmet eating - so there are some very pricey and very good restaurants on island too.) Anyhow, Hula Grill in Whalers Village is moderately priced and has great food. There are also a few 'fast food' style sandwich shops, a pizza place, etc. locally (you don't have to sink to eating at McDonalds...). We have found drink prices to be pretty much comparable to the mainland as long as you are not at a hotel bar (hotel bar drink $7-8, at a restaurant $5ish).

I think people perceive it to be expensive because it does seem as if you spend tons of money eating out on vacation. I mean, when else to do you every single meal out?

I hope this is helpful. Enjoy your trip.

Donna

Go to Sansei for Japanese food like no other. A real dress down place, too. Eat at Mama's Fish House. We take our whole family to those places every visit. Aloha, and have fun.

Donna

Go to Sansei for Japanese food like no other. A real dress down place, too. Eat at Mama's Fish House. We take our whole family to those places every visit. Aloha, and have fun.

sharona

Hi Tasha. I agree with the above posters that you can find reasonable dining options on Maui without resorting to McDonald's. I live in the Boston area and so am not shocked by the restaurant prices in Hawaii, which are comparable. So whether you find Hawaii "expensive" is probably going to be determined by where you live.

I second the Hula Grill recommendation and throw in another option of Lahaina Coolers, which is located on a side street in downtown Lahaina. Very good pastas, seafood, pizza for under $20 in a very casual atmosphere. You can also eat fairly reasonably at the more expensive restaurants if you forego appetizers and/or desserts. I agree that hotel breakfasts are probably the most over-priced meals, although having said that, we often took advantage of the Marriott or Hyatt breakfast buffets ($22?/person) and then skipped lunch.

Because of the many choices available on Maui, the nice thing is that if you find you're exceeding your budget, you can easily cut back and not starve. And this is certainly not the case in every resort area! Good luck and enjoy Hawaii. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

Eddy

Does the McDonald's offer the dollar value menu? And what kind of fish is in the filet-o-fish, my husband likes the whitefish.

Joy

Why on earth would anyone go to a fast food restaurant in Hawaii?? There are many wonderful restaurants in Maui. A possibility is having your dinner at an earlier hour - the cost is less. And, for instance, at the Sunset Lounge in The Rennaissance, you can later on have drinks and appetizer-type foods. It is possible not to spend great amounts of money on meals.