Best places to stay in Maui?
 

Aloha! We are going to Hawaii for a week for our first time in June. We have two kids that are 10 and 16. We are still in the midst of choosing an island (Maui, Kauai, or BI). However, Maui seems to be the top pick at the moment. Are there any suggestions of places to stay? I'd really love to stay away from the crowd as much as possible so we can totally relax. We'd like to stay somewhere that has access to a really beautiful beach as I imagine we'll be spending lots and lots of time on it. So the best beach possible. Of course the kids would love somewhere with great pools. Suggestions?

You need to describe:

1. Your budget
2. Will you be renting a car?
3. How long you have to stay.

You won't get good recommendations here or on you multiple posts on Trip Advisor until you give us some specifics to work with.

Away from the crowd by definition contradicts great pools. Make a choice. The hotels with the best pools are the Grand Wailea or the Hyatt Kaanapali.

Grand Wailea. Kids will love the pool, you can walk over to Ulua Beach to get away. There are lots of other white sand beach options in the area, unlike Kaanapali where it is one big long stretch of beach.

IMO the best beach for kids is Wailea Beach. It is a nice easy sandy gradual wade out into the ocean. It often has nice waves for kids boogie boarding. Some of the other beaches in Maui are not as good for kids as they have some rocks in the sand as you walk into the water and the bottom gets very steep very fast and sometimes have heavy shore break. Wailea beach would be my first choice if I were taking kids to the beach. There are several very nice hotels nearby.

Have you read any books on Maui or Hawaii in general?

If you go to Maui you will be traveling to one of the most popular resort islands in the world during high season. Reconciling "best beach possible" and "away from the crowd" is going to be hard to do. I don't think your expectations are realistic.

"Away from the crowd" to me means Hana. You would not be happy in Hana. Best possible beach to me means one of the beaches in Wailea that are attached to one or many of the huge resort hotels or beachfront condos. Hardly "away from the crowd". There are some nice beaches in the Wailea area not attachd to hotels, but are fronted by either private homes or very expensive ($600 to $2,000 a night) condos.

What is your budget for hotel? If your not willing to spend $600 a night plus for a room, forget offlady's suggestion of the Grand Wailea, which would be great for kids, but you might find too crowded.

Maui is the place. If you are going to Wailea you should rent a condo at Wailea Beach Villas. Go check out their site and read up on it on tripadviser. They are probably the nicest accomodations in the the entire state and you can negotiate with owners on vrbo. Why stay at a hotel when you can rent a $3 million 2 bedroom condo for a little bit more?

Definitely MAUI ! Much to do, great beaches, snorkeling, surfing/bogie borading, easy island to travel and much to explore. Purchase the book " Maui Revealed"and it'll give you inside tips on off the beaten path hikes, waterfalls, beaches, hidden places to snorkel away from the crowds, etc...
I've been to Maui twice and can't wait to go back. Tons of stuff to do, or not to do if you like beaches. Stay on the Western side of the island, around Kapalua.

Our family had a great time two years ago at Kaanapali Ali'i, a condo complex on a beautiful stretch of Kaanapali Beach. We were in a renovated two bedroom apartment that was absolutely gorgeous, with beautiful straight on views of the ocean from the enclosed porch. The beach was only steps away, as were several other hotels plus Whaler's Village, a small upscale mall with a few restaurants.

We walked down the beach to snorkel/swim with giant sea turtles in front of the SHeraton Maui, and also made good use of our car for trips to Hana and Lahaina. We had such a good time that we're thinking of going back this summer.

Just wanted to add that while Kaanapali in season is very touristy, the beach just outside Kaanapali Ali'l was very wide and not that crowded at all. Many mornings, we almost had the beach to ourselves, and spent it watching surfers in the waves. It was really great!

Maui, Maui, Maui...we loved the Four Seasons and Kea Lani. A lot of families do like the Sheraton at Black Rock. One thing about Kea Lani is that it is all suites and the rooms are huge! They also have great little villas that have plunge pools. They have a pool with a swim up bar and slide for the kids (think it is two pools joined by the slide) and an adult pool, as well. Sometimes the adult part is not as well enforced as it should be. Wailea is always sunny...I don't like Kapalua as much, as it seems to get more clouds/showers and the water at the beach was rougher to me.