My travel agent has booked our family into two 1-bedroom units at the Castle Kameole Sands in Maui for 5 nights. I just checked tripadvisor and the reviews are mixed so I'm getting a little concerned. Anyone have any personal experience with this place? We were looking for something moderately priced as we need 2 units in order to accommodate 7 people.

Yeah, the grounds and location are wonderful. Reviews are mixed because some of the units have been recently upgraded and others have not. Castle, which manages many of the units has been "leaning" on the owners to update their places but some are dragging their feet. Ask for a recently upgraded unit and you'll be happy.

Ken

Thanks, Ken. That makes me feel better. I'll definitely ask for upgraded units. My 80-year-old parents are with me and I don't want them to be uncomfortable.

You do know that they are across the street from the beach and not on the beach. If that doesn't matter to you....

Across the road from the beach is okay, Dawn. My parents will probably stay in the unit while we are "beaching" it. That's why I want to make sure it isn't a "dump".

FYI - I have a fair amount of photos of the grounds in my Webshots.com Maui album, if you are interested in getting an idea of what the place is like. We stayed in on of the 1 bedroom, 2 bath units (ground floor, building 5). There is a map of the complex in the album too.

http://community.webshots.com/album/356296891IkNsBg

Ken

Also posted a review of the place (and more photos on TripAdvisor.com:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...ui_Hawaii.html

Ken

To reassure you, the Kamaole Sands units are mostly very nice; it's a larger complex, but the grounds are lovely, there are two pools and a hot jacuzzi, and a ped. crossing to hop across the street to the beach (and no hill toclimb, like the Maui Kamaole a bit farther down). I think you will be very pleased with the location and the condo, even if you don't get a recently remodeled unit. And, your parents will enjoy the broad lawn across the street (Kamaole Beach Parks I, II, and III); just carry some lawn chairs and beverages for them, and they can relax and watch/listen to the waves. (You wouldn't really let them stay in the condo, would you?!)

Thanks again, Ken, for the valuable information. Your review was very helpful and your pictures are stunning! I've never been to Maui before but it looks gorgeous. With all the posts on this board, I was beginning to wonder if I should have done Kauai instead. Or maybe planned more time on the Big Island.

Sylvia, my parents may be 80 but they're not brain dead. If they want to stay in the condo, they will stay in the condo; if they don't want to then they won't. There's no question of me "letting" them do anything. They've never asked my permission to do anything before and I don't expect they'll start asking now.

Antlori -

You are quite welcome. While I do think Kauai is far more beautiful than Maui (and my favorite Hawaiian island), Maui is indeed a pretty nice place, with probably the best collection of beaches of all the Hawaiian Islands and perhaps the most "well-balanced" in regards to the combination of attractions and sights.

Parts of it ARE pretty crowded - especially compared to Kauai (though even in those places the beaches are not exactly "crammed") - and I can understand why.

So go, and have good time. Maui has a lot to see and do and some of the nicest beaches anywhere in Hawaii.

Ken