My husband and I will be in Maui from July 4th-July 12th for our one year anniversary. When we first booked our trip we tried to get into the Four Seasons, however, we were placed on their wait list. We then decided to book the Kea Lani which we currently have a reservation at. We know both are great hotels with small differences and have recently been happy with our reservation at the Kea Lani due to the stream of posts stating that the Four Seaons was overrated, etc. Well we just received a call that we got into the Four Seasons and we don't know what to do. I know there are many posts regarding these two hotels. We plan on spending time at both the pool and the beach, but we do not want lots of kids (may be hard to avoid in July). We also don't want stuffy people. We do want romance. Anyway, any comments are much appreciated!

Have stayed at the Kea Lani and loved it. All 2 rm. suites and lovely service. Never stayed at FS but the KL has a much better orientation to the beach in that it is parallel to the beach, not perpendicular like the FS so more rooms are ocean front. Just make sure your room is not at the far (south) end of the hotel as there is construction there and your view would be of a construction site.

I'm bringing my three kids to the Kea Lani. We chose the Kea Lani because of the extra space you get in a suite. We also chose it over the Four Seasons because it had the waterslide. I have heard that the Kea Lani is more family friendly and the Four Seasons is mainly for couples who want peace and quite. I have never stayed at either, but the pool looked better at the Kea Lani. I know they have an adult only pool, and they treat you real good. We have eaten at Nick's Fishmarket. It was really good!

Two words: Four Seasons.

You had discribed what you wanted a little romance... I don't see how you can go wrong there. My wife and I went to the FS in Maui for our honeymoon and we weren't disappointed. I don't understand those who say it is overrated. I should note that it was the only place we stayed in Maui and we don't make a habit of staying at the ultra luxurious paces. The rooms are great, the bed was amazingly comfortable and the pool was simple, but perfect for relaxing. Service was impecable. The restaurants are a little pricey, but that's hawaii in general. I would encourage you to rent a car and spend some of your dinners off of the property (The Waterfront, Mama's Fish House, Joe's, to name a few great places...) I strongly encourage you to go with the 4 Seasons. Hope this helps!

What kind of room do you have at the Four Seasons? If you were wait-listed, you may not have as nice a room or location that you would at the Kea Lani.
Just a thought.

Other than that, you really need to follow your gut. It's obvious both hotels are top notch. You are asking the posters to decide for you which will result in probably half saying to stay at the FS and half telling you to stay at the Kea Lani.

You already said you are happy with your reservation at the Kea Lani and already said from many posts that the FS is overrated. So it sounds like you have your decision. All that is going to happen is the same opinions posted. I think you'll make the right decision.

I vote for the four seasons! We stayed there last July for our honeymoon and it was AWESOME. We've stayed at a lot of luxury resorts and by far this was the best. We did not see a ton of kids, either, if they were there we didn't notice them! The 4 seasons has a wonderful pool area and a great beach with complimentary snorkel stuff as well as snorkel classes each day. The staff is extremely attentive, they took wonderful care of us without being pushy. The restaurant where the buffet is each morning is an excellent choice for a casual dinner (kind of Asian-ish food). We can't wait to go back! Go to the four seasons, you won't regret it!

People who complain about the Four Seasons, in general, were either 1)expecting the moon and any little thing which wasn't perfect irritated them, 2) couldn't really afford it so anything less than sheer perfection made them feel like they were being ripped off, or 3) aren't very well travelled and don't realize just how well run a resort the FS is.

Kea Lani is great also. But it's not as luxurious in small ways...furnishings, fabrics, linens, etc. And service isn't quite as good, though these are pretty minor points.

Check the room type you'd be getting at FS. Is it acceptable? If not, stay with KL.

Hi, I appreciate your dilemma, but I recommend that you stay at the KL and eat at the 4S! (We were not impressed with Nick's at the KL.) My husband and I have done that on two occasions over the past several years and plan to do it again in December. The KL rooms ARE suites, and they are exceedingly pleasant. The raves you've read about the bathroom are correct. I know, who goes to Hawaii for a bathroom. I don't, but when I'm paying luxury rates, it's nice to get what I perceive as luxury. This may amuse you: on one of our trips, we were having one of several great dinners at the 4S. In the course of the evening, our waiter discovered that we weren't staying at the 4S. He began to gently chide us with a twinkle in his eye. We played along and then told him we were staying at the KL. He looked around, leaned down and said softly: "Their rooms ARE nice, aren't they?"

Go to Kea Lani & save your $$. I stayed at the Four Seasons in March and was sorely disappointed. I couldn't even really enjoy the grounds because there were so many CHILDREN around! I also stayed at the Renaissance on the same trip and found that I ran into even fewer children there. The Four Seasons is a lovely hotel, but in this case, I don't think it is worth the considerable cost. All the resorts in Kailua are right next to each other, so enjoy dinner or lunch at the Four Seasons sometime, but don't pay the extra $$ to stay...

Christine:

Either place would be an excellent choice (I've stayed at both), but here are a few things to consider:

1. As others have pointed out, what kind of a room do you have at the Four Seasons? I've found that their room descriptions are not accurate. I was assigned an "ocean view" room and it was really only a partial ocean view.

2. Despite what others have said, there are a good number of children at the Four Seasons when school is out. The parents prefer it, so they take the kids. The Four Seasons does have a children's program. The problem is that the pools at the FS are too small to accomodate many kids and there is no adults only pool. In contrast, the Kea Lani has a large adults only pool.

3. Do you want a pool cabana? The Kea Lani has fewer cabanas but they are reservable for a $40 a day fee. the FS has many more cabanas, including some with nice views of the sea, but they are first come first served (so there tends to be a morning rush).

4. When I was in Wailea in April, there was some construction going on next to the Kea Lani. Have you checked on the status?

Thank you for all of your input, however, I am still undecided if you can believe that! Anyway, as some have asked, our room at the four seasons is a standard mountain view. Our room at the Kea Lani is a standard view super value rate room. Funny enough, staying at the four seasons will cost us about $250 less than the Kea Lani. As you can see we are more concerned about staying in the best hotel instead of getting the absolute best deal! (we are wierd!) How is the beach in front of both of these hotels? Keep the replies coming!

Heck! If its cheaper to stay at the 4 Seasons, by all means stay there! Case closed! ;-)

Had a reservation a Kea Lani as I'm travelling with my 14 year old daughter for 3 nights and meeting the rest of the family in Kauai. I couldn't resist changing to the Four Seasons. Saw the rooms at the Kea Lani a few years ago before it was a Fairmont (not a positive thing, in my mind). The suite seemed like a good idea given the circumstances abut I am a HUGE Four Seasons fan. There is the occasional one I'm not crazy about (Vancouver..it's an old hotel, tiny bathrooms) but the service and lack of "nickel and diming" makes up for almost anything. My daughter and I have stayed at Hualalai but she wanted a more active island this year. At 14, she says- "Four Seasons, mom". You can't go wrong with them!!

I strongly take exception to Jay's assessment. Whether or not one can "afford" to stay at the 4S or not, the fact is, you SHOULD expect almost total perfection for what you're paying there, and, quite frankly, the resort is vastly overpriced! Christine, it comes down to this: If you want a much larger, glitzier resort, then go with the Kea Lani. If you want something more low-key and smaller, then go with the 4S. I personally think the Grand Wailea is still the BEST out of the three--and NO, it is not cheesy Las Vegas as some blindsided people have mentioned; it's a beautiful, classy resort in a class by itself!

I stayed at the 4S in February and had a great experience. The beach at 4S is by far a better stretch than that of Kea Lani. My wife and I walked over to the kea lani and found it to be very nice. However, due to the all-suite situation, we noticed many more kids at the kea lani as opposed to the 4s. Als, the restuarants at 4s were excellent and romantic. Do not stay at the Wailea if you are looking for romantic time, way too many kids there.

Oh no! I'll be staying at the 4S July 4th-13th and am worried that the place will be overrun with kids. Has anyone that has stayed there during the summer been able to find a quiet relaxing spot at the hotel? I'm a little concerned after these comments. Thanks!

Stayed at the Kea Lani in May and just loved it. Service was great and rooms were beautiful. We had booked a Standard room and upon hearing about construction emailed reservations. I was told that the standard rooms were facing the side road by the construction site but that all construction had ended. We joined the Presidents Club (no charge) and received an upgrade to Garden at check in. Beloning also gave us free phone calls, fitness center and boardroom in addition to a newspaper delivered to our room. I couldn't have been happier and we have traveled quite a bit.

Hey Tom, get out and travel a bit more, then tell me if you think the Four Seasons Maui is overpriced.
Here are a few places you can start with: the Ocean Club hotel in the Bahamas (owned by the Atlantis people) where wintertime standard ocean view crescent rooms are $900/nt.
Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados where standard rooms are $1800/nt during peak season around Christmas.
Even the Four Seasons New York during peak times is $600/nt for their standard rooms.

You go stay at some of those (all of which I've stayed at) and then tell me that the FS Maui fails to provide an all around great experience at a VERY fair price. Considering the location I would go so far as to say that it is even a good VALUE.

As I said before, much of the whining comes from people who simply don't have a grasp of just what the FS provides relative to other top end hotels in the world.
The main reason the FS Maui doesn't charge higher rates is simply competition. So many nice resorts in the same region.

Jay I think you took one too many testosterone pills this morning.

Oh, so let me get this straight, Jay. Because YOU were foolish enough to spend money on certain resorts that were not just overpriced but EXTREMELY overpriced, then I'm supposed to be oh-so-grateful for the "lower" rates at the Four Seasons Maui?!? First of all, throwing out those figures does NOT impress me, and second, when paying over $600 per night at the 4S Maui, you better believe that I expect a 180 degree ocean FRONT view, NOT an ANGLED view of the ocean! It certainly is NOT a good VALUE in my book, Jay. So go ahead, go WASTE your money on those other overpriced resorts because the ONLY person you're impressing is YOU!!!