fairmont or hyatt
 

After reviewing the recent "rants and raves" for both hotels, I'm more confused than ever. They were very dissapointing. I will be traveling to Maui next June with my husband and 2 teenage daughters. It is our 20th anniversary and I would like an ocean view. Before I book, do I go ahead and book an oceanview or wait to see if I can get an upgrade? Please help with hotel choice!

I can't help with the hotel choice--having only stayed at the Maui Hyatt, it's the only one I'm familiar with. We loved it. I did want to comment though on booking the ocean view room vs hoping for an upgrade. If ocean view is very important to you definitely book it--don't rely on getting one via upgrades! I'm not sure about June occupancy, but if it's heavy, you'd be out of luck. That said, we had a mountain view room and it was spectacular! There were beautiful rainbows daily--I was not at all disappointed.

I would stay at The Fairmont Kea Lani - higher level property than Hyatt Maui, guest rooms are suites, better weather, nicer beach and much for teenagers to do in Wailea. Although I'll bet The Fairmont would price more expensive.

If you do a search, there are a number of posts on these two hotels... many comparing the two.

I would say decide on which part of the island you want to stay on before deciding on a hotel. They are both nice hotels. The Fairmont is nice since they are suites and you get a little more room.

As for view, like said above... if the view is important, book it. Personally after staying in a few hotels on different islands and having an ocean view at one... while it was nice, it's not worth the extra dollars to me. Stayed at the Kea Lani and could have had an upgrade after the first night, but decided the moving process was not worth it.

June is the start of family travel season and hotels will probably be busy so wouldn't count on upgrade. Also, noticed the Kea Lani has a lot of conferences that eat up the available rooms.

One thing to keep in mind about paying to upgrade to an ocean view room -- you will spend very few daytime hours in the room. Of course if you do room service breakfasts, an ocean view lanai is nice. But it is at night when you are mostly in the room and it is pitch black out towards the ocean. No view at all.

Hi, I've never seen the Hyatt, but my husband and I stayed at the Kea Lani 11/02 for our honeymoon and we can't say enough wonderful things about it. We had an ocean view room, and it was gorgeous-the rooms were huge-big bedroom, living room, and unbelievably huge marble bathroom. They had turndown service with flowers on the pillows every night and daily maid service. The property is breathtaking-we arrived at night and all the torches were lit and it was gorgeous! Like you, I was a little apprehensive from reading all the rants and raves. However, after being there, I don't see how the people who were unhappy with the Kea Lani could have been at the same hotel we were at. Good luck with your choice-I know it's tough!

To leahrose: a certain proportion people will complain about anything.
People complain about the Four Seasons Maui, the Four Seasons Big Island, the Peninsula Beverly Hills (just rated the number one hotel in the US by a major travel mag)....
I was reading a Rolls Royce owners web forum the other day and people were ranting away like they were discussing the trials and tribulations of suffering with an AMC Gremlin.

Also, the first time people stay someplace really nice I think it's natural to notice only the good things. The more times people stay at nice places the more they take the good things for granted and notice the flaws. When 4 stars is no longer good enough then 5 becomes the standard of comparison. No place is perfect. And if the glass is always half empty instead of half full, then you get rants no matter what.

Hi Lisa: My husband, two teenage boys and I just returned from Maui about a week ago and stayed 7 nights at the Makena Surf (in Makena about 5 minutes from the Kea Lani) and then stayed 3 nights at the Kea Lani. We tend to stay in a condo at the MS most of the trip because of space and comfort (E&F buildings are right on the ocean and are gorgious). The Kea Lani was great. Beautiful grounds and pools and the rooms are indeed spacious. One of our boys slept on the hide-a-bed and we got a roll away for the other. Both beds were not the most comfortable in the world, but they survived. We had originally booked a garden view, but when we checked in, my husband talked to a guy at the front desk and asked him what kind of deal he could make us on a oceanview. Normally, it is a $300 per night upgrade, but he gave it to us for $100 per night and threw in the rollaway (normally they charge) for free. Although you are not just feet from the ocean as with the Makena Surf, you do have a spectacular view from the higher floor rooms at the Kea Lani (we stayed on the 6th). Also, all suites come with a microwave and small fridge. The bathrooms and master bedrooms are very spacious. I also have heard great things about the Ritz next door (a bit more pampering than the Kea Lani and probably more expensive too). I would not hesitate to stay at the Kea Lani again - the rooms are definitely much bigger than most and that will help your entire family's comfort (Grand Wailea rooms are pretty dinky, so I would pass on that hotel if you are going to be staying more than a couple of day). One more thing, the Kea Lani has 24 hour laundry facilities which I thought was unusual, but great. Hope this helps!

Wailea is my turf and my international travel motto is, "How big is the room in the dark???!!" For teenagers (and have been one Yeah, me too, and have owned a couple!) sleep is their sport even before beaches,then food and babes (obviously, I have sons!) Go with the best deal, and hit all the local beaches! Somethow, the kids find and use the local hotel water slides.
Feeding them is the challenge, and I vote for "breakfast buffet included" and then hit the take outs for cheaper other meals (and YOU GO OUT AT NITE WITHOUT THEM....rent videos and take outs for the room, but with big BEHAVIOR RULES! Good luck, Mom's and Dad's on the road!!

<b>gplimpton</b> That was a terrific post--absolutely correct. You can be the best you can be, but there are those whose job it seems to be to find fault, and the higher the echelon, the pickier the clientele. &quot;But this is a Rolls, I don't <i>expect any</i> road noise/wind noise/rattle/radio interference/less-than-solid door closure/engine hiccup/blemish blah blah&quot;. Give them a forum to rant and rave with an audience, and they'll search all memory banks 'til they find it! Some are legitimate but you need to take them all with a grain of salt.

Now...I really wanted to thank you for your note and mention of the Rolls Royce forum because I realized I might find a Z3 forum, and a solution to my leaking convertible roof which I feared would have to be replaced! Google found the forum, and I've ordered what hopefully will be my $30 solution!! If it works, and it did for others, you've saved me a couple thousand on a roof I'm sure the dealer would happily have replaced!! How 'bout that!

Lisa: After staying for just 3 nights last year at the Grand Wailea and feeling extremely cramped with my 2 teenage sons, the spaciousness of the Kea Lani rooms was a welcome change. Granted, going to Hawaii means not staying in the room alot, but just the fact that you have 2 rooms with a door that closes between, 2 TVs and enough room to maneuver without stepping on each other made our trip much more pleasurable. One other point about the Kea Lani that I forgot to mention is the 2 complementary breakfasts each morning in one of the open air restaurants. A full spread much like many Sunday Brunches (omelet to order, eggs benedict, etc). Not sure if we got them because of the oceanview upgrade or not, but it was great.