HELP-my family of Husband 42, myself 41, two teens 18 & 16 will be taking a last(before oldest graduates and leaves) family vacation for 7-10 days, we want someplace fun and beautiful, we will spend a good deal of time on the beach, will be playing golf (approx 3 times). Can't hock the farm for a motel but want something nice, maybe adjoining rooms. I have read so much, everyone suggests different places to stay, even condos. I am getting confused. Like I said, this will probably be our one and only big vacation, we want to do it right, but unless there is great deals I can't afford 6* . Help.

My family visited Maui in April. We stayed at the Embassy Vacation Resort. Don't make the same mistake. When we go next time we will stay at either Kapalua or Wailea. Both areas have affordable accomidations. I have a hunch that with two teens you may be better off in Wailea.

My family visited Maui in April. We stayed at the Embassy Vacation Resort. Don't make the same mistake. When we go next time we will stay at either Kapalua or Wailea. Both areas have affordable accomidations. I have a hunch that with two teens you may be better off in Wailea.

I think Kapalua would be too quiet for both you and your teens. Try the Wailea area...you would be close to golf courses, closer to the Hana highway and Haleakela and you would have a choice of some great properties. I am not sure on your budget..if I knew how much you wanted to spend a night, I could maybe direct you better. You can get a room at the Renaissance Wailea inc. buffet breakfast for 2 for around 190.00 a night. A suite at the Kea Lani will run you around 300.00 a night and you will have a bar frig, sink and micro plus coffee maker, 2 TVs, etc. The Elua Village on Ulua Beach in Wailea is supposed to be an older but nice condo resort. Feel free to email for further info. Annemarie

Hi Paula:
We have been to Maui 3 or 4 times with our 2 daughters and they loved it.
We stayed at the Koa Lagoon beachfront condominium and had a very good time. I could cook in the condo and it really helped out. My youngest daughter still talks about some of the meals we had while there. The condo is centrally located on Maui.It is within easy driving distance to the shops in Wailuku, Kahului and Kapalua with their beautiful golf courses, tennis facilities, restaurants and nite spots. There is snorkeling and scuba diving near the numerous coral reefs. Boating and sport fishing are available at Maalaea just down the road a ways.
They have 42 deluxe 1bedroom 1bath and 2 bedroom 2bath condos.
This is the # 1-800-367-8030. It has been several years since we were there but we enjoyed this property since it was directly on the beach. We asked for a condo on the first floor and it was very easy to step out the door onto the patio and down to the beach. Just loved it. The condo was nice. I think a lady by the name of Natlie was in charge. I don't know what the prices are now but they were the best for us.
WE have also stayed at the kamoleSands in Kihei but it was across the street from the beach not as easy to use. Liked Koa Lagoon better. We also look for nice and affortable accommodations. Hope this helps
Shirley

Aloha Paula,
Our extended family rented a home in
Paia, Maui last Christmas. It was lovely. Just a short walk to the beach, beautiful tropical yard and quite resonable. We all loved using the outdoor shower with our own orange tree growing over head. My 19 year old son had the studio apartment to himself and my married daughters and there spouses shared the other two units with us. My son was overwhelmed the morning we went to Charlie P. Woffers resturant for breakfast(a few yards from the house) and saw Willie Nelson also enjoying his morning meal there.
The web sight for the house is http://mmw-gbg.net/mhelen.htm. Maui is a perfect location for your "last" family vacation. All of you should have a great time.

Paula: Our family just went to Maui this winter, in Feb. We loved it. Maui definitely appeals to teenagers, lots to do and see, touristy and nontouristy. Favorites of our teens included shopping in Lahaina (yes, they loved that), boogie boarding and snorkeling (esp boogie boarding), swimming. Great beaches in Wailea area. We stayed at the Aston Papakea north of Kaanapali by a bit. We loved the place. I believe our nightly rate was around $150, that was for two bedrooms and two baths, full kitchen, lovely grounds and nice people. Only a marginal beach however there, but we drove to most of the good beaches anyways.
Check with a good travel agent, but watch the internet too, because often I have found good deals on the computer and told my travel agent about them and she had no idea... I definitely recommend a condo because you will save a great deal of $$ on food. A couple dinners out in Lahaina were $70-$100 for the five of us. Unless you can figure three meals a day in that range--unless you like all fast food, which isn't cheap there either (I know my teens can't miss a meal), then save yourself some cash for other fun stuff and buy your own groceries. We did take a suitcase full of nonperishable foods and that helped.
Another highlight for my kids was a snorkel cruise to Molokini, even though our weather was crummy that particular day, they really enjoyed that, and it was fun getting out into a boat anyways!
Have fun. Maui is wonderful. Next year we hope to try the Big Island (but the kids say they'd rather go back to Maui).
Vicki

Thanks to all that have posted responses, like I said, everyone has good ideas, which one do I choose. My travel agent suggest Apple vacations. anyone have thoughts on that, or package deals in general? I think being on a nice beach is a must, there will be times we will split up and we won't want to walk far. By the sounds of it I am looking at between 150.00 to 300.00 per night. I had better start saving. thanks to all, I'm still reading. Paula

Paula - I just returned from Maui two days ago and like Vicki I stayed at the Papakea resort. We had eight adults and rented 2 two-bedroom condos. I rented through a company in Maui called Maui Resort Management. If you tell them you heard of them through the internet they give you a 10% discount. Our room was $135.00 per night. We had GORGEOUS views of the ocean. There are 2 pool areas with spa and a putting green. I won't reiterate everything Vicki said, because I agree with all she said. We looked into Apple Vacations also and found it cheaper to rent the condo on our own because the condo was one price where apple vacations is a per person price. If you look in the back of the apple vacation book you can use their charter flight and get a good deal. Papakea was very convienent to walk to the other resorts, we went to Embassy Suites for Sunday Brunch and when we saw the 100's of people laying around the pool, we were very glad to be at the Papakea where some days there were only 2-3 people at the pool. We had unit K203 and it was right near the pool, VERY clean, and as I said a gorgeous view!

Paula,

In my opinion this trip is almost worth "hocking" the farm, since it may be the last vacation the family takes together.
So lets go to the bank, "hock" that farm" and spend, spend, spend. (sounds fun). You won't regret it. For the very best resort in Maui, stay at the Grand Wailea Resort (www.grandwailea.com). It is absolutely fantastic. Although your kids are older , they'll still enjoy the "water park" on property which is actually part of their landscape. There is a pool that you can learn to SCUBA Dive. There's a great beach- and if you and your husband want to renew your vows, theres a nice chapel on the grounds by the beach. There is also a world class Golf Course nearby. There is also the most romantic restaurant (Carrelli's on the Beach) for that one night you spend alone with Hubby and let the kids go to the dance club (Tsunami) in the Hotel. There are cheaper eats nearby for lunch, you and the fam can go up to the extinct volcanoe and ride bikes down to the bottom. Howabout a Helicopter ride with the entire family? - check out Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. Take the family out on a Dinner Cruise - Check out the Navitek II. If you can't stay in the Grand Wailea, stay in a resort nearby in Wailea (or you could look into the Maui Hill condos in Kehei). One good web site for hotels in Hawaii is www.2hawaii.com. You can see rooms in 360 deg view (after downloading a plug-in). If you have any questions just e-mail me.

David

We go to Hawaii pretty often and sometimes family members come along. I understand the term budget when you are taking six or more. You may want to get a cross reference some condos or hotels that you would like with their prices and the prices that you can get from an Entertainment discount. Food can be expensive if you are feeding some teenagers who are always hungary and thirsty (they seem to really like the expensive alcohol free tropical drinks). If beach is of utmost importance look into some the Hyatt Vacation packages (their rates are different than the ones you get from just calling the Hyatt hotel reservation number--sometimes the rates including buffet breakfast, car and taxes can be great) Also check some air hotel packages like American Airlines they also can have some great bargains. If you want to be on the Wailea side (may be too quiet for your teens, but teens vary) the REnaissance hotel has some good packages. I have found that if we want to go and can do w/o the great beach, the Embassy Suites can be a great bargain through the Entertainment Card--currently $167 for the Entertainment rate for partial ocean view--includes all you can get breakfast buffet and two hours of drinks in the pm. Very large suites--and they have connecting ones in some views. The one bedrooms sleep four--huge bathrooms. Basically it just depends on what your budget is--every one is different. I love to travel, but I hate to spend too much if I don't have to.