We are planning the Kea Lani for January, a room not a villa, but I read some of the rants and raves last night and noticed that they seemed so much more positive a while back. Has anyone been before and after the Fairmont takeover? I am not too worried about the issue of service, but more about things like "stains on the carpet" etc...that people seem to now be saying. It is not cheap and I want to make sure I am not wasting my vacation. Any input would be great, even just a recent stay review-Thanks

For the price, Kea Lani is a relatively good value.
Compare what you get to the Four Seasons (for the dollar) or Mandarin Oriental and it's just fine.

That said, Fairmont is not a top shelf hotel management group. They're closer to the Hyatt and Sheraton level of quality than to the Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton.

I don't know if that's what you want to hear, but that's my experience.

Sue: I posted one of those rants and raves. I liked (but didn't love) the Kea Lani, however, I felt that the true "aloha" spirit that I had heard so much about wasn't noticeable there. They really didn't go out of their way to be overly friendly (except for the bellmen). The activities desk person would not make a specific recommendation on a snorkling trip that we wanted to take so we felt like we were flying blindly. The restaurants were just so so. The room we had was basically nice and it was large, but yes, the carpet did need cleaning. Maybe I expected too much??? We had to go to the Renaissance for a room on our last day due to overbooking at the Kea Lani (no late checkouts). The Renaissance room was a lot smaller, but the staff was more welcoming.

Hi Sue- I visited the Kea Lani both before and after the Fairmont took over. I really didn't notice too big of a difference (apart from the rooms being a little more worn than the first time we visited). The service was fine, nothing noteworthy, but not poor either.
I did enjoy the restaurants (had great dinners at both Nick's and Caffe Ciao) and the in-hotel grocery area they maintain (pricey, but nice to have a place to grab something as a snack).
The one thing I had noticed that was not quite as memorable as the first time we stayed was the appearance of the grounds. Although still beautiful, they didn't have quite the same feel as I remember the first time around.
All that being said, I wouldn't hesitate to return a 3rd time.

Dear Sue

Just returned from the Kea Lani where we stayed in a three bedroom villa. We also had a chance to view a regular room on the last day. I would say the the rooms are nice but ceratinly not tup to a Four Seasons or Ritz standard. I stayed there seveal years ago in a regular room and did not notice much difference between then and now.

AS far as the current serviice, I feel it is as good if not better than when it was before. The conciege desk was always helpful and efficient. We syayed at the Ritz for the last three days on Maui and I felt the staff was actually more sincere and friendlier at the Kea Lani.

Drink service by the pool is slow at both properties. The wuality of the drinks was much better howerver at the Kea Lani. Food service and quality was actually quicker than the drinks at the Kea Lani and again quite good.

All in all with the construction going on at the Four Seasons the Kea Lani is your best choice. Also the golf and beaches are better in Wailea than Kapalua.

Hope this helps.

Hi Sue!
My husband and I stayed at the Kea Lani in July for our Honeymoon and loved it. We thought the rooms were kept very clea, although we did have to have maid service come back once, but overall very clean. I am very picky about hotel rooms and didn't feel like I had to wear my shoes while staying there.
We had a great experience with suggestins from the concierge and enjoyed the grounds. Nick's is a must, and we really enjoyed the Italian restaurant at the 4 seasons, (I think it is Ferraros). Service at the pool was a bit slow but no real problems.
I would have to say I would definitely go back and think you will enjoy it.
Have a great trip!

This hotel needs re-furbishing! The rooms were ok but you could tell that a lot of families had staye there previously. Our stay was a disaster because of the way we were treated from check-in to housekeeping to room service. It was awful! This place is not lush like the video of it shows. We would never go back there again. We are very easy going, but this hotel was awful. Go to the four seasons if you want service. You won't find it here. The front desk acts like they are doing you a favor and like you should grovel to them for an upgrade, etc. Snooty, Snooty , Snooty and we are used to fine hotels all over the world. Fairmont Kea Lani is NOT it.