Help with Maui planning
 

Hello, I am planning 2 weeks in Hawaii with my husband while he has leave from deployment in Iraq. We are spending 4 nights of our time in Maui. We are trying to decide which area of the island to stay on and which resort to stay at. Here are our favorites right now:

On the South Shore, either the Maui Prince or the Wailea Beach Marriott.

On the West Shore, either the Hyatt, the Sheraton, or the Westin resort.

Has anyone stayed at any of these places and have any recommendations?

Also, we want to take a snorkel trip to the Molokini crater, see the winery and drive the road to Hana. Would staying on the south or west shores be better for what we want to do?

Thank you so much for your time and I can't wait to read everyone's suggestions!

The beach at the Maui Prince is a great swimming and snorkeling beach. There are often many turtles swimming just offshore. I have not stayed at the hotel, but rented a house just a few minutes walk and can tell you that we loved the area that the hotel is in. It would be a lot quieter and mellow than staying at any of the hotels you mentioned in Kaanapali. Of the three you mentioned, I like the location of the Sheraton the best as the beach is very nice on this part of Kaanapali Beach.

When are you going?

We are going in the middle of October, staying until the first week of November. Our 1 year anniversary is Oct. 25 and we will be in Maui to celebrate it!

Hi jessmarie323,

We just returned from our second trip to Maui. Unbelievably, I am such a beach potato that I have not made it to Wailea (!), but we did stay at The Sheraton Maui last year and I'd highly recommend it. The Sheraton is on an excellent beach ( Black Rock) both for swimming and snorkeling with giant sea turtles. The rooms vary in size and view. If you can find a good deal on their web site, try to reserve an oceanfront room in Building #6, which overlooks Black Rock. Those rooms have an exceptional view of Black Rock and are about as close as you can get to the water's edge without jumping in. You can also try calling the hotel directly. Tell them that your husband is in the military ( I think there are discounted rates for the military), you are celebrating your first anniversary, and would really love to have a room in Bldg. 6. They just may accomodate you, and depending on how busy they are, you may get an upgrade, too!

The rooms we stayed in were very nice ( big comfy bed, great AC, nice sized terrace, small fridge, good bathroom). The resort has a decent health club, OK pool area, although it can be quite overcrowded in the summer months. We avoided breakfast there after the first day ( it didn't come with our room, but maybe you can find a package for both room and breakfast), and walked along the path that connects all the hotels to Whaler's Village,( upscale development of stores/restaurants) where we stocked up on a few things from the ABC store.

If either of you is interested in body surfing or regular surfing, walk down the path from The Sheraton past the Westin to the beach that's directly in front ofan apartment complex called Kaanapali Alii. This part of the beach attracts tons of surfers/boogey boarders because of the giant waves. It's lots of fun to hang out there and can be quieter than The Sheraton's end of the beach.

Anyway, have a fantastic time, and congratulations on your anniversary!

Thank you to your husband (and yourself) for your service to our country.

I like Kaanapali/Lahaina area, but have never stayed in South Maui to compare the two.

Lots of info including sites with free brochures for all islands:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...trip-to-hi.cfm

I have stayed in both Wailea area (in a condo) and in Kaanapali (at the Hyatt). The beaches in Wailea are gorgeous, and Wailea in general has a very upscale feel to it.

On my most recent trip (May 2009), I stayed at the Hyatt and absolutely loved it. The rooms are really just average, but the resort itself is gorgeous. The grounds are really well kept, there are several shops (even a Macys), some great restaurants, a penguin exhibit, etc. The pool is fabulous, as is the pool-side service. They have daily drink specials which are $8 compared to other mixed drinks that are usually $12. You can get poolside service, and in the afternoons they bring you cold towels and otter pops! The gym is great (used it every day) as is the massage - highly recommend the small but good spa. The relaxation room after the massage is open air and has a view over the ocean, but do note that the rooms are gender specific. I also took some exercise classes (for $10 each) and basically had my own personal trainer - great.

I loved the location because a 12-15 stroll along the ocean on a paved sidewalk brought you to the Whalers Village where there were more restaurants and shops. Past that is the Sheraton where you can snorkel from shore at Black Rock. I personally do not care for the location of the Sheraton, and I walked through the pool area and frankly thought it was lousy (especially compared to the pool at the Hyatt).

I would go back to the Hyatt in Kaanapali in a second.

I don't know anything about the Wailea area, but on Kaanapali, the hotels you're comparing to each other aren't really "apples to apples" -- the Hyatt is the most upscale of the three you mentioned, the Westin quite upscale, too, and the Sheraton the least upscale of the three. As mentioned, the Hyatt has a fabulous pool, the Westin has a terrific pool, and the pool at the Sheraton is nice, but very low key when compared to the others (no slides or swim up bars or anything like that). The beach is the narrowest at the Hyatt, wider at the Westin, widest at the Sheraton (but they're all connected by the mentioned beach path, so you can easily go to any of them). The beach in front of the Sheraton is the most crowded because it's right at Black Rock....but that's also a positive, because you can have great snorkeling right there at the beach in front of the hotel! So, I guess it would depend on what you're looking for!!

So interesting to hear others opinions of the same area. No doubt that the Hyatt has an amazing pool and grounds, but if you're looking for a beach, there's not much there.

Thank you all so much for your responses and your kind thoughts!

I have been leaning towards the Hyatt, however we keep going back and forth between spending a little more on the hotel and staying at a less nice place to have more money for "fun" stuff like spas, fancy dinners, and sunset cruises. We are staying at the military resorts on Oahu and The Big Island, and therefore saving lots of money on lodging the rest of the time. So I think we deserve to splurge a little on our hotel on Maui.

I think the Kaanapali area will be best for us since it is within walking distance to restaurants and shopping. We are not the type to sit around at the pool or lay in the sun for very long, so I think it will be more convenient to be in an area where we are close to lots. We love snorkeling and plan to spend lots of time in the ocean, so we want to be close to great snorkel locations, but I think there are many of those so we probably won't be far wherever we stay.

Thanks again for everyone's time and suggestions, and I hope to hear more!

Good luck in your choice! I just wanted to mention that the spa services at The Westin, anyway, are exorbitant even by NYC standards. You might be better off looking for a good spa in Lahaina, which is only about ten minutes by car from Kaanapali.