We are thinking of spending our Honeymoon at Kapalua Villas this coming July. Has anyone had any experience at this place or in Kapalua in general. Also, restaurant recommendations? We have never been to Hawaiian Islands.

Never stayed there but have driven through. The area is very pretty with views of at least 2 neighboring islands. It is normally cooler and wetter than most of the other resort areas, but that may not be a concern in July. If the weather is disappointing, you could drive south to Ka`anapali and likely find drier weather.

Have a great trip.

I've snorkeled a couple of times in Kapalua Bay. There is a very nice beach that provides great access to the water, and the reef is probably less than 50 yards from shore. Geologically, it's very protected from the wind & surf so the water never really gets very rough unless you swim out far beyond the reef. The beach is gentle and sandy until you're about 20 yards into it where you begin to encounter sparse rocks underfoot that become more prevalent the further out you go. I thought the quality of the snorkeling at Kapalua was just as good as about anyplace else I snorkeled on Maui with the exception of maybe Honolua Bay. The calm waters and the nice beach just added to the quality of the experience.

The length of the beach itself is small when compared to the vast expanse of someplace like Ka'anapali, but it's comparable to what you'd find at nearby Slaughterhouse Beach, Oneloa Beach, or Napili Bay.

The area is quieter, but with a rental car, you can go anywhere... we did a snorkel sail along the coast and saw hundreds of dolphins, 4 or 5 turtles and thousands of fishies... there are dozens of luau choices and its a short drive to lahaina for shopping... we stayed at the Ritz, and there are dining options there also... It doesnt matter where you stay, you're gonna want to drive around anyway and see a bunch of stuff ... how often are you honeymooning in Maui? Have fun!

Thanks for the responses. garyt22: Couple of questions if you don't mind;Is the taxi fare to Lahaina expensive? I plan to rent a car but we may want to enjoy some beverages while out for dinner. I read somewhere that the sunset is blocked at that side of the island? Thanks in advance.

Its about 10 miles to Lahaina... never took a cab, but I would imagine its reasonable... Im only guessing but it seems that summer sunsets would not be blocked... perhaps our island friends can answer that better.... have fun!

I'm wondering how sunset could be blocked on that side of the island, since the sun sets in the west, and Kapalua is on the west side of the island (pretty much faces the same way as Lahaina and Kaanapali, and we have seen some spectacular sunsets in both of those places).

I just googled taxi fares, and I think they might be quite a bit more than gary surmised. See this link:

http://www.kaanapalitaximaui.com/rate.html

Kapalua is gorgeous, but as gary said, quiet. That may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you're looking for.

I wonder if there's a hotel/villas shuttle to Lahaina?

Depending on the time of the year, the sun may set behind the neighbor island and you wouldn't see the sun at the horizon going down. But you can still enjoy the sunset.
Lots of nice restaurants in Kapalua such as Merriman's and Sansei. The Honolua Store's deli has great lunches, inexpensive, do not miss that!

I can confirm offlady's post. The island of Lanai lies directly west of Lahaina, and the island of Molokai to the northwest. I stayed once at a condo near Kapalua in June and remember the sun setting in the distance behind the sloping mound of Molokai's southern shore rather than into the waters of the Pacific.

If you stay in a Kapalua Villa, make sure to get a 'gold' one for your honeymoon, its well worth the small price increase.