First I wish to thank Annemarie for all her help.

I'm now down to 2 hotels in Maui. The Renaissance and the Hyatt. I need opinions from people who have experienced both and who would recommend one over the other for our honeymoon this July.

Things I'm considering:
- beach (swimmable, clear, not too busy)
- pools (how busy)
- restaurants (quality for $$)
- snorkling
- oceanfront room comparison
- overall romantic feel

I know there are many postings on both...I just wanted a head-to-head opinion.

Thanks all!

Hi, there..you already know my opinions here, but wanted to bring this up to the top before the night is up so you have a better chance of getting some responses. I have a Zagat rating book from a couple years back(company that rates dining and lodging) and this is what they have down for the 2 properties: Hyatt - Rooms23, service - 23, dining - 23 out of 30.Som e really great comments but some visitors say rooms are too small - I wouldn't know. Renaisance rating is R - 23, s - 23, d - 22. Hey, anything you can get to help you !!Good luck!

As long as we're listing ratings, the current Conde Nast Gold List compares the 2 as follows:
Rooms/Service/Food/Location/OVERALL
H: 75-75-74-83...76.8
R: 76-80-79-84...80.8

Persons identifying themselves as [email protected] and [email protected] have been known to stalk those who post on this board. For your safety please refrain from posting on this board. These individual's actions have completely disrupted this board to the point where no valuable information one can hope to gain here is worth being stalked on the internet by this lunatic. For your safety, do not post here. Please direct your questions to frommers.com where the boards are moderated regularly and individuals like this are sanctioned. Gloria

Abe...I think a lot of people are turned off this forum board because of the minority who have some kind of a hangup!!(above comment) Again...found another book this morning...you see I am trying to give you the goods to help you make a decision. Frommers has a book out called the Best Beach Vacations in Hawaii...I have it from a couple years back and this is what they say about the beaches.....Beach directly in front of Hyatt is for surfers only. Kanapaali Beach intself gets an A- for Beauty, b for swimming, b for sand, and a for amenities. Wailea Beach in front of the Grand Wailea and the Fs, gets an A-for beauty, A for swimming, B for sand and A for amenities. Ulua Beach in Wailea(one of the 5 crescent beaches) gets a B for Beauty, A for swimming, B for Sand and A for amenities. Mokapu Beach in front of the Renaissance gets B fro Beauty, B fro swimming, B for sand and A for amenities. All beaches in Hawaii are open to all public. The crescent beaches in Hawaii are more hidden to the road as the resorts are front of them. Did I confuse you even more?

WARNING - I just made reservations at the Renaissance in Wailea and they are about booked up through JUNE (so they told me because I couldnt get anything better than a "garden view" so rush to get reserved before they sell out!

I tried to get the Entertainment 50% discount but they told me they didnt have anymore.. check back later!

I'll be going in LATE MAY..!

Abe,
I only have first-hand experience at the Hyatt since we stayed there last Aug for our honeymoon, but we did get to spend a day in the Wailea area.

First, I just want to say that either hotel would be great. You would have a fabulous time either way. I think its a matter of what kind of atmosphere you want for location: Kaanapali: more crowds, closer to Lahaina, a little more action; Wailea: more resort-like, elegant, less crowds.

Since I stayed at the Hyatt, here's some of the answers you were looking for:

Beach-not that big nor nice...you're better off going to Black Rock for snorkeling and the beach is more suited for swimming near the Sheraton. But when we went in Aug....very crowded with families and kids!! But great snorkeling...have to go early.

Pools- Again crowded, but there is a smaller pool of the 2 which wasn't too bad. We did visit Grand Wailea pool area...very crowded w/kids as well.

Restaurants- We had the breakfast buffet included in our pkg at the Swan Court...and that was awesome! Also, there is a japanese restaurant which was also good.

Partial Ocean View- I know people say to get the oceanfront, but we loved our view of mountains & ocean. The colors on the mountains were gorgeous! And our room size was fine. Overall, we felt we were in paradise at the Hyatt.

My g/f stayed at the Renaissance a few years ago and she highly recommends it! Unfortunately I only visited 4Seasons and Grand Wailea. So I don't have any info to share w/you on the Renaissance. Also I do believe by the time you get there, they will have the shopping plaza near the Grand Wailea finished? Don't quote me on it though.

I know you will have a great honeymoon no matter where you stay...