Kaanapali Beach Hotel
 

We are in the beginning of planning our next trip to Hawaii. This time our plans will be taking us to the Hale Koa on Oahu for three days, Maui for five or six, Kauai for five or six and as much as I would like to try a tentalo on Molokai at the Sheraton, no one else seems to share my enthusiasm for that. We have stayed at the Marriott on Kaanapali, the Outrigger in Wailea but I thought it would be fun to get away from the big chain type hotels and experience the Kaanapali Beach Hotel. Any feedback on this plan?

My parents love that hotel. We did move from the older wing on the right side of the hotel due to mold. They have live entertainment each night. A kids pool shaped like a whale. Free juice or other drinks and lei at times. I think you may have to pay extra for parking which most hotels do. I like that it is walking distance to Hula Grill and other spots.

We stayed at KBH in April and it was absolutely wonderful. We were treated very well by all. I would definitely stay there again.

My husband and I stayed at the Kaanapali for our honeymoon and had a less than pleasant experience. When we checked in, the front desk gave us tickets to the "Auntie Aloha" brunch, which ended up being your basic sales pitch. Auntie Aloha spends about an hour engaging in a horrific stand up comedy routine interspersed with a slideshow of tours the you can purchase at the front desk "but the special rate applies only for the next fifteen minutes!" Oh, and don't forget that the "information desk" is simply there to sell you tours. We were disappointed with the grounds and the outside of the building - neither was all that well maintained. Our room itself was dingy, but clean. Although both of us and our travel agent had told the hotel that it was our honeymoon, it took them three days of nagging to finally put the things we ordered (e.g., the champagne) in our room. We chose the hotel because it was supposed to be "authentically Hawaiian." It was the antithesis of authentic. Rather, it was the mainland, done-up, cheesy, Don Ho/Elvis movie type version of Hawaii. In the evenings, Rudy, who sang backup for Don Ho (I'm not making this up), sings and plays the ukelele while a caucasian woman does the hula ("she sews all of her outfits herself, folks!). The presentation draws its share of overweight men in Hawaiian shirts chomping on cigars and there's some embarrassingly light clapping after each song. I felt like I was in Vegas . . . in Hawaii. On a more positive note, the rates were extremely inexpensive compared to the other hotels and we had a beachfront room where our view of the sunset was PERFECT every single night. Furthermore, the housekeeping staff is unfailingly nice and the nicer restaurant on the grounds serves some good, authentic Hawaiian food.

LOL!

Dawn: Sounds like your trip is coming together! For a change from the big chain type hotels in Maui, try the Napili Kai Beach Club in Napili. Most rooms are more like condos and the location is great...right on beautiful Napili Bay. I was there six or seven years ago and liked it. Definetly lower key than the hotels in Kaanapali. I have also stayed at the Kaanapli Beach Hotel and liked it. I stayed there because they had the cheapest rooms. My expectations were low, so I was not disappointed. The best thing about the hotel is its location on Kaanapali Beach. I think the beach is better at that end. Good Luck.

bquarre has a point. We visited the Kaanapali Beach Hotel before I became travel savvy and started visiting message boards like Fodors. Thus, we left the hotel decision making up to our travel agent and she really talked up the hotel and made it out to be something it wasn't. I think that if I had done my research, I would not have been as disappointed. bquarre is right - the location is great and the price is right, so as long as you're just expecting a clean place to sleep, you should be OK. But it's definitely about 5 steps down from the Marriott and the Outrigger, so be prepared!

My brother and sister-in-law have stayed at Kaanapali beach hotel twice and loved it! I stayed at a nearby hotel when I was in Maui and wished that I had stayed here instead. I've heard that it is best that you ask for an updated room if you go. The place as I could tell was really nice and they have cool free hawaiian activies going on everyday if you want to take part as well as live entertainment in the evening.

Really have no new information to add. I stayed here back in 1981 (one and only time to Hawaii), and really liked the hotel. I was pleasantly surprised to hear it is still a nice place to stay! Nice to know some things really can stay the same!

It's not my first or second choice, but if I found a great deal I would go back there again.

We stayed there and really liked it. The only thing you have to watch for is if you try to economize and get a garden view or mountain view room you might end up like we did...the dumpster was under/in front of our lanai. LOL We had room service dinner one night and the waiter asked if we would like to dine on the lanai and we ROTFL