I am planning a trip to Maui in June and am trying to decide between the Ritz Carlton Kapalua and the Kapalua Bay Hotel for our stay. Many guidebooks recommend the Kapalua Bay hotel over the Ritz, so I am a little confused given the high level of service at most Ritz Carltons. Is the Kapalua Bay Hotel a significant drop off from the Ritz in terms of service and quality? What would you recommend?
Thanks in advance for your help.

I'm not sure why any unbiased guide book would recommend KBH over RC for the average traveller.
The RC is in a different category of luxury from KBH, and offers better service. The rooms are considerably nicer.
KBH has a better beach and has an 'old Hawaii' relaxed ambience that some people like better than the non-Hawaiian RC decor.
But as I said, for the AVERAGE traveller, RC is a much nicer hotel.

RC is a gorgeous hotel. Very quiet and gracious. Rooms are beautiful.

But, I would NEVER stay there again. It is on the very windy side of the island. We were there in April, mind you, so spring could be worse, but the wind was so bad you had to fight to hold onto you paperback while sitting by the pool. It is too bad. The scenery and views are lovely, the service is great. But it is out of the way on the island, there is NO night life there or even nearby. Yes, Kaanapali is only 15 minutes away. But at night the roads are dark and windy so if you want a few mai tais you better have a dd. Anyway, that is my opinion of the RC.

Relative to Wailea, however, Kapalua Bay and the Ritz are similar weather-wise, so that doesn't separate the two much for the original poster. True, RC tends to be windier than KBH, but in terms of temperature, cloudiness and rainfall propensity, both RC and KBH get the short end of the stick compared with Wailea.
Comments by 'Heavens' are common. The wind can be a big deal at RC.
People whose vacations are highly dependent on good weather should skip both RC and KBH and head to Wailea.

It was definitely windy on the beach when we stayed there. But we loved the hotel and the food. We hardly stayed at the hotel during the day so the wind didn't bother us one bit. It depends on what you're looking for in a hotel...

Kapalua is much quieter than Wailea and Kanaapali, something that may be important on a honeymoon. I just posted a trip report on the KBH. Service by the pool was slow, but great snorkeling off the beach and beautiful property overall.