We will be spending 5 nights at in Ka'anapali in January, but have 3 nights free before that. My idea is that we would spend those nights e closer to The Hana drive, Haleakala, etc. I tried to book nights in Makawao, but everyone wants a five night minimum. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good base area? We will be flying from California and arriving mid-day on a Sunday. The Paia Inn gets great reviews, but not sure what North Kihei is like. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

North Kihei not so great. If you stay in south Kihei you'll be close to some of the best beaches on Maui.Easy to reach other parts of the island.

I would stay 3 nights in South Kihei ... Great Kamaole 1, 2 and 3 Beaches there ... and you're right next door to the beautiful Wailea Resort. Maybe look at the Mana Kai Maui, right on the Wailea-Kihei border?

http://www.manakaimaui.com/Main/Home/Home.aspx

Thanks logandog and elisemoo. I figured we might be out most of those first two days and I wasn't so concerned about the beaches, but I also understand North Kihei is not so great (from what I read). Any opinions on Paia??

As a related aside, I am also really interested in hearing live Hawaiian music, which I realize may not be that easy to come by on a Sun-Mon-Tues evening. But proximity to that would be a definite plus.

mstraveler, you can hear Hawaiian Slack Key every Wednesday night at The Napili Kai Resort, Napili, above Kaanapali. The guys who do these concerts are some of Hawaii's best slack key players. Info on below link:

http://www.slackkey.com/

To my knowledge, there's nothing comparable around Kihei.

Don't trust reviews for Paia INN.

On TripAdvisor for example, almost all the reviews for Paia Inn are from 1 or 2 time contributors which indicates the reviews are solicited.

They have a fabulous website that creates an image of a luxuriously set hotel, but the Wizard (wizardpub.com) aerial map makes it look altogether different. It looks fine, but I am not sure it looks like the sort of place to spend 3 nights.

Does anyone else have suggestions for lodging in that area? Any opinions on the Inn at Mama's Fish House?

(and elsiemoo thanks for slack key recommendations! We will be over there on Wed and I will definitely go. I know Barry Flanagan plays on the island when he is not touring and hope to catch him somewhere....)

I really love staying in the south end of Maui, at the Makena Resort. Basically the last hotel on the south end of the island. It is on a superb and quiet beach.

Be very cautious about the Paia Inn. They have far too many tout postings for a run-of-the-mill accomodation behind a gas station. Any busines that promotes deception in their advertising is unethical and should be shunned.

I've always wanted to stay at Mama's, but the beach is too rocky and rough for swimming. I would probably gain 50 pounds and have to chip into my IRA to pay for all the food I would eat at their restaurant, too.

We did stay 2 nights at the Paia Inn last November, before heading to Hana for 3 nights , then back to West Maui (Hooilo House) for 6 nights. Our impressions of Paia were that we loved being able to walk to various restaurants - tried Anthony's Coffee right across the street which was great, Paia Fish Market, where we had a late lunch/early dinner twice (once on the way back from Hana to Lahaina), we got take out from Flatbread Company one night & took it back to our little suite at the Paia Inn which had a kitchenette & seating area outside; also had dinner at Milagros which was ok. We actually didn't eat at Mamas until our last night in Maui & headed over from W. Maui.
We also loved Mana foods, the small grocery with emphasis on organic foods, where we picked up some groceries for our stay in Hana, since we rented a cottage.

We really enjoyed the Paia Inn itself; we were in a quiet location & found the accomodation more than adequate for our needs. Loved having a refrigerator there as well for the goodies we brought back. The bath products they provide, "Love Inside Out", are so nice that I've ordered them a couple of times since we've returned home. The little beach behind the inn was a nice place to visit even though we didn't venture in the water.

It was a great place to stay for our visits upcountry (Haleakala, zipline tour, lavender farm, winery) & we discovered that we really loved the cooler atmosphere of the upcountry with its beautiful views. It was also a great base for heading to Hana. I would assume this would be the same for the Inn at Mamas Fish House. I would easily love to stay 3 nights in that area again, maybe even in a vacation rental in upcountry Maui.

Gosh what a dilemna?! It's all good to me!!!

Kihei is more of a local and tourist mix on long stretches of beach with lots of low condo's, local housing and strip malls. It's a beach strip. I like it because it is close to Makena and the grande resorts and yet has a local casual feel.

Paia is a place I have always wanted to stay. I kinda hippie, artsy, surfery transforming old town.

For me it comes down to what you're priority is. If Hana and going upcountry is a priority then Paia could really be satisfying for day trips.

That said Kihei has its own certain local hipness but more of a strip, rather then a town. Great for sunrise and sunsets to Makena and surrounds.

And they are only a half hour away from each other. Both offer wonderful food options.

We ended up going to Maui last spring and pricelined Marriot W for $115 I think. So to me it really comes down to what kind of evening strolling you'd like to do and what property calls you.

How exciting. I'm sure I have just offered zero help and only made it all the more confusing. If I had two propeties that called me, Id simply flip a coin.

Thank you so much mouseRD. That is exactly what I needed to know. It certainly looked and sounded like a very decent place, but I think the behind the gas station part had me confused. I'm also going to look into the Makena area. Thank you as always for the wonderful information from all.

mstraveler, be sure to call ahead and reserve your tickets for the Wednesday Slack Key. The theater is not large and you don't want to miss out!

As for where to stay ... Kihei or Paia ... I'm sure you'll be happy either place. I've never been anywhere/anytime in Hawaii that I wasn't happy ... in the rain, when it was a bit hotter or a bit colder than I expected, humidity got a little high ... so what? I was in Hawaii!

"... so what? I was in Hawaii! "

My thought exactly! I never mind the weather (unless it is too chilly .

Thanks for the heads up about the slack key performances. I would not have thought to book ahead, although my experience with Hawaii is that 6 months is too far. But will make a note to tune in before we go!

Another idea might be the Haiku Cannery Inn. It's not exactly in town like Paia or Kihei but it would be closer for a drive up to Haleakala or to Hana. http://haikucanneryinn.com/

A place in Makena would be the opposite of "closer to" those drives.

Thank you hunybadger!! That B&B looks really fabulous and I am going to call them tomorrow. Looks like about 6 miles out of Paia and very peaceful. Not close to the beach, but OK with us and more our style. Have you stayed there?

One more point of view - the original post was spot on - the beaches at Kihei are beautiful. I do have 2 restaurant recommendations - in Kihei you have to go to Wok Star. Fresh stir-fry and Asian food outdoors. Right across the street from the beach and an outdoor roller rink. In Paia it is the Paia Fish Market. The best fresh fish at the best prices. THere is also a good Mexican place across the street from the Paia Fish Market.
ENJOY!

Another vote for Paia Fish Market. We eat there every time we are on Maui. The fish served here is first rate.Prices are good and the portions are large.
You will find yourself sitting at long tables with other diners and asking them to pass the silverware,but it's fun.
High volume means that the fish doesn't sit for long.I like the Mahi-mahi ceasar salad.

Thanks again for all the help. Has anyone actually stayed at the Haiku Cannery Inn? It looks really nice, but I would be I am curious about how far it really is to town (I never really trust the websites for this), whether there are outdoor places to hang out, etc. Am considering that or the Blue Tile Inn which is right on the beach close to town. The HC Inn is clearly a better value, but is out of the way.