Hello,

My husband and I will be traveling next March to Maui and I would like some information on this condo complex. I found it on VRBO and they are reasonably priced. Has anyone had any experiences with this complex or can pass along any information. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Cathy

Cathy, this small condo complex is in North Kihei, not on a good swimming beach - you'd need a long walk or short drive to one. My sister frequently stays a couple of resorts down at Maui Sunset. The condos fronts a park which stretches down to the ocean so you'd have a distant ocean view. If you don't need to walk out your door to a good swimming beach, the area is fine, I think. Cannot give you any info on the actual condos...............

Cathy, there's one review at tripadvisor.com, a year old, and the guy gives his e-mail address if you wanted to ask him questions about the place. A good review.......... he bought a unit there. Now it may be a way of advertising his unit (didn't say he rents it)...... don't know. Just FYI...

One more little aid for you here. This is a website advertising a particular condo, but if you keep clicking on their pictures, they have good pictures of the area, the building, the pool, the views, etc. Hope this helps.......

http://members.shaw.ca/carolpaterson/condo.html

There is one problem with this condo - it is not only in Kihei, but it is in the worst part of Kihei (North Kihei).

For reasonably priced condos in Maui, I would look into the Napili area. Napili Shores, Napili Bay, Napili Kai Beach Club and the Mauian are the names of some.
-Bill

Thanks for all your help. I will keep looking around.

Cathy

Cathy, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Kihei - it is mostly a strip of condos and mini-malls down the seven-mile coast, for sure - but nice condos for excellent prices. Kihei has excellent weather, beautiful beach parks, and lots of good restaurants and shopping. Umpteen-thousand people live/go back there every year just for this reason. It is where you get the most bang-for-your-buck on Maui, but that is not a bad thing. And it is right next door to the beautiful Wailea resort, where you can go over and enjoy their restaurants and beaches and shopping.

If you type "Kihei" into the search box, you will read many reviews relating how much travelers enjoy Kihei......

Napili is also a really nice area for a reasonably-priced condo but the weather is a wee bit cooler, breezier, rainier, and the beaches, IMO, are better in Kihei, especially South Kihei.

Wherever you stay on Maui, you will have a great time, I predict. Happy planning!

Thanks. How far would you say are the nice swim beaches from the Leinaala condos? Is this a good area for whale watching? How close are you to Maalaea Bay? I was looking into the Menehune Resorts by the Bay. Do you think this would be a good location or about the same as the Kihei area? Thanks for your help.

Cathy

It is true that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Kihei. It is great value for the dollar - if that is all you can afford. For an aerial view of South Kihei go to the web site below and enlarge the photo. Kihei is what it is - one long street lined with strip malls and condos. There is absolutely nothing even remotely pretty about it. You can see in the photo that there is very little greenery. Unless money is VERY tight stay in Wailea or some other part of Maui. If money is very tight, stay in Kihei and travel to the better parts of Maui. Just my opinion.

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgur...3Doff%26sa%3DG

Based on my experience, South Kihei seemed much more upscale than North. It comes down what you're expectations are for accommodations. If you're expecting budget (not that there's anything wrong with that ) then you'll be happy there. If you're looking for things more upscale you may want to look farther south. Happy planning!

Kihei is on the dry side of the island. Wailea is artificially green, thanks to the magic of non-native plants and lots of irrigation. We have some very lovely beaches in Kihei, from Charley Young to Keawakapu. We don't have high rise resorts like up in Kaanapali, but we do have some fun funky shopping areas, nightlife, and, yes.

When someone asks about an accommodation that they've seen on VRBO, knowing the rental cost, I assume that that is about the range that they can pay or prefer to pay. I could rave on and on about a $400 night condo in Wailea, but that isn't the price range they're inquiring about, or probably interested in. I'm sure Cathy knows, that if she wants to double or triple the rate, she will be in a more luxurious area/condo, but I don't get the impression she wants to do that. I know some very particular people, who could stay in much more expensive areas, but prefer to save money and stay in less-scenic/polished but still nice areas without all the bells and whistles. I've always stayed in Wailea, but will go to Kihei to save money when I want to stay longer than a week. I tried to answer Cathy's question about the property rather than advise her on what area she should stay in.

Cathy, Menehune Resort by the Bay??? You don't mean Menehune Shores in North Kihei? I'm not familiar with the former. The closest good swimming beach, IMO, would be Kama'ole I, which you would need to drive a couple of miles or so to. You would be about 25 minutes or so from Maalaea Harbor, as I remember.

Hope we haven't confused you too much. I haven't seen an area of Maui yet that I would mind staying in.......... just depends on what you want to spend!

I really appreciate all the help. We are watching our pocketbooks when it comes to accomadations. I do not plan on staying at the condo,except to sleep and to eat a few meals. I plan on attending several activities and enjoying some really good food. I have heard how expensive Hawaii can be. Thanks again for all your help.

Cathy

I agree with bonnieb about the particular rate. I've used vrbo and many individual condo websites. Kihei is a better bargain and close to some good beaches. However, for a few more $ the honokawai/kahana area can be nice as well. The buildings are some of the closest to the water and smaller in unit #. The beaches appear at times to be undiveable, but I've experinced some wonderful diving when no one ever bothered to go out.