Marriott kaanapali or Renaissance wailea??
 

Planning a trip to Maui for our family, which includes a 8 year old girl, for summer of 1999. Considering the Marriott and the Renaissance. Would appreciate opinions of others who have stayed at either. How family friendly did you find either. Also, how CLEAN. Thanks

Stayed at the Marriott last summer. We have no complaints....very clean. We were staying for free (my husband travels frequently) so I cannot complain about the hotel, although it is certainly not the most luxurious in Kaanapali. Hyatt and Westin both have more pools, etc. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions. <BR>

We stayed at a condo next to the Renaissance Wailea and had the pleasure of walking on their beach, eating at their restaurants and enjoying their gorgeous gardens. <BR> <BR>The waiter bent over backwards for our 9 and 11 yr olds and the food was excellent. <BR> <BR>Gorgeous property with excellent beach in front. Snorkeling is terrific. <BR> <BR>Quiet area. My husband ran on their beach path on the ocean each morning. Loved it. <BR> <BR>Terrific location. <BR> <BR>Can't vouch for the rooms, but I think I would stay on this property if given the opportunity. <BR> <BR>If we had the bucks...would head further south on the island to Maui Prince. That is the ultimate! <BR> <BR>

Definitely stay at the Renaissance and be sure to ask for Entertainment rates which will bring down the cost. The Marriott doesn't have extremely high ratings in my travel books, just okay. If you need to stay here, find out when the construction starts, they are doing major overhauling. The pool area is wall to wall lawn chairs, the other proper has a better resort appeal with a beach you can go into. At the Marriott you can not enter the ocean as there is lots of coral. You have to walk down aways. I find Kanapaali to be overrated. Feel free to email me directly for further info. Annemarie

<BR>Deborah, <BR> <BR>I have stayed in both areas in Maui. There are advantages to both. Kaanapali is much closer (ten minute drive) to the main shopping/gallery/restaurant area, Lahaina. Kaanapali is also a much busier area than Wailea. Kaanapali has a lot of nice hotels where Wailea has a few incredible Resorts (larger grounds with a more relaxing feel). I think you'll find children at both, it just depends on what you are looking for (although you may find more honeymooners in Wailea). Wailea is about a 45 minute or 1 hour drive to Lahaina. I stayed at the the Renaissance and loved it. The pool was nice and they spray you with Evian and hand out cool wash cloths if it gets a little too hot by the pool. It was very clean, the grounds where nice (loved the private jacuzzis nestled in the garden) and walks along the shoreline lit by tikki lamps and let's not forget the hammocks along the water and they also have a tennis court. <BR>Hotels you can walk to along the beach include the Grand Wailea, the Four Seasons and the Kea Lani - all beautiful.

Aloha Deb, we have visited Maui 8 times and stayed @ Marriott 7 of those times. Honored Guest Program helps the frequent trips. We stayed at Ritz the other trip and we would not go back there because more rain and a hike to the beach. <BR>When we were in Maui in February at the Marriott, we learned about the major renovations and decided to look for alternate lodging for next trip. Renaissance is part of the Honored Guest program so we checked it out. It's much newer and the grounds are beautiful and so are the rooms. <BR>The rooms at the Marriott are nice but the public areas are a little tired. With the partial conversion to a time share resort there maybe some inconveniences. But I noticed that they have some great sales going on. The permitting (Building Permit) is quite involved in HI so they may not be going by then. Check with Hotel as to status. <BR>You won't be disappointed with the Ren. <BR> <BR>Bart <BR>

See my post on "Maui Marriott Construction". My wife and I are going to the Marriott in February, 2000 so I called and ended up speaking with the GM's secretary about this.