I am trying to decide on which Marriott Maui property to chose for 25th Anniversary trip in the end of September. I am leaning towards the Renaissance Wailea but my concerns are: WEATHER, is there any real differance in Lahaina vs Wailea? We both love the beach and gentle surf (no big waves!)and it looks like the Maui Marriott Resort isn't on a beach but their pool looks better. We also enjoy going to RESTAURANTS that are not on the hotel grounds and the Renaissance seems like it might be lacking in restaurants outside of the hotels. Does either area have an advantage as far as taking day trips to other SIGHTSEEING destinations? Since it is a special occasion we would like to have a really nice room and will pay to upgrade. Anyone who has stayed in both properties have an opinion?

ttt

Mary2go, are you talking about the Marriott on Kaanapali Beach? I don't understand your comment about the Marriott looking like it's not on a beach. It is! The weather is not that different between the two areas that it should matter. There are plenty of reasonable restaurants in Kihei, right next door to the Wailea Beach Resort. The Renaissance is my favorite resort, for the money, in Hawaii. I love it, and prefer the Wailea/Kihei area for my base. And I really like both Palm Court and the Maui Onion restaurants at the RW. I think the areas are equally convenient for sightseeing........ depends on where you're going. The island is not THAT big that it's a problem. Congrats on that big anniversary!

Thanks Bonnie! I have been looking at previous questions asked about Maui and I think I was looking at comments on the Marriott in Wailea not having a beach and got it mixed up with Kaanapli.
I have read several of your posts and found them very helpful. I am almost sure we will do the Renaissance Wailea. I am also considering splitting my time between the Marriott in Kaanapali and the Renaissance..any pros or cons on that issue?

Why split your time? The island is not that big, you don't have to stay in two different hotels to experience the island. I would rather stay in one place and unpack only once, especially on the same island.

I can only speak about the Marriott on Kaanapali, and in my opinion, I would never stay there again. I've noticed that whenever a Marriott is a split time-share and hotel, the hotel guests get the short end of the stick. And, the Kaanapali Marriott is part time-share. We had horrible housecleaning service the week and a half we were there. The pool was constantly full of sand from all the kiddies who tracked in sand into the pool. Very annoying! Their on-site restaurants were typical of hotel restaurants: bland and boring. The hotel ran out of bottled water one day! How the heck does a hotel run out of bottled water in the summer?????? The massage was overpriced and the masseuse was very lacking. All in all, I would grade our stay there 2 out of 5 stars. The company paid for our trip, and the rooms were just under $300/night, so you'd think we would have gotten better service. And, p.s. the concierge was a joke.

I do have to give it to Marriott Corporate though.. we sent in a scathing letter about our stay, and we received a two-night voucher to stay at any Marriott in the world. At least they're willing to own up to their lack of service, and maybe by now, they've made some changes.

I probably would not split my time at different resorts although there is certainly nothing strange about doing that. I just don't find the island that big that I feel the need to change sides!

Thanks Again!