We will be staying 5 nights at the Westin Kaanapali in October and would like to stay 2 other nights somewhere. Hana is the usual default for this but have been there and don't feel like doing the drive again. Do not know Maui well. Any other thoughts? Has anyone stayed near the volcano, i.e. Kupa? We like quiet, outdoors things, etc. Any ideas for anyother place to go for a couple of days?

Thanks, as always.

Lanai

Has anyone stayed in the "upcountry"/Haleakala area of the island?

Four Seasons Lana'i

www.fourseasons.com/lanai/

Second the idea for Lanai. Take a catamaran over and back; lovely upcountry or beach hotel options and its plenty quiet.

Sorry, I meant the "upcountry" area of Maui. (Lanai a nice suggestion also). Wondering about the Makawao/Kupa area near Haleakala...

they have those cottages at Kula lodge still?

Upcountry is a good idea--maybe at the Kula lodge. Also the Kapalua area and from there exploring the northwest side of the island, which is very beautiful.

Yep - http://www.kulalodge.com/index.htm

There is not much for lodging in that area, but what there is looks pretty interesting. I was mostly checking because this board is FULL of info and searches of this area turned up no posts though it looked good to me -- so I figured there might be a reason!

we have been having breakfast and lunch at Kula for years and its pretty good.
lodge looks cute and would work well for what you might you are looking for.

There really is no place to stay in Makawao that I can think of. As others have mentioned, there is the Kula Lodge which I think is going through a big renovation (or will be shortly). You might want to check their plans just to be comfortable with the changes. Another idea would be to look into the cabin lottery for Haleakala. They are VERY rustic (ie no running water) but if that is ok with you, the hikes in and out to them are amazing experiences. You can find more about the lottery at the National Park Service website.