Just got back from our stay in Maui.

Arrived on the 16th. Got our rental car from Avis & was off to our hotel in Lahiana.

We stayed at the Royal Lahaina resort. I was pleasantly surprised. Check in was very quick. Room was nice, comfortable & clean. Room was a partial ocean view, but the partial was pretty darn good.

We paid the $15 valet park instead of the $10 a day self park. Was well worth it. I would call down & tell them I was on my way down & the car was usually at the front door waiting for me. It was usually sprinkleing in the mornings when we left. Valets were very attentive & polite.

The beach there was nice. Not overly wide, but very very long. They had 2 decent looking pools (why swim in a pool when you have the ocean). Nice poolside bar/rest combo

Elevators was very fast the whole trip.

Sat we ate at Penne Pasta (I believe that is where it was, Dickensen street in Lahaina harbor area). Service was slow (polite) & food was ok.

Sunday we took a 1 hour helicoptor flight from Air Maui. It was $260 ea but a very good ride. It gave us the lay of the land & good info from the pilot.

After the helicoptor trip we took the road to Hana as the heliport is close. To me it was just ok. The locals will ride your a$$, honk & flash their lights until you pull over. No matter how fast you are going they want to go faster.

None of the stops in the Fodor book are marked & you have to really watch for them. A few of the stops were only big enough for 2 cars & there were usually 3 there allready.

The black sand beach was cool to stop by for about 15 minutes. Very small though.

Stopped at the rest area. Bought a fresh pineapple from a cart & ate it there. It was heavenly.

The lava cave is a good stop. I think it was about $11 a person. The give you a flashlight & show you the entrance & you are free to spend as much time in there as you like. It is fairly safe as long as you dont cross any fences & go where you are not supposed to go.

Sunday night we ate at ono's. Food was ok, service was horrible. Took 20 minutes to get our drinks & place order. They forgot to bring us our desert & I had to remind her after we waited 20 minutes for it when we were done. They had a singer there that was horrible!!!

Monday

We went on a whale watch on one of the small pontoons. Saw alot of whales, but saw just as many on later cruised for snorkeling. You cant go anywhere on the water without having them all around you. If you want to see whales go on a dinner cruise or snorkeling trip & you will see as many.

We went to Leilanis to eat on Monday night. Service was awesome, atmosphere was great, food was awesome, price was good, cant say enough good things about them.

Tuesday

Went on the sub (the one that actually goes down). that was pretty good, especially the shipwreck part. I would recomend it.

Went to the Luau at the Royal Lahaina. It was ok to me, but the wife liked it. Food was ok.

Wednesday

We went to the Maui Ocean Center. I highly recomend it. Tons of neat fish, coral, & sharks

That night we went to Ma Ma's. It was very very good, pricey, but good.

Thursday

We went to the Molokoni crater snorkeling. We had good weather & snorkeled there for white awhile.

Thursday night we went on a sunset dinner cruise. It was very reasonable ($70 I believe). The staff did a great job, food was excellent. A couple sang & did Hula dances & was very good. I believe the boat was "spirit of Lahaina"

Friday

Went on a snorkel trip to turtle point. Awesome snorkeling. The boat was the Anu Nui (please correct my spelling) They picked us up at the hotel & took us to the harbor. They boat was awesome, breakfast & lunch was great. Staff was very good. I couldnt recomend it more $135 ea.

that night we ate at the Hula Grill. It was very good & the service was great.

Sat we headed for big beach. It was very resort like & very crowded. Had a very nice path we attempted to walk but so many people we jogging & speed walking it made it impossible to enjoy.

We went to the North Shore to a Baldwin Beach Park about 2 miles from Paia. It was great. Water was a little rough but not too bad. Great place to enjoy the beach, find some shells & see the locals enjoy the water. Also got to watch the planes coming in nice & low.

Sat night we went to Marcos in Kahului. I think it was the best italian I have had anywhere & couldnt believe I found it in Hawaii. Price was very good, you got a ton of food. He needs to relocate to a romantic site & it would rival ma ma's.

Overall had a great time in Maui. I would recomend it to anyone.

Please correct any of my spelling mistakes

Awesome Trip Report!
Mahalo for that and busted gut when you said the locals ride your ass on the road to Hana and for us, they passed us on a hairpin turn..crazy..they are something else.
Glad you overall had a good time.
Were the rooms decent at Royal Lahaina?
Glad you like Hula Grill and Lealani's.

Thanks so much for your great report! I am also interested in the rooms at the Royal Lahaina? Did you have to put a deposit down ahead to hold your reservation or did they just hold your CC #?

Love your comments on the restaurants ...

I dont have much to compare the Royal Lahaina to, but I thought the room was great. It wasn't a suite, just a nice hotel room with a safe & fridge. The bathroom area was kinda seperate for more privacy.

I would definitely stay there again.

The lady that really torqued me off on the road to Hana was when I was the 8th car in line & she was riding my butt like it was my fault the lead guy was only going 20 in a 15 mph zone.

elsiemoo,

I am not sure. I bought mine with my saved miles so it was paid for 3 months before I got there.

just returned from a business trip to maui and oahu. i stayed at the royal lahaina resort and loved the modernish/island themed room. i was upgraded to a partial ocean view just by asking. i had a view of the golf course and the ocean. the balcony is decent size, flat screen tv, nice spa quality toilettries, good and real coffee table books, nice linen. the room is tastefully decorated in modern hawaiian motif. instead of drapes in the room, there is a sliding wood shutter to cover the floor to ceiling window for privacy. there are no buildings in front of my building so i usually slept with the sliding shutters drawn to the side-there's nothing like waking up to a fantastic view of the ocean. my only gripe is they don't have a guest loyalty program because they are not part of any large hotel chain. can be a good thing, though. i will recommend this hotel to anyone wanting to stay in the lahaina area.

Unfortunately the road to and from Hana is the only way the locals can get to the other side of the island. As times are tougher, many have had to seek work on the other side, so it's become their daily commute. So while visitors are enjoying all the sites, they are just shlumping it for their 9-5. Can you imagine having to drive THAT everyday?! That said, they rely on tourism as much as they might not want to think they do, and there is no explanation for such rudeness on their part. So sorry you experienced that.

Thanks very much for taking the time and trouble to post a report. I was last in Maui about six years ago and stayed at the Sheraton. This time we are going with in-laws who have a time share at the Westin. I especially appreciated your restaurant comments since that will be the main decision every day!

Here's the trip report for our visit to Oahu and Maui in March:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...t-180054-2.cfm