Our 2005 Maui Vacation
 

We spent 8 days in March in Maui. This was our 5th trip to the islands and I can't believe that we had an even better time this year than ever. The primary attraction for us this year was the whales. We saw whales everywhere.
This year we spend the extra money to go early enough in the season to see the whales and to enjoy watching them from the deluxe ocean front rooms.
I am a thorough researcher on our trips and have looked at Maui Revealed to see the overhead shots of each of the hotels that we were considering. We ended up staying at Wailea Marriott ( previously Outrigger) and the Sheraton in Kaanapali. IN both cases we were in Ocean Front Deluxe rooms.

First the Marriott. Now, I had read all the comments about the rooms so I was not expecting anything glamorous, but was so very pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the hotel was. A nice casual, comfortable layout of the grounds. Simple to get around. The Deluxe Ocean Front rooms are right up next to the water although there is not a beach directly in front of this hotel. That's the bad news. As we spend very little time actually sitting on the beach, this was workable for us. When we wanted to get on the sand, we simply walked down the path to the beach next door.
The good news is that this relatively moderately priced hotel is adjacent to all the very nicest hotels on Maui. Wailea has a series of great hotels strung along this area and all connected through an excellent oceanfront walking path. It was so very enjoyable to walk that path ( 1.5 miles each way) along all those beautiful landscapes, pools and hotels. I was very satisfied with the Marriott hotel even though the room was nothing special. It's about the outside, the location and the ocean!
The second place we stayed was the Maui Sheraton. Now we are talking a really big place. Again, we booked an Ocean Front Deluxe room and we were literally up on a Rock Bluff at the water's edge. On Sunday morning of our stay, I am looking through the binoculars watching whales way out in the horizon, when I realized that there was a whale at the ocean side immediately below us. We watched and videotaped the mother, calf and escort whales for almost 20 minutes. There isn't anything more thrilling.

The other place that I want to mention as a very pleasant place to stop for breakfast is the Kula Lodge on the way to Haleakala. This place is so quaint, with a fireplace to warm the chill of the morning, excellent breakfast food, views below of a wonderfully maintained garden and a great view of the ocean from the upcountry. As if that weren't enough, at 9:00 in the lower level of this lodge, an art gallery opens- which is not to be missed. I would love to come back and spend a night in this place and enjoy the peaceful beauty.

My favorite meal is breakfast- my favorite place to eat it on Maui- Four Seasons, breakfast buffet ( 27.95 per person!) is worth every penny.

We took a great sail/whale watch/ Lanai snorkel trip with Trilogy. They are a great group to travel with and we very much enjoyed the sail and the BBQ dinner. This trip was $179 per person and lasted from 10 a.m until 7 p.m that night. Had a champagne sunset sail right back into Lahaina. For the food and entertainment, this is a great deal.

My favorite experience of the week was the splurge that I made by having the oceanfront massage at the Wailea Marriott spa. I had 80 minutes for $140. With the gentle breeze, sound of the waves, and the excellent, strong hands of an experienced masseusse, I was in heaven for an hour. I decided to make this a part of my trip each year.
I wish everyone could have this great a week at least once in their life!

Sounds like you had a wonderful time! We were also in Maui and got back last week. It was our first visit to Hawaii and we loved it. We used Triology for a snorkel excursion and thought they were great and we also stopped at Kula Lodge on our way down Haleakala. It was so pretty but you sure didn't feel like you were on a tropical island.

Aloha Mauime,

I got goosebumps when you described your whale watching experience at the Sheraton... they are just mesmerizing!
I can't imagine Hawaii without them. ((R))

Mahalo for the lovely report!

Lovely report. I especially liked the Sheraton whale part. I've been there numerous times but have never had the up-close experience you had.

Hi mauime: we stayed at the Wailea Marriott last year and LOVED our oceanside massages. the day we had ours it was raining, but between the sound of the rain on the tent and the ocean it was sooooo relaxing!! i really liked everything about this hotel. the walking path was a morning routine.