Renaissance Wailea or Aston Kaanapali
 

I will be in Maui for a week with my family (kids ages 16 & 11) and would like to make a final determination on these two properties. Both honor the entertainment rate. I'm wanting the best accomodations as well as great beach. I realize that Kaanapli is closer to Whaler's Village than Wailea, but is Wailea that far from it?? Would love to hear opinions so I can finalize my plans. <BR>Thanks.

Wailea is about an hour's driving time to Kaanapali. As far as shopping goes, Maui also has Kaahumanu and Maui Mall both located in central Maui (Kahului)about 20 minutes from Wailea and 40 from Kaanapali. If I had two children one 16 (!) and the other 11, I would definately go for the Kaanapali area. There is a lot more things of interest Planet Hollywood, shopping, sugar train rides, etc, etc than at Wailea. However, the Aston Kaanapali Shores is actually in Honokowai adjacent to Kaanapali. there is a free sresort shuttle service that can take to/from Kaanapali. As far as the beach is concerned, Wailea's beach is nicer. Hope this helps! <BR> <BR>A hui hiu, <BR>tiare :)

Wailea is about an hour's driving time to Kaanapali. As far as shopping goes, Maui also has Kaahumanu and Maui Mall both located in central Maui (Kahului)about 20 minutes from Wailea and 40 from Kaanapali. If I had two children one 16 (!) and the other 11, I would definately go for the Kaanapali area. There is a lot more things of interest Planet Hollywood, shopping, sugar train rides, etc, etc than at Wailea. However, the Aston Kaanapali Shores is actually in Honokowai adjacent to Kaanapali. There is a free resort shuttle service that can take to/from Kaanapali. As far as the beach is concerned, Wailea's beach is nicer. Hope this helps! <BR> <BR>A hui hiu, <BR>tiare :)

Carol, <BR> <BR>Your accommodations will be WAY nicer at Renaissance Wailea. Now Kaanapali Shores is nice, but doesn't come near the Renaissance. If your boys will spend a good part of the day on the beach, and you plan to do sightseeing as well during the day, they might find enough to do up the road in Kihei (5 minutes away) with any extra time they have. There is a small shopping village that they can catch the Wailea Resort Shuttle to right there in Wailea. You will have the malls that Tiare mentioned not that far away. I think most people are pretty tired by nightfall, even children, after a typical day in Hawaii, especially if you've come from the East coast. How much nightlife would you need? <BR> <BR>I would go for Wailea, and just plan to spend a couple days visiting Lahaina and Kaanapali Resort area, maybe. <BR> <BR>I love everything about Renaissance, including the beach! Have a great time, whatever you decide! <BR> <BR> <BR>Aloha, Ruth <BR> <BR>

FYI...Just found out that Wailea Shopping Center is or will be undergoing major construction soon. Large expansion, noise, etc. Have a good trip

I am also interested it the Renaissance Wailea Resort. I am interested in a description of the resort - rooms, pool, food, location, grounds, beach. Has anyone ever stayed there? How does it compare to the other Wailea resorts? <BR> <BR> Anna <BR> <BR>

Hi Anna, <BR> <BR>Go to "travel-Hawaii.com", and find the Renaissance Wailea in their list of hotels, and check it out. They have great pictures and info. I've stayed there three times, and it's what Hawaii should be! Also check out "renaissancehotels.com" - and try to do the virtual tour. I can't get it to work, but maybe it's my setup, although I don't think so. <BR> <BR>The hotel is upscale and luxurious, without being too stuffy. You won't get the extremely nice pampering that you will get at Four Seasons or Grand Wailea, but then you aren't paying their rates. Their restaurants are wonderful, their gardens some of the most beautiful in Hawaii, the jacuzzis are fab, the beach wonderful! If you use the Entertainment Book or Quest, it is REALLY a deal! E-mail me if you have further questions. <BR> <BR>Aloha, Ruth

I just returned from Maui, and I stayed at the Aston Kaanapali Shores. I loved it. It's not fancy, but very adequate, with a great view and close to a lot of activities ie Whalers Village, Lahaina. The kids will enjoy this much more than Wailea. Theres not a lot around Wailea unless you are interested in Golf, Tennis, or laying on the beach. There is a $1.00 shuttle from the Aston Kaanapali to Whalers Village and Lahaina so the kids could go off on their own. <BR> <BR>Kihei is close by Wailea, but I was not impressed, very congested and commercial looking. <BR> <BR>Have fun! <BR> <BR>Chuck

We went to Maui in June with our two boys, 14 and 11. We stayed at the Renaissance Wailea and did enjoy it. The beach is very nice, never too crowded. The hotel rents boogie boards and the kids really enjoyed using them in the ocean. Our only complaint about the beach was that they would start stacking chairs at 4. It made you feel like you should leave although you certainly didn't have to. Rentals had to be back then also. When the kids were tired of the ocean, they enjoyed the pool. The pool however, is not particularly large. The property itself is very nice. Beautiful gardens and landscaping. We only ate breakfast at the hotel, but it was always quite good. The rooms were very nice but not special. I think the hotel is a very good value. The Wailea district was nice. We had several great meals in the area. I found the area convenient to the places we wanted to go (Hana, Iao Needle, the volcano). And the drive to Lahaina is not too far; we did that 2 nights. <BR>Have fun! <BR>

My husband and I have stayed at the Renaissance Wailea twice in the past few years. The latest was last summer. We took our 4 children, daughter 21, and 3 sons 17, 16 & 13. Yes they did honor the entertainment rate. The hotel is shaped in a T. We prefer to stay in the Makai Wing which is the bottom of the T, means towards the ocean. The pool is to the right of this Wing. We choose Renaissance because it has an Hawaiian atmosphere and the grounds, rooms, and public areas are just beautiful, open aired. You enter the expansive open aired lobby with rich sofas and chairs, tables to write postcards on, staircase down to the beautiful restaurant ocean side. Rooms are decorated in peach and cream with silks. Ask for a small frig for room. We found them not to be real cold, so we filled the ice bucket with ice and placed that inside, it worked great! Large 2 sinked bathrooms. Free car valet service all day, no tipping. We did tip on the last day through the manager. They also offer free scuba lessons to their guests only, in the pool and then you can choose to take a beach dive or not (no obligation)that same day or another day. My husband and oldest son (his 1st time) took 2 dives there and they had a wonderful time. Swam with a large turtle, saw eels & many fish, etc. Instructor was patient, caring & safety was a big issue. We rented boogie boards for the boys for the week right at the beach cabana at the hotel. Took them to the room at night so they had access to them whenever, all week. You can rent boogie boards cheaper at outside rental places in Kihei. Boogie boarding is not good in the morning as the ocean is calm, around 4 o'clock the waves pick up and they had a blast. The beach at our hotel is one of the best for swimming & snorkeling each morning. Two reefs right off the property and to the left of our hotel in front of the Elua Resort Condos. There is a free shuttle to outher resorts in Wailea & their Shopping Center that has several shops. Boys weren't interested in shopping but my daughter was. They are remodeling the shopping center and building on, don't know the timeframe. You can not see it or hear construction from the Renaissance. LaPerouse Bay is south of our hotel with great snorkeling. Kihei has Pizza Hut, Subway, fast foods, etc. as well as restaurants. Some restaurants in Kihei (5 min away) can be beach hut shop types, which we didn't frequent. Ate at the well know places. Town of Lahaina (30 min away) they loved. Much shopping for themselves and friends, ate at Kimo's, and Gump's Shrimp Co., so many nice places to eat. 2 days we rented jet skiis in Kaanapali (50 min away) on the beach I believe it was in front of the Hilton, there is an umbrella stand in the beach and they take you out to their floating dock by motorized rubber boats. This is only in the summer months as this company only has a contract for that timeframe because of environmental issues. It was so much fun! Drove the road to Hana one day, take swimsuits and picnic lunch. Swim at 7 Sacred Pools. Drove to Mt. Haleakala in am. Kids loved hiking up the cliffs around the vacinity of the visitor area, awesome. You would have to stay a whole day to hike the crater. Drove to the Iao Valley (rain forest) didn't rain while we were there. Nice hiking trails, beautiful area. Stopped at some local craft stands on highway 30 going north through Kapalua. Boys bought hand carved tiki statues. Didn't take the kids to Molokini Crater for snorkeling. Hubby and I did that time before and were disappointed. Snorkeling was better right in front of the Renaissance. We would try next time Snorkeling at Lanai, heard good things. You can walk the boardwalk starting at our hotel and go south in front of all the other resorts, at night the path is tiki tourched, romantic. Kids would go down to the beach next door at the Elua Condos (south; at dusk and into the night, the locals would fish there with long poles casting out into the ocean bringing in big ones. By the time night came and dinner was over, they were tired. The hotel rents Nintendo by the hour in your room. Also you can see your dialy charges for the hotel on the TV screen, just bring up your profile. Kids enjoyed occassional room service at night or picked up pizza in Kihei when Mom and Dad went out for a romantic dinner. Pool was open late for their night swims and hot tubbing. The Maui Onion poolside Restaurant for lunch was the best! Everything on the menu was excellent. Biggest burgers and maui onion rings to die for! Watch sunset from the large open aired restaurant on main floor in the hotel, beautiful, Friday night seafood buffet, expensive, but oooooh! Order in the dinning room or room service from the Pizza Parlor section for adults & kids if they don't like what's on the menu that night, excellent pizza! Exquisite salad bar. Our vote as a family will always be the Renaissance in Wailea! So much to do on Maui, you'll need several trips to do it all and believe me you will be returning and soon! Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions. Aloha!

May I suggest the Maui Kaanapali Villas? It's not as big (or expensive, I believe) as Kaanapali Shores. I stayed there last December for 5 nights. It was perfect. They have studio, 1 and 2 bedroom condos. It's walking distance from the snorkeling at black rock (which is great for kids) and there was actually decent snorkeling at some state park which is located adjacent to the property. Depending upon who you book through, you may be able to choose your exact condo (beachfront). However, some companies rely on luck of the draw which means you could be a little farther back. <BR> <BR>We also stayed in Wailea which we preferred to Kaanapali. (We felt Wailea had a more upscale, less touristy feel.) However, I would definitely choose Kaanapali for kids! There's more for them to do!