TripReport:Kaanapali Beach Hotel-Just Back!
 

Hi All,<BR>Just returned from our(first) 8 day trip to Maui, where we stayed at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel (KBH). First let me say thanks to all of those people who offered advice before I went. We arrived at the Maui airport and had arranged for Speedy Shuttle to pick us up (Note: WE, unlike most travelers to Hawaii, chose to NOT rent a car..will explain later)<BR>which they did. Very courteous and prompt service. 55 minute drive to the KBH hotel. The hotel itself is just average, but a good average, I must say. The KBH bills itself as the most "hawaiian hotel". I suppose it "looks" quite hawaiian, as in very tropical prints all over, open air lobby with rattan and lovely plants etc. The grounds are well kept, but again, nothing special. (My husband and I took this trip for 1 week of TOTAL relaxation, did not want to sightsee, etc and did not want to pay an enormous amount of $$$$ for a room that we only saw at night when we went to bed) With that said, if you are looking for gleaming Marble entryways, lagoon style pools w/ waterfalls, flashy interior decorating etc, you will be disappointed at this hotel. For us, we were content with average for this trip.*** The hotel is "renovating" and the only wings that have "renovated" rooms are the Maui and Lanai wings. We stayed in the Maui wing. The room is avg. size, w/ a balcony, 2 chairs and table outside, and inside, a big table and armoire with a magnavox, I think, TV from the early 70's. Reception and sound from the TV were terrible. The bathroom is plain (paint peeling from the ceiling)with just toilet and tub/shower. The single sink/vanity is outside of the bathroom and also is small, even for just two people. Room decor was kind of blah, but clean. The first two minutes in the room, I saw a HUGE cockroach on the curtains. (A maid promptly smushed it, told me they are everywhere, and said it "wasn't" a cockroach. Yeah-- right. But actually, it was the only bug we ever saw in our room. Thank God!!) KBH claims this to be a renovated room (Will Continue)<BR>

You didn't explain why you didn't rent a car.

Sorry- we did not rent a car because our vacation desire was total rest and relaxation. We wanted to enjoy the beach/ocean water as much as possible. We also did not want to drive to restaurants, sightseeing etc....that is not how we usually spend our vacations.<BR>We had a very nice stay at KBH and we won't rent a car when we return either!!

One great thing about Kaanapali Beach is that there is so much within walking distance that you don't really need a car. However, with the price of transportation from the airport so expensive I find that for not much more money you can have the convenience of a car available, and you can get from and to the airport at your own leisure.

ttt