Waikiki and Maui locations
 

I asked a friend of mine who visits Hawaii every year for info on Waikiki and Maui – these are her responses. . . Should we stay at the Hilton or Sheraton in Waikii?
Should we stay in West Maui and the Hyatt or South Maui at the Fairmont??

Waikiki actually has a lot of great hotels on the ocean side. The Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort Alii Tower is at the beginning of Waikiki. About 1 mile walk if you want to get to the heart of Waikiki Beach where all the action is. I like the Sheraton Moana Surfrider. It's right in the heart of Waikiki and its pretty hotel.

I think in Maui the Fairmont Kea Lani Resort is a beautiful resort. They have all suites there. Location is on the south side of maui. We usually stay on the west side of Maui which I like better due to the convenience of not having to drive at night -- and close to downtown Maui (Lahaina). Although the south side is close to a lot of scenary spots like Haleakala and Hana, also close to Kihei which where a lot of locals live. You are also at the 5-star resort spot where 4season, Grand Wailea, Marriott And Kea Lani are. Also right next to an upscale shopping center Wailea shops.

I think there is probably plenty of "action" at the HHV, you wouldn't have to walk to the Moana (which is now a Westin hotel, no longer a Sheraton). Personally, I would stay at the Moana if it fits the budget. I think the beach there is nicer. The Moana is the oldest surviving hotel in Waikiki and is just a lovely building. However not all rooms are in the historic section but are in newer wings. The Banyan courtyard is a lovely place to have a drink. But I am middle-aged, no kids--your criteria may be different.

There are a couple of Sheratons in Waikiki www.starwoodhotelshawaii.com/oahu.cfm

does anyone have an opinion on staying in west versus south maui. i am torn.

I like the Wailea area better than Kaanapali primarily because I like the beaches there. Wailea is a much nicer development than Kaanapali and you wouldn't need to drive to restauarants if you didn't want to. There is a beachfront pathway that connects all the hotels and allows you to access each hotel and The Shops at Wailea.

I just returned from the Ritz/Maui (kapalua). I stayed at the 4 Seasons last October which is right by the Fairmont.

Personally, I liked the area of the 4 seasons better. There is much more to do without needing transportation. Though I realize that I visited the islands on complete opposite times of the year (October versus April) - I think the weather is much nicer on the Fairmont side of the island.

I liked the beaches better on the Fairmont side as well.

We just got back yesterday from Maui and Waikiki.
I have just posted on TripAdvisor but don't know if my reviews are up yet.
In brief, DO NOT stay at the Moana Surfrider in the Diamond Wing. The bathrooms are from the 1960s and tiny - shower curtains, one old fashioned sink; the air con is loud and blasts like a cyclone, it's awful.
The hotel is packed. Lobby gorgeous, and I have heard the more renovated Tower Wing is good, but the Banyan Wing has small rooms. We were thankful we were there only 2 nights. (Good location tho)
We stayed at Grand Wailea on Maui with 2 13-yr-old girls who had an absolute ball. Taxi drivers and locals told us wind and weather are apparently much better this side of the island and we had 7 lovely days (april 13-20). HOWEVEVER, we also got lucky when it came to crowds. For the first 5 days the GW was only about 1/2 full - we did not realise how lucky we were till the day before we left and a convention hit - the whole character of the place changed, it was packed and unpleasant. ANOTHER HOWEVER, the girls had a terrific time and we were grateful for the adults only pool.
The food was pretty average everywhere -only good meal we had was at Spagos at 4 Seasons. This hotel looks lovely but has only one pool - do you have kids or not? The beach is nice but if you have kids you need a pool. If you don't, you don't want to be around the kids!

The Fairmont was on the other side of the 4 Seasons and we did not get to see it but it was on my list too. I went for the GW cause there was so much for the teenagers to do and we could trust them to be on their own for a few hours each day, and in that way it fulfilled our objective. GW does charge, however, for umbrellas and cabanas - a rip-off! ALso, we had to pay $25 PER NIGHT for a connecting room guarantee (as we did in Moana Surfrider) and both hotels tried to put that charge on both rooms. They took it off one room when I complained. Hope this helps

The Surfrider in Waikiki is beautiful but since it is old be very specific with your room requests - the beach is lovely. Also a great place is the Hyatt in Waikiki. While it doesn't have it's own beach it has the most amazing pool/bar overlooking Waikiki. If you don't stay there at least do yourself a favor and have a drink there. They often have live music in the evenings that spills out on to Kalakaua Ave. in Waikiki. Beautiful! Aloha!

mel1 - thanks for the update. i do have 2 kids (8 and 5) and I do need to be with them at a pool so deos that mean the 4seasons would be a problem??

Also I wonder if there is a way to find out if there are conventions booked at particular hotels. ANy ideas???