cawhite

Hi everyone,

We'll be returning to Maui for 5 nights next summer, following 5 nights on Oahu. We're a family of 4 with 2 kids (16 and 13 as of next summer).

On past trips we've stayed in a few different locations on the island (Ka'anapali, Hana, Kihei). Our kids' favorite place was the Marriott's Maui Ocean Club (because of the great pool and access to Whaler's Village, etc.). They also like being in somewhat close proximity to Lahaina. Hey, if the kids are happy, we're happy!

We're thinking of staying in one of the Westins or the Sheraton.

Which would you recommend overall as the best place for families and teens on Maui:
- Westin Maui (points)
- Sheraton Maui (points)
- Westin Ka'analapli Ocean Resort Villas (package deal)
for best pool (they love slides), best beach, and best location?

If we stay at the Westin Villas we probably would not do much cooking there, although we would be able to keep breakfast, lunch, and snack items on hand easily - looking to keep expenses down on this trip.

I know there are far better pools at the Grand Wailea but that hotel is not an option for our budget this year.

Thanks for your help and ideas.

Carole

choco1

Carole, I don't know how the pools compare at all the places you mentioned, but the Sheraton is my personal favorite on Maui because the best snorkel spot in Kaanapali is directly in front of the hotel. The more adventurous kids love jumping off the rocks into the water. The area is visited by lots of turtles, rays, and tons of fish. Just please do us a favor and do NOT encourage your family to feed the fish with the fish packets or bread that some vendors will sell. It is unhealthy for the fish and ecosystem, encourages unnatural selection of dominant fish (decreasing the diversity), and tourists often leave the plastic wraps behind, and our turtles choke on them.
You don't have to feed them to see lots of beautiful tropical fish feeding on their natural diet.
There's also a pool and hot tub at the Sheraton, and it's walking distance to Whaler's Village.
Hope that helped.

Wezzie

Carole -

Last year my husband and I spent a few days at the Grand Wailea and a week at the Westin Villas. I loved the villas and they have a free shuttle to the Sheraton and Westin.

The Villas are beautiful and it will definitely help you stretch your vacation dollar. Also they have a really nice bbq area so it may be fun to eat in a night or two. We spent several days over at the Sheraton using their beach and pool. We were able to charge things to our room at the Westin.

Have fun!

Wezzie

cawhite

Thanks Choco1 and Weezie!

Weezie, I had heard you can use the other Westin / Sheraton properties for everything else... just not their pools (any more). Does anyone else have other recent data on this?

Were there a good number of kids at the Westin Villas?

Also, I think I read that the Villas have a pool slide... is this the case? If so, is it a small slide, or a bigger sized one?

Lastly, I assume this Villas are not walking distance to the other Ka'anapali hotels, correct? I really like the walking path along the beach of the other hotels... I think that's the one big disadvantage in the Villas (for us).

Decisions, decisions! Hmmmmm........

dmlove

Lastly, I assume this Villas are not walking distance to the other Ka'anapali hotels, correct? I really like the walking path along the beach of the other hotels... I think that's the one big disadvantage in the Villas (for us).

Hi. The Westin villas are not on the walking path fronting the beach (that is, the path from the Hyatt to the Sheraton.....it does have its own path, north side of Black Rock; unfortunately, you can't walk to, e.g. Whaler's Village, on the beach side)

cawhite

So I guess that means we would need to drive if we wanted to go to Whaler's Village, etc. I can't recall if the parking is easy around there or not....

DebitNM

We stayed at the Westin Maui [Oct 06] and the pools there are the best for sure. You can take the shuttle to the other 2 hotels and use the facilities but NOT the pools.

The Villas were much quieter and not in the best location for people watching, dining out within walking distance etc. They reminded me of condos for the over 60 crowd in FL.

I think your family [teens] will be much happier at westin Maui. They were just renovating the hotel when we there, so everything should still be pretty nice.

IF pools are a big thing, Westin Maui is the one.

Whaler's Village is a short walk with an ABC store and other less expensive eating options. The ocean path is right there and you can walk to Sheraton or even the Hyatt.

Hope this helps..
Deb

iamq

Hi Carole,

The pool at the Westin is great.
The slide is awesome. Lie on your back , arch it, point your toes...and off you go!

It is a 5 minute walk to Whaler Village and another 5 minutes to the snorkeling at Black Rock. I'm not a big hotel person, but I liked it there. Get a room in the newer tower that runs perpindicular to the beach.

Bill

cawhite

Thanks Deb. I had a feeling the Westin Resort pool would be nice... I heard the rooms are smaller, but that really shouldn't matter since we only sleep there. And, yes... the pool is quite important to our kids.

cawhite

Thanks Bill... always love to get your opinion!

Bikom

The Westin pool area is great. We love it there. The best in Kaanapali area IMO. You can also walk to the Sheraton, which does have fantastic snorkeling.

offlady

Definitely the Westin in Kanapali. Great pool, close to Whalers Village, and great beachfront. A few years ago we stayed at the Sheraton right after it finished the renovations and we were able to use the Westin pools. However, I heard that they've stopped it and no longer allow Sheraton guests to use the Westin pools even though they are still both Starwood hotels.