I am planning a honeymoon for the end of August. We have 10 nights and plan to split them between Maui and Kauai. We've been trying to be creative with our lodging so that we can stay some portion of our trip in some nicer places and maybe other portions in some smaller (non-big name resort)places and try to stay within a reasonable budget. At the same time, I don't want to sacrifice having a good time by staying in not-so-nice places and by moving from hotel to hotel too much. So far we were thinking of spending the first 2 or 3 nights at the Marriott Wailea Outrigger Resort - I have read so many good reviews about it. Does anyone have any thoughts on a different kind of place to spend the next few nights in Maui? Any comments on the Lahaina Inn? it seems very quaint and definitely a different experience from the Marriott. Would you even reccommend leaving the Wailea area for Lahaina/Kaanapali?
On Kaui, the two places we had in mind were either the Sheraton or Poipu Plantation. Poipu Plantation also seems to have such a quaint atmosphere to it, but I'm not sure if it would be good for a honeymoon?
I'd really appreciate everyone's opinion or suggestions. We've obviously never been to Hawaii and want to make the most of our time there - who knows when we might make it back!

Thanks!

I haven't stayed at Lahaina Inn, but from the outside it isn't that great. What are your other choices?

We stayed at the Outrigger Wailea in Oct. Of course we have a child who loved the pool. I noticed they stuck us wayyyyyy far away by the pool too. LOL!! There is an adults only pool on the other side. We had a great ocean view. Enjoyed the breakfast buffet that was included in our room. So request a romantic room on the opposite side from the kiddie pool.

I enjoy Lahaina and Kanapali, however I would start there then move to luxury. It's always hard to leave luxury, then it seems like a downer.

I love the Outrigger/Marriott Wailea. In my opinion, it has the most Hawaiian/tropical ambiance of any hotel in Wailea tho it is not the grandest.
We have stayed there on business 7 times so far in 2003, we have always enjoyed it.

I'd say one night at the Lahaina Inn is enough. It's on very congested Lahainaluna Street, it's noisy, the rooms are miniscule. Cute place but I was glad we were there for only one night. Ask if they have a/c, it would be hellish in August without it. If you are interested in an inn in Lahaina, check out the Plantation Inn (but also double check onthe availability of a/c....Lahaina is beastly in the summer.)

I second the Plantation Inn. Nice B&B style hotel right in the middle of Lahaina. They have a honeymoon suite for about $220 with a AAA 10% discount. Other rooms can be had for around $180 a night. Wasn't noisy. They also give you a $50 credit for their French restaurant (didn't go, was fully booked the night we were there).

We stayed there for one night before we moved on to Wailea. I would stay maybe two nights there... gives you a nice base for the western part of the island. It's also good if you plan on going to the Old Lahaina Luau. Short cab ride away allows you to take advantage of the open bar.

Thanks guys. I'll check into the Plantation Inn. But you think it would be best to go there first and then move onto Wailea? or is teh order not so important? or do you think we might as well just stay in Wailea?
Any suggestions about Kauai?

Thanks so much!

I would not recommend the Sheraton for a honeymoon. We stayed there a few weeks ago for $95/night via Priceline bid. It was ok for that, but I would have been really disappointed if I had paid full price to stay there. The breakfast buffet was average and one morning the food was brought out cold. Sheraton also has a $20 resort fee tacked on to whatever your nightly rate is. If you are looking to save money, I would research condos on the beach in Poipu. If you are looking to splurge the Hyatt was absolutely gorgeous.

You may be able to get a deal if you split your time between the Hyatts on Maui and Kauai. You could look into that as well.

One thing I would recommend is not jumping around too much with your hotels trying to save money. It eats up alot of time and energy packing and repacking. Also, if you decide to splurge for part of your stay for a nice resort, save it for the end of your honeymoon so that it is not a let down to go from a nice place to a basic place.

Good Luck!

I don't think that the Poipu Plantation would be a good place for honeymooners. Here's what Ultimate Kauai Guidebook says:

9 units, a/c, spa, bbq. Not really a condo, nor a hotel. More like a plantation. (Oh...I get it!) Formerly a pretty cozy place, but things change. It doesn't seem as well-tended as it used to be. And it's annoying to see signs telling you that towel changes are $3 and to change your sheets is a ridiculous $12. In short, you can do better elsewhere. 1/1 units are $105-$130, 2/2 units are $145-$160. The adjacent "main house" is available for weddings and as a B&B.

You might want to find a condo at the Kiahuna Plantation which is right on the beach. Many units are individually owned and you can get a good rate by going to vrbo, here's a link to one unit: http://www.vrbo.com/2463.

Good luck to you and best wishes!

I'd say forget about staying in Lahaina and enjoy more time in Wailea! While you'll definitely want to sight see in Lahaina you won't feel as though you're missing anything by not staying there. You might want to take a look at www.mauihawaiicondo for a great reasonably priced condo rental in Wailea.
Enjoy!!!

check vrbo.com and see if that helps you any. .

Hi JWO,

I would opt for 10 days Kauai. Too much to explore in less time. August is the peek season for the North Shore. Speaking strictly from personal opinion which is what I am hoping you are looking for, I would choose a condo if I were budgeting. In August only the Hyatt or the Princeville would pull me away from this option even if money is not an option. You just have more room. A hotel room seems like a studio apartment after 2 nights for me. I would stay on Kauai for your time frame, it is a small island with diverse landscape that you could explore in 10 days. I have been going for about 8 years now. I still am discovering major hiking trails, beaches, kayaking locations that should have been obvious but were put off due to time constraints.

Just a thought

One possibility that I considered when planning my trip to Maui was staying at the Silvercloud Guest Ranch near Haleakula (sp?). A lot of people recommend going to the volcano on your first day in Maui while your body hasn't adjusted to the time change. However, it is quite a drive from Lahaina and Wailea. I figured staying at the Silvercloud BNB would give me a head start on the trip. Then, on the second day, I was going to do the full-circle drive around Hana which Silvercloud is again a nice base for. On the next three days I was going to move to the Wailea area for some of the beach scene.

On Kauai, if you are going to switch hotels anyway, I would do one North vs one South location. Although switching hotels will be time consuming at least let it be along the way to the next destination.

If you could avoid staying in Lahaina that would be nicer.

jwo - what kind of budget are you trying to work with?
I would definitely advise picking 1 hotel for each island - otherwise too much packing/unpacking.
We also did 5 Maui/5 Kauai for our honeymoon. We started at the Radisson in Kauai for $135/nt oceanview and loved it. Nice pools, great location. No swimmable beach but we drove to Princeville for that. August you should have good weather throughout Kauai. Saw the Sheraton...didn't look great.
On Maui we did Kea Lani for $320/night and really loved it but I think Outrigger would be nice. Nice resort, good pools, and you can walk to 2 great beaches. Really, really short walk.
Agree - don't stay in Lahaina.

The budget isn't so set in stone and I'm willing to be sort of flexible. The Kauai Hyatt is definitely more than we can manage - especially for all 5 nights. The Radisson sounds good but we were definitely leaning towards the South Shore. Anybody have thoughts on this aspect - north shore vs. south shore? How would it be to stay on the East coast?

JWO,

Congratulations! We just booked our honeymoon at the end of September for Maui and Kauai. We had the same objectives--stay part of the time in a nicer place and part in a lower key, less expensive place. We ended up booking the Outrigger Wailea for 4 nights, Hotel Hana Maui for 2 nights, and Hyatt Kauai for 4 nights. Check out www.travelhawaii.com. We investigated a TON of options (travel agents, Expedia, AAA travel, Entertainment Card, you name it) and they had by far the best rates. Plus, they're in Hawaii so they know the properties well. Our entire trip, including convertibles on both islands, roundtrip airfare, inter-island flights and hotels for 10 nights was around $5,000. Hope this helps and have fun!

Thanks Jonesey.

can you actually book your hotel through travelhawaii.com? I can't seem to find a link.

jwo - my opinion on the location aspect
If you like to explore, East is good because it's easy to travel North or South (45 min either way) and you can see a lot.
If you like to lounge at the hotel and don't mind seeing only 1 shore (or not visiting the other shore for more than 1 day) then pick the one that has more of the activities that appeal to you.
For our honeymoon, we were happy not to have any 90 minutes drives, even though the scenery is so beautiful...it may not bother you.
Personally, I found the North Shore scenery much more breathtaking and would not have wanted to miss that...we drove there 3 of our 5 days. And the weather was gorgeous there late July so you should be good.

I think Jonesy means "hawaii.com" not "travelhawaii.com".