Allen

Help! We are planning our five year anniversary/never had a honeymoon vacation to Maui for eight nights in mid-May. We are in our upper 20s and are looking to have the perfect romantic, relaxing and memorable experience. We are torn between staying in Kaanapali or Wailea. Here are the hotels we are considering: Renaissance Wailea (we actually already have a reservation here using the Entertainment Card for a terrace room), Kea Lani, The Whaler or Kaanapali Alii. We are leaning towards Wailea for the relaxation, but are concerned about being too secluded-we will have a car, however. On the other had, is Kaanapali really busy and crowded? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. If we stick to the Renaissance Wailea is it a big deal to have just a small fridge in the room as opposed to a condo?

Betty Ann

My choice would be Wailea. Kaanapali is a very busy, crowded area. With a car you can go to "busy and crowded" and leave when you've had enough. We stayed at the Ritz at Kapalua for a week at Christmas. That area is much cooler, make that colder than the rest of the island but that shouldn't be a problem in May.

sammie

The Renaissance is very nice and if you have a room booked with an Entertainment discount you cannot go wrong.
Wailea is more peaceful than Kaanapali, hotel properties are more spread out and do not resemble Miami Beach. However, it is a 35 minute ride to Lahaina where many of the restaurants are.
Kaanapali seemed more crowded but was closer to Lahaina, which is the hub of the island for restaurants and activities.

Jarrod

If you are looking for a Romantic getaway, you should consider the Ritz-Carlton at Kapalua. It is very quiet and relaxing there, but you are still only about 10 minutes from Kaanapali (great shopping and restaurants) and 15 minutes from Lahaina (great restaurants). We just celebrated our 10th anniversary last week at the Ritz in Kapalua and enjoyed it. The service was great. If you have any other questions, let me know.

Joseph

Allen,

I vote Renaissance Wailea - with daytrips to Lahaina and the Kaanapali Beach Resort. But if you never left the Wailea-Kihei area, you'd have way more to do than you possibly could do in eight days!!! Wonderful beaches, restaurants in Wailea-Kihei, and tour boats leaving from Maalaea Harbor about 10 min. up the road. Unfortunately, Maui Heidi has left the impression on this board that Wailea is "sleepy" - NOT! It's just not as congested or loud as Lahaina or Kaanapali, which is great with me, and everybody I know who's ACTUALLY STAYED THERE!

And the Renaissance is fabulous, but I would go for an oceanview room - how many times do you take a Hawaiian honeymoon? We've stayed there 3 times, last time had to take a terrace room, very nice but we really missed seeing the moon shining on the water and watching that mesmerizing ocean during the day! Just MHO!

Have fun,

Joe