Hawaii - Maui: One hotel or two?

Hi all,

Looking for a little feedback on our plans for Maui in late November.

Option 1: 6 nights in Wailea.
Option 2: 2 nights in Kaanapali, 4 nights Wailea.

The main reason we're considering this is so we can spend a little more time enjoying the sights & dining in/around Lahaina rather than schlepping back and forth from Wailea all the time. Or are we overestimating the amount of car time involved?

On the other hand switching hotels is also a bit of a hassle. So from your experience, which is the better option? 2 hotels and less driving, or 1 hotel and more driving?

Hi all,

Looking for a little feedback on our plans for Maui in late November.

Option 1: 6 nights in Wailea.
Option 2: 2 nights in Kaanapali, 4 nights Wailea.

The main reason we're considering this is so we can spend a little more time enjoying the sights & dining in/around Lahaina rather than schlepping back and forth from Wailea all the time. Or are we overestimating the amount of car time involved?

On the other hand switching hotels is also a bit of a hassle. So from your experience, which is the better option? 2 hotels and less driving, or 1 hotel and more driving?

I'd personally do 3/3, unless the 4 night stay in Wailea came with a price break by staying the 4th night, as many promos do. Whenever I'm in Maui for more than 5 days, I split it up.

Really enough different it will be like two different islands. I'd split just to see which you like better.

I would do the 3/3 unless the hotel had some deal such as 4th night free.

Other suggestion is do something like a 2/2/2 split where you do 2 in Hana, 2 in kihei , the 2 in Lahaina

Personally, the wife and I are 'Wailea People'...In our last 2 trips to OGG (a 10-day trip and another 4-day mini vacation), we never even went to Lahaina.

Lahaina doesn't offer us anything that Wailea/Kihei/Makena doesn't already have...We're definitely Southwest Maui people. Others might like it for some things, but not for us...Too crowded, too commercial. When we do get away from Wailea, it's to the North Shore/Pa'ia.

If this is a first time to Maui, or you do like things in Lahaina, then I would break it up like others are suggesting. The drive, while beautiful, can be LONG. Depending on where you are in Wailea and where you're going to Lahaina, it could be 45 mins to an hour, and surely would get repetitive after 2-3 days.

This would be our first Maui trip, so I'm thinking that a "pu pu platter" approach might be a good way to get a feel for the place. :)

Lahaina doesn't offer us anything that Wailea/Kihei/Makena doesn't already have...We're definitely Southwest Maui people. Others might like it for some things, but not for us...Too crowded, too commercial. When we do get away from Wailea, it's to the North Shore/Pa'ia.

Well, that's simply not true. You may not be partial to what Lahaina offers, but it surely does offer some different things than what Southwest Maui does. In addition to some genuine stuff from a 100+ year old Hawaiian town in Lahaina itself, Kapalua is also a different experience, and the drive around the undeveloped northwest coast of Maui, beyond Kapalua, is simply the most breathtaking scenery in all of Maui.

Lahaina doesn't offer us anything that Wailea/Kihei/Makena doesn't already have...We're definitely Southwest Maui people. Others might like it for some things, but not for us...Too crowded, too commercial. When we do get away from Wailea, it's to the North Shore/Pa'ia.


Well, that's simply not true. You may not be partial to what Lahaina offers, but it surely does offer some different things than what Southwest Maui does. In addition to some genuine stuff from a 100+ year old Hawaiian town in Lahaina itself, Kapalua is also a different experience, and the drive around the undeveloped northwest coast of Maui, beyond Kapalua, is simply the most breathtaking scenery in all of Maui.

I went back and highlighted the operative words. To each their own! ;)

I went back and highlighted the operative words. To each their own! ;)

Have you ever done the scenic drive around northwest Maui? Because if you haven't, you have no basis to make the statement - IMHO, it puts to shame both the Hana drive, and the one up Haleakala for sheer breathtaking scenic beauty.

Have you ever done the scenic drive around northwest Maui? Because if you haven't, you have no basis to make the statement - IMHO, it puts to shame both the Hana drive, and the one up Haleakala for sheer breathtaking scenic beauty.

If you know so much about Maui, why haven't you helped me out in my thread asking for advice on activities? ;)

Here's the link: Thanks! (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawaii/1380292-advice-activities-maui.html)

Have you ever done the scenic drive around northwest Maui? Because if you haven't, you have no basis to make the statement - IMHO, it puts to shame both the Hana drive, and the one up Haleakala for sheer breathtaking scenic beauty.

+1^

Have you ever done the scenic drive around northwest Maui? Because if you haven't, you have no basis to make the statement - IMHO, it puts to shame both the Hana drive, and the one up Haleakala for sheer breathtaking scenic beauty.

Yeah, done it and it's beautiful! ^ (I've probably driven every non-'neighborhood' street on the island). But much like the road to Hana or up to Haleakala, it's one of those things you do it once or twice, and we feel like we're done with doing such things.

Back to the OP and the topic at hand, all I was suggesting was that Lahaina isn't necessarily 'all that' where you have to spend a ton of time, based on our experience and IMhO. I think that if they budget 2-3 days in Lahaina for the trip, I think they'll be good. And their 'Pu Pu Platter' approach, as mentioned above is a great idea. My main message to convey was that the drive from Wailea-Lahaina is indeed a tad long and can get tedious/repetitive after a few days of doing it back and forth. However, it is surely one of the BEST 'commutes' in the world!

If you know so much about Maui, why haven't you helped me out in my thread asking for advice on activities? ;)

Here's the link: Thanks! (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawaii/1380292-advice-activities-maui.html)

Because until yesterday, that thread was over a year and a half old

Yeah, done it and it's beautiful! ^ (I've probably driven every non-'neighborhood' street on the island). But much like the road to Hana or up to Haleakala, it's one of those things you do it once or twice, and we feel like we're done with doing such things.


But you were suggesting that someone who has never been to Maui would find nothing worthwhile in the north-west part of the Island simply because you don't. I agree that if you do that drive once, like the one to Hana, you may not need to do it again. But to not do it at all, because someone else suggests that an entire portion of the island is unworthy, would simply be relying upon poor advice.

Getting back to the original question -- any thoughts on the Hyatt Regency Maui?

Getting back to the original question -- any thoughts on the Hyatt Regency Maui?

It's fine, so long as you want to be in Kaanapaali. It's probably the best place in that venue, although the Sheraton and Westin would be very comparable.