MaryAO

Have 3 night honeymoon nights at Royal Lahaina. Need one more night. Any preferences - Renaissance Wailea? Sheraton?
Westin? Looking for "on beach" - great pool and hotel atmosphere.
Thanks

slawecki

I really like the Shearton. Big bright sunny place, very close to the center of most things. The Weston is a kiddy palace. Walk down and visit the gardens.

Request a room out on Black Rock.

MaryAO

Thanks.

Unimatrix One

My wife and I are planning a trip to Maui, and since we plan to spend most of our time relaxing outside and swimming, we want a hotel with a nice pool area, beach, and attractive grounds. The hotels that we've looked into include the Westin Maui, Kea Lani, Grand Wailea, and the Outrigger in Wailea. While the Kea Lani and Grand Wailea look great, they also seem a little pricey. The Outrigger looks quite nice and is a lot cheaper, but I understand that it doesn't really have a beach (but is only a few minutes away from some nice beaches). Is anyone here able to comment on the relative pluses/minuses of these hotels from experience? We are especially interested in the Outrigger, since it seems to be such a good value.

Many thanks for any replies!

l etoile

The Kea Lani is one of my favorite hotels, but it has a rather small beach. There are multiple pools. There's one very large one (could almost be considered two connected pools) with a water slide, swim-up bar, cabanas all around. The other is smaller and adults only.

The Grand and the Kea Lani are linked by a nice walking trail. The Grand is huge and has just about everything from a water elevator, to a pool just for teaching SCUBA, to an outstanding spa. It also has a nice beach. It is very expensive though.

It's been a while since I've stayed at the Westin and can't remember it too well. I've never stayed at the Outrigger. Some other nice hotels you might consider are the Four Seasons and the Hyatt. The Hyatt is on nice long stretch of beach and has two connected pools with waterfalls. Last time I was there there was a jetski concession off shore a bit and there was some noise on the beach from that. I don't remember it being real irritating though.

MisterNice

In Hawaii all beaches are public, ie no private beaches. You can stay at the Outrigger and walk 300 ft to the beach in front of the Grand Wailea or whatever and spread your straw mat or towel. I even heard of non-guests using the Grand Wailea pool, bar, restaurants etc etc (hee hee). It is not considered proper to use their beach chairs, cabanas etc, but I often use the lounges at the Renaissance Wailea late in the day if they are not too busy.

MisterNice



[This message has been edited by MisterNice (edited 12-26-2002).]

JerryFF

The Westin Maui has an excellent beach with cabanas you can rent on a daily basis. You can walk a fairly long way along the beach in both directions - north to the Sheraton and south to the Hyatt. There are lots of beach/water activities located very close (parasailing, motorized rafts, catamarans, etc).

There is a large two-level pool - the lower level has slides/volleyball/basketball while the upper level is adults only. The rest of the grounds are attractive though not too extensive.

slawecki

It is hard to compare 3 variables. best pool/beach/grounds. Then you want it on the cheap! That makes 4 variables.

When you going? that makes a difference.

Check for deals at the Shearton Maui. They have the best piece of beach, and huge grounds. I don't do pools. The Weston is Claustrophobic to me.

South Maui is very hot, North Maui can be very cold(up at the Ritz in April was not nice).

My wife and I have used bar, restaurant, and facilities at the Grand Wailea while passing through. Nice lunch, but sure was hot.

Tak

For pool, Grand Wailea is the best in Hawaii, however, as you said it is pricey. They have general pool with a lot of slide and running water river pool. Also, they have adult pool with spa for quiet atomospher. In order to use the pool, you should be the hotel guests. You have to tell your room number to get the pool towel. Outrigger is just next door, so takes 3 minutes walk to Grand Wailea through beachwalk. Outrigger is older hotel and pool area is relatively small. There is no private beach in Hawaii so you can enjoy wherever you want. It is nice to walk in the morning and evening on this beachwalk.

I personally like Wailea area, feel more exclusive resort. Wailea is also dry. If you like a lot of activities, Kaanapali might be better. A lot of hotels side by side and Lahaina is only 10 minutes away by car. If you like quiet and peaceful resort, Ritz or kapalua Bay resort would be good although you have occasional rain in the morning and evening.

Unimatrix One

Thanks, everyone, for the replies! We've been looking also at hotel reviews at Fodors.com and the reviews at Travelocity. Right now we're leaning toward the Outrigger but are considering splitting our stay between two hotels--the Outrigger and a more expensive resort.

Thanks again!!

pinniped

We loved the Renaissance Wailea. It has a great beach and beautiful grounds. We loved the pool for the same reason that some people don't like it: it is small and quiet. We would usually take a quick dip there in the evening, since days were spent on other activities including the beach. The whole property has a quieter, more laid-back feel to it. Grand Wailea has a Las Vegas feel to it - we enjoyed spending an evening there partying at one of the outdoor bars.

Price-wise, you can get rooms at the Ren Wailea for significantly less than either the Westin or the Grand Wailea. (Maybe not as cheap as the Outrigger, which apparently is about to become a Marriott property itself.) When we return to Maui, we will again stay at the Renaissance.

Tak

The Renaissance Wailea is classic and quiet, but I also recommend it if the price is right. The property is well maintained and has nice garden.

I have stayed all of Wailea Hotels, and the Renaissance Wailea has a good value. There will be one problem. The owner of the hotel will sell or sold the property(I don't know the transaction was completed or not). So there might be a few changes.

If you are interested in Grand Wailea, let me know. I can get a special discount there(Cheapest rack rate is now $450). I am going there next weekend.

Need

I just came back from Maui Sheraton a few weeks ago. The connnecting pools has a small waterfall and a small slide in the connecting path. One of the pool has a partial kids pool with swallow water. The deep pool is on the other side of the connecting path, a nice distance way from the kids sound. The beach just off the pools is one of the best in Maui. The snorkelling at the Black Rock is superb. We saw giant sea turtle, sting ray, and other strange looking fish.

The ground is kind of plain with mostly grass lawns, but gives it a clean cut look. I got the room for about 60% off the rack rate thru priceline, which made it a sweet deal. And I think if you stay at Sheraton, you get to use the pools at Westin (about 1/2 mile down the beach) too since they are both Starwood hotels.

0524

I cast my vote for the Grand Wailea.

opus17

We stayed a week at the Grand Wailea and never used the pools, so if you don't stay there and do use them, that will be some sort of karmic balance.