Well, we did stay at the Maui Seaside, 4 miles from the airport, the night of our arrival. And it was good! The grounds are well maintained, pleasant and secure. The room itself is better than a Motel 6 stay (OK, that doesn’t say much for the room, but again, we just wanted a place to stay then leave, and the Seaside fit the bill). We had the lowest-cost room, and since it had AirC, it was more than satisfactory. Did not have a view of the ocean from our room, but we could hear it. Good night sleep. So I really don’t know where all the negative feelings come from (unless we were exceptionally lucky). They did have a choice of “better” rooms that mainly older couples were taking. At our level rooms, there were quite a few young couples and groups who were using this motel as their base for taking day excursions (with their snorkel and scuba gear). Breakfast at the adjoining restaurant was our best Hawaiian breakfast of the trip. The desk agents were incredibly friendly and helpful, almost beyond belief.

Now Hana. We took 5 hrs to do the normal 50-mile 2-hour trip. Poor parking near the better waterfalls, but we found that driving a bit further, we could usually find a spot to pull off, and walk back to the sights. On our return a couple days later, we had a late lunch at Mama’s. Thanks, MauiFan, for this great suggestion, terrific views and location. If you go over the normal dining hours, best to have a reservation. But well worth a wait. We made our reservation from Hana.

We stayed at the Hotel Hana-Maui. We like Hana because it is so peaceful, low-keyed, and more Hawaiian and less touristy than the rest of the island. No air in the delightful rooms, but always a nice ocean breeze. No complaints at all. Lots of visitors to the sights outside (and in) Hana, mostly day-trippers and campers. They did not distract from the Hawaiian mood. Liked the black beach and the red beach (though to get to the red, you either have to be young or part mountain goat).

Ended our stay at the Grand Wailea. In a couple days, I’ll report on that stay on the Hilton site.