Originally Posted by
CIT85
Construction was still going on before Christmas, so it won't be complete anytime soon.
Hapuna Beach is much nicer than beaches around Westin Mauai. Some consider Mauna Kea Beach to be the best in all of Hawaii, but I prefer Hapuna Beach over Mauna Kea Beach. Hapnua is much bigger, and never crowded right before Christmas when the hotel was sold out. Mauna Kea Beach felt more crowded. Just south of Hapuna is Beach 69, which is much smaller but interesting and lots of shallow reef for decent snorkeling.
Hapuna Beach and Big Island is just more relaxed and a lot of things to do. There's also nice snorkeling and world class diving at Two Step, south of Kona. No sandy beach, you have to take two big steps off rocks to get into the ocean.
We stayed at the Sheraton Maui in Dec 2015. The Black Rock beach is very different from the Mauna Kea and Hapuna beaches - more sheltered, much more swimmable and snorkeling with the house honu. Mauna Kea and Hapuna have bigger surf (Hapuna is certainly a surf beach), and Hapuna has definitely more riptides. A-Bay at the Waikoloa Beach Resort was much more calm than Mauna Kea and definitely Hapuna, and looks like easy snorkeling (other than a bit of boat traffic). My wife and I did not snorkel A-Bay so can't comment on quality.