Boraxo

Did the upscale restaurant re-open or still only Hana Ranch? Also my recollection was the the general store sold sandwiches. The food trucks sound like a nice addition.

Has anyone flown into Hana on the airplane service from OGG? Sound like a good option for those of us who prefer not to drive (been there, done that).

also is there a decent gym?

Finally how is the wifi? Though I seriously plan to read books. I won’t miss the TV

bgriff

Gym is small and open air. A couple of cardio machines, dumbbells, a basic cable machine.

Wifi was satisfactory, as I recall, though I didn't try streaming video or anything too demanding.

platbrownguy

Pics of the gym in my review: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33005343-post37.html

jayer

I agree with the statement that one night really isn't enough after the somewhat difficult drive. But anything more than two, maybe three, only if you are wanting to mostly stick around the hotel and do little. Or declare it throwback days to another millennium and read a book and write letters for a few days.

It is worth the even more curvier drive on to the Seven Sacred Pools for the view (once). Better than the pools is the Bamboo Forest Hike that leaves from the same park. (We caught it once on a foggy, drizzling, morning and it was one of the most magical things we have ever done on a NPS small property). But stay away in real rain--there have been flash flooding deaths both in the pools and on the trail.

oc2005

We had some problems with the Wifi back in December -- it was right after a storm, so internet was coming and going, and even when it was working, it wasn't fast enough in our room to reliably connect using remote desktop software. I don't know if it was just due to recovery from the storm, if we had a poor wifi connection in our room location, or if it's always that slow.

We walked through the gym (that counts as exercise right?) and is was small but nice looking and completely empty, and overlooks its own pool. They also have a couple of tennis courts that we never saw anyone using.

I didn't notice sandwiches are either general store (Hana Ranch Store on the mountain side of the road, and Hasegawa General Store on the ocean side). They both just seemed to have a small selection of groceries and misc. supplies but we could have missed the sandwiches.

Food trucks were fantastic and several are within walking distance of the hotel -- our two favorites were Poke Bob's which we went to multiple times (both their poke bowls or grills items -- especially the grilled pineapple was all fantastic) which is located in a parking lot with several food trucks further up the road the hotel is on going past Hana and a small Thai food stand (Thai Food by Pranee) that was located on the street the community center is located on behind the hotel. Hours seemed a bit random, and they had to close once due to a power outage. Hana Farms stand was excellent as well on the way into town near the lava tubes -- both the bakery there which sells great banana bread and other goodies and the outdoor restaurant that had excellent casual food, interesting beverages, and certain days of the week pizza.

Hana Ranch Restaurant was closed when we were there, but the restaurant onsite at the hotel was open instead, but it sounds like the reverse is the case now. I think they both basically have the same menu. Breakfast was nice, but dinner was just ok. Good salad, but fairly minimal options and not super inspired mains. We had dinner the first 2 days there, and ended up preferring to get takeout from food trucks right before they closed the rest of our time there, and bringing the food back to eat on our bungalow lanai. We had to eat fairly early to do this though since if I recall the food trucks closed on the early side back then, but might be different this time a year if the days are longer.

Kacee

I wouldn't have a problem spending a week here, many regulars do. It's super relaxing. The biggest issue for me would be the lack of food options, particularly with the trucks closing so early.Hawaii is close enough to the equator there is very little variation in the length of the days.

Boraxo

Great info from oc2005 and a fantastic review - thank you platbrownguy. It would be great if the hotel could provide a list of food trucks/menu/hours etc but I guess that's too much to expect from laid back Hana.

How does it work with the golf carts? Can we get rides to food trucks in town? What about the beaches and the Seven Pools? I assume the national park is too far for hotel shuttle so maybe our only option is to rent a vehicle. As we plan to take the puddle jumper from OGG, that leaves seems to leave only Turo as it appears the major agencies have shut down their Hana offices.

Typically we don't plant ourselves at a resort without a car (except in Mexico, where cheap taxis are plentiful) so this will be a new experience. I am not particularly concerned about being "stuck" there (Hana strikes me as a great place to chill for a while) but we want to be able to hike the park and other nearby scenic areas.

bgriff

You will need to get a car one way or another. The food trucks are very close, easily walkable and they would probably bring you in a golf cart if you asked. But beaches and the national park are not in golf cart range. Not sure if there is an Enterprise anywhere in the area or any other non-airport rental car locations?

oc2005

Good points!

Regarding time of day, I looked it up, and sunset for us was around 5:45pm in December, and I want to say the food trucks closed around 4pm or 5pm, which seemed a bit early for dinner.

This time of year is a little better -- currently sunset is just after 7pm, and some food trucks (Poke Bob) says (online) they close at 7pm, but most still say (online) they close around 4pm or 5pm (or earlier).

It is the opposite experience vs. Kaanapali or Wailea where you often need reservations well in advance for much fancier, traditional sit-down restaurants. In Hana the best food was all food trucks/stands but they seem more targeted at the Hana daytrippers so they close early and are very casual (yet can be very delicious). We just used Yelp to find food stands and pretty much agreed with the rankings for the places we tried. Only issue we had with them were a few places either didn't exist anymore or we couldn't find them, or hours were off what was listed.

We came 4 days last year and are planning 5 this year, but may stop by Costco or Safeway on the way to pickup some snack foods this time based on the limited food options last year.

Kacee

They definitely close early. We had the same experience in July, so not just a winter issue. They also take random days off. It's all part of the charm I suppose, but it meant we ate most of our dinners at the Ranch restaurant via room service.

There are a couple places worth driving to down the road, including Huli Huli Chicken and Tony's Place. They both close early as well.

oc2005

I did a quick search and no car rental companies showed up for me, but turo does seem to have a couple of rentals in Hana (a carsharing service). You also might be able to get by with a combination of hotel shuttle plus maybe seeing if there are any tour packages to take to you to sites you want to see. Hyatt site does say "On request shuttle to/from Hana-Maui Resort, Hana Airport (HNM), and Hamoa Beach"

SFO_Chad

I just checked out today (sadly). Spent a week there and could have easily stayed another week. We had an oceanfront premium bungalow (part points / part cash). Room 220 - loved it! Would recommend. If you look online - it is the bungalow right behind the bridge in the front row. We had an AC unit in our living room and bedroom...but some friends we met/made on the trip did not have AC. They were in the non-bungalow section for what that is worth.

Golf carts are super easy and convenient. They will take you to the restaurant and it is easy enough to get to the food trucks or either store (Hasegawa closes at 6 and the other grocery at 7).

Pool bar has great drinks. If Chelsea is behind the bar - ask for her special strawberry marg or the 'double grey goose with love' that she made for the guy in 220 It closes at 6p - so stock up if you want evening cocktails.

No other food/drink options available on site...but as many have mentioned, the food trucks are super close. I was not a huge fan of the Hana ranch restaurant...but that might just be me.

Ask for extra water, coffee and creamer if / when you have ice delivered to your room.

Pool towels can be hard to come by. I would grab 1 or 2 after my workout at the non-infinity pool.

My husband left a couple of days earlier to get back to work and he drove the car back...so I took the flight from Hana. Super easy and awesome. I will never drive again. 3x doing the road to Hana is plenty. And the flight was cheap ($60). And we used the car exactly 1 time to go to Hamoa beach. The hotel will drive you there if interested.

pWei

We're going to be in Maui for a family event. Already have plans to make the most of by trying out the HR for 4, maybe 5 and Andaz for 2 nights.

Since we probably wouldn't return to Maui - Would Hana Maui be worth going for a few nights, particularly with a very reasonable rate for Maui? We're typically city vacationers and love exploring - we just went to Phuket and wished we stayed in BKK or went elsewhere - food was insipid, things were more expensive and taxis + rideshare charge ridiculous prices for Thailand.

platbrownguy

Hana is totally different climate and culture from Lahaina or Wailea. If you won't return, it might make sense to spend a night in Hana. Drive there, spend a night, drive the southern route back (which is truly an awesome drive and IMO better than the more popular northern route from Paia, as long as there isn't flash flooding -- the drive around south was one of our favorite drives on Maui). Based on your city/food comments you may not like the food options in Hana at all and it will be expensive for the quality. Wouldn't recommend more than the one night for you. But sitting in the chairs by the shore at Hana Maui is a pretty special experience unlike the western side. There isn't any city exploring in Hana, but there is some outdoor exploring that can occupy a few hours.

As for the other properties, Lahaina and Wailea will have big city food options... but please try the poke at Tamura's liquor store counter, and please try Ululani's shave ice (get the macadamia ice cream underneath and lilikoi on top)!

Kacee

Personally, I think it's worth two nights, especially given the hassle factor of the drive (which is not so bad as some make out, but not much fun, either). The location is amazing and if just sitting on the deck enjoying the view is not sufficient, there's plenty to explore locally to kill the extra day.