r2i forum

Bumping up thread for any more recommendations.

Also, are there any other threads with Maui accommodations or things-to-do suggestions? Search only returned this thread. Thx.

In general aptment/condo rentals work better if you are going in a large group (want > 2 bedrooms) or if you plan to stay more than 3 days otherwise I'd go with a hotel. We booked a condo from vrbo, it was on the beach with a ocean view and it was great. Don't remember the name now, it was 4 years ago, but it was on the west side few miles from Kihei.

Things to do: you will find many lists online but hana drive (rated one of the top 10 drives in US along with US-1 monterey bigsur drive) and haleakala mountain sunset/sunrise are great. I remember it was very cold at the top of mountain so you may want to take appropriate clothing if you do plan to go there. You could also bike down the mountain, there will be some tourist operators who'll drive you up the mountain and you can just bike down instead of a round trip. zipline I heard is great though we didn't get reservations. There was also snorkeling trip to Molikini island if I remember correctly, where we got to see some green turtles besides corals/fish, it was fun too. Otherwise we spent most of the time relaxing on the beaches.

Kihei had a good mediterrean and a Thai restaurant, don't remember the names now but I guess you could look up on yelp.

ready

We got back from Maui 2 months back.

We stayed in Diamond Resort club in Kaanapaali as it was most convenient (with 3 year old son we wanted to stay close to all beaches). We looked at resort rentals and found a few resort rentals through Craigslist around $120 a night for one bedroom condos. Only problem was most of them didn't have pool and my son really needed to be close to pool to keep him busy.

Place to see: Hana Highway ..best way to experience it is by staying in Hana. Drive from Kaanapali to Hana one day stay in Hana and drive back next day. Worth the drive and best part of Maui
Haleakalla (spelling?) sunrise. Amazing experience. Must do but make sure you carry couple of coats and warm blanket (Hard to imagining packing blanket for Hawaii trip). We carried blankets from the hotel. We didn't do but there is mule ride down from visitor center to Volacano highly recommended
Beaches. Kaanapalli (best beaches in whole Maui IMO), Black sand beach on the way to Hana, Red sand beach on the way to Hana and Big Beach in Kihei
Snorkelling Trip to Molikini and Scuba diving absolutely wonderful (Not the best Fiji is still the best)
We used the book Maui Revealed and definitely worth reading before planning the trip
We took back road from Hana to Kaanapalli and I won't recommend it (though it was gorgeous to drive, it was dangerous)
Must have banana bread and fruit breads from the fruit sands, Fresh fruits and coconut are our fav
there are couple of Indian restaurants and both of them are good ....We areveg so didn't try sea food. But most of the fast foods in main land are available ther (like Pizza hut, subway not chipotle)
we rented car and I think that was good idea
We wanted to do a helicopter tour over Hallekalla but my son wasn't cooperating that day (he wanted to go to beach) so we didn't do it but I would think that would be fun
Maui is small Island but plenty to do for a week
and Like Boca said ...If you are planning on attending a Luau, better book it a month in advance. (http://www.oldlahainaluau.com/index_main.html). Don't miss it, a pleasant experience.

We just came back from Maui two week ago. It was one week vacation. Booked thru costcotravel.com. It is best to stay in rental/condo if you are going to be there for more than 5 days and more than 3 people and not doing so much. When we searched for best deal, costco was on the top compare to any other travel site including AAA. In costco, everything included (flight+hotel+rental car+all applicable taxes+dinner credit based on the package you choose) except resort fees. Everywhere else, taxes are not included or not mentioned. So you will end up adding these to your expenses. Remember every resort/condo has resort fees from minium of $15 to $30 depends on what facilities they are providing.

Initially we thought of staying at condo (atleast $500 less than resorts in overall stay) and cook overselves. But since it is our VACATION, we decided to not cook. So droped the idea of condo and booked at sheraton. it was the best decision we made. sheraton is just in the beach near black rock and very great hotel compare to other resorts near them. We went to look into other resorts to see if we made a wrong decision by paying extra few bugs, but no regrets there. The best resort in Lahaina. No doubts.

This is what we did.

Day 1: went to snorkling with Teralani catamaran. The best crew. We have 8 month baby, and they are gladly took care of him when we are snorkling. food and drinks are included in the price
Day 2: went to Iao vally state park and attended luau dance. If you dont want to spend money for luau dance there is free luau dance in towndown. you can try that. I didn't know that until I get there
Day 3: Road trip to Hana: A MUST TO DO. breath taking experience. Loved it. if you start early morning, you will have lot of time to explore and less traffic.
Rest of the week, we just spend in the beach, rented snorkel kits and snorkeled a lot in black rock.

The whole island reminded me of I am in my birth town Neyveli except it is island. I didnot see any tree, fruits, vegetables that I did not see in Neyveli. Mango, Guava, banana, lemon, coconut, jack fruit, jasmin and few other flowers I am not able to recall the name in english, almonds (not american type, indian type small one), drumstick vegetable and a lot. We actually stoped at one house and got drumstick leaves and seeds to plant in our house. At the airport check point most of the seeds and vegetales taken by the security officer but allowed to take just a few.

Try http://www.kamaolesands.com/ (Kamaole Sands) I loved it. Just like a condo. They have a nice pool and walking distance to beach. Grocery and shopping places are close by but it's a drive to airport and Lahaina. Drive isn't boring, you enjoy the beautiful nature!

We were there last summer and had a great time! I agree with posts here that the condos are a great deal. A lot of the times, they are cheaper than a typical hotel room. And they are far more convenient with separate bed room(s), full kitchen, living room with sofa-bed etc. We were four of us total including two kids. We stayed a week at Aston Maui Hill Resort near the southern end. It was well worth it as the price was about $150 for a one bedroom, two-bath condo. Aston has other condo resorts too, so you can check those as well.

You can try the Outrigger properties - we had a good experience at Outrigger Eldorado.

We stayed at the Westin Resort in Kanapaali and it was a very pleasant experience, the resort has great swimming pools for kids and the resort is well maintained.