Kaanapali area or Kihei area? Where to stay?

Looking for something beautiful but not to crowded. Beachfront condo. Which area is more desirable for 7 days? We would like to see most of the island.

If Kaanapali I%26#39;m deciding between the Napili Bay Resort and the Maui Kai Beach Resort. Any thoughts?

If Kihei any thoughts on the Maui Beach Vacation Club?

Thanks for any help.

Kaanapali area or Kihei area? Where to stay?

It will be much easier to ';see most of the island'; if you do not stay up in a corner of it: West Maui. (See the ';Wild Fire'; post on this forum, which mentions the problem with West Maui%26#39;s access road. Read the quote from the hotel reception person about how often there *is* a problem because of that road.)

Do you want to stay *on* the beach or be a short stroll to it, with close *ocean views*? All beaches in Hawaii are public, so you have access to every beach and never have ';exclusive'; rights to any beach. Especially if you want to be on a beach that has good swimming and snorkeling, I would recommend S. Maui -- its coastline is one long beach, broken up by some lava outcroppings. Good lodgings can be found from S. Kihei all the way to Makena.

On the beach in S. Kihei: Hale Pau Hana; Kihei Surfsider; Mana Kai.

Across from the beach in S. Kihei: Kamaole Sands; Hale Kamaole; Maui Kamaole.

On the beach in Wailea: Any of the four major hotels; Wailea Ekahi; Polo Beach Club.

Above the Beach in Wailea: Grand Champions; The Palms.

On the beach in Makena: Makena Surf.

Also consider the amenities within each hotel or condo complex; the size of the room or condo; proximity to swimmable beaches; low rise vs. high rise.

Kaanapali area or Kihei area? Where to stay?

dnvaliant,

I have not stayed at either place you mentioned but I would suggest reading the reviews here on T/A. We stay at the Mahana and have only stayed on this side. IMO, there are many more things to do/see on a daily basis than South Maui. We typically stay 2 weeks in Sept or October and have always worked around the ';traffic'; and really have not found it to be a problem. When we travel to the southside, which we do 4-5x to different beaches,restuarants or excursions the traffic seems the same to us.

When we have taken a trip to Haleakala,Hana or one of the beaches we simply missed the morning/evening traffic and then when we went out to dinner %26amp; shopping in on Frint St(Lahaina) or Whaler%26#39;s Village we were only 5-10 minutes from our condo. I don%26#39;t know that their is a bad decision and it is not that far apart.

Aloha!

Personally, I MUCH prefer WEST Maui and the Kaanapali area. You mentioned the Maui Kai which is lovely, and it has great views. Furthermore, it is a bit removed from the hustle of Kaanapali Beach whcih is nice. You should also look at Napili Shores...it is quiet and you can walk down a path to a lovely little beach.

Bryan Brown

BBrown9825@aol.com

ChiSue%26#39;s bias against Kaanapli / West Maui and her favoritism for Kihei is showing through.

It is not true that it is much easier to ';see most of the island'; if you do not stay up in a corner of it: West Maui. West Maui is one of the HIGHLIGHTS of Maui so obviously if you are staying in West Maui it is much easier to see West Maui. Virtually everyone who goes to Maui, no matter where they stay, spend some time in West Maui. On the other hand most people who stay in West Maui have no interest in going to Kihei becuase Kihei doesn%26#39;t have anything that West Maui doesn%26#39;t have. Kihei is not a HIGHLIGHT of Maui and if you miss it you haven\%26#39;t missed anything.

What is the significance of the reference to the ';Wild Fire'; post on this forum, which mentions the problem with West Maui%26#39;s access road.? The poster is complaining because they are stuck in Kihei and they can%26#39;t get to West Maui. And just how often is the road to west Maui blocked off by a wild fire?

Kihei is a nondescript string of condos . It is the low budget section of Maui and it is low budget for a good reason. Stay there only if you can%26#39;t afford one of the better sections of Maui such as Kaanapali, Kapalua, Napili, or Wailea.

we just got back from Maui and stayed at the Hale Kamaole in Kihei. We drove to west Maui 2x , once for the Feast at LeLe and again on our last day just to see what the hype is about West Maui. West Maui had condo%26#39;s on both side of the road, packed together, very crowded and we got stuck in a huge traffic jam around 3:30 in Lahaina trying to get back south. It also takes longer to get to most of the attractions on Maui. I found Kihei to be very pleasing , especially for the budget traveler. There are not many condo complexes right on the beach but there are a few. South Maui also had better snorkeling beaches, the waves in the west Maui area were huge the day we were there and we couldn%26#39;t snorkle at all. We also stayed 3 nights in Pukalani area at a private cottage and this was very close to Halelakala and the Paia area and from there went horseback riding at Mendez Ranch.

You can read all the opinions and you will find supporters of both areas. In the end you have to make your own choice.

Just went back and looked at Budweiser%26#39;s comments. Kihei was not full of nondescript condos. There were some pretty nice ones and everyone that goes to Maui is not rich. We looked at the Whaler in Kaanapali and personally thought it ridiculous to pay $300 a night for a 1 bedroom condo when all you do is sleep in it at night. The only thing it had going for it was it%26#39;s location to Whaler%26#39;s Village and the beach. If you plan on planting yourself on the beach all day and shopping then it%26#39;s a good choice. I personally find there are better places to spend money than on accommodations if you are going to tour the island.

Yup, I do favor South Maui -- which is a lot more than Kihei, and Kihei itself is scarcely ';budget'; with condos bringing $900 per sq ft.

I%26#39;m not ';biased';, which indicates prejudice (meaning to pre-judge). DH and I aren%26#39;t PRE-judging; we bought in South Maui after seeing many condos on all four major islands for over 25 years.

South Maui%26#39;s northernmost end in Kihei does have older condos, with more similarity to neighboring Maalea. The middle of Kihei (if there *is* a middle) has real life necessities like grocery shopping, a post office, etc. The south end of Kihei, Wailea and Makena are deluxe by anyone%26#39;s standards.

Re: Traffic. West Maui has a problem that can%26#39;t be ignored, both internally and due to the connector road. It can be fun to observe that hustle and high-rise living. I%26#39;m all for visiting, I just don%26#39;t choose to live there. People who want more ';city'; lifestyle should stay in West Maui. If you want more quiet and easier access to the rest of the island (as the OP requested), South Maui is the better choice. You can cruise along two lane Kihei Road at 25 MPH or use the four lane Piilani Hwy. at 45 MPH.

Now, if Maui will just get Molukele completely converted to four lanes... (I%26#39;ve contributed my tax payments: GET, TAT, Real Property. They should fund a few more inches of roadbed.)

Bud -- I%26#39;ve ';showed you mine'; (where I live mainland and on Maui). How %26#39;bout you?

IMO, I think the whole west Maui traffic thing gets blown way out of proportion? We go duing the off season so maybe it%26#39;s a lot worse when we are not there?

I do agree about people not spening that much time in their condo and only sleeping there but we pay for a 1bdrm condo oceanfront and pay just slightly over 1/2 the $300 the other poster mentioned.

For us West Maui works best and we enjoy the things to do much more than Kihei. IMO, if we stayed in Kihei we would feel like we are staying in an apartment and not on vacation but I also think that each person should stay where they prefer. All of the posters including myself are simply offering their opinion(s).

I would suggest getting the Maui Revealed book and see what it says about West/South Maui and decide for yourself and the book is a great read on Maui.

I didn%26#39;t say Kihei was ';cheap';. I said it was the ';low budget'; section of Maui and it is just that. It is the part of Maui where condos can be rented or purchased for less than almsot any other part of Maui.

Has it become impossible for someone to express an opinion on these boards and not be berated for it????? If so, what%26#39;s the point??!!

Den

asp hosting