Which Condo's Have you stayed at on Maui?

[DawnCt1]

Our next trip to Maui (hopefully next summer if I can get the return flights) we will stay in a condo. I really like West and South Maui but because we are taking the DS's, there is a little more activity on Ka'anapali Beach. Which condos have you stayed in and how did you like the location. I really like being able to walk to the Whaler Shops and Leilani's but I am having a hard time justifying the K.Alii. I don't know if the Whaler is much for "affordable". Any suggestions? And if you stayed in Wailea, I would like some suggestions for there as well. The Grand Champions look lovely for the $$ but they are really set back from the beach.

 

[ducklite]

Wouldn't know, but to keep this on topic of Hurricane Katrina, DH and I plan on spending our $$ in NOLA next early sumemr for Jazzfest. Hoping to book either the Hilton of the Fairmont as soon as they start taking bookings again!

Anne

 

[Free4Life11]

Can you imagine if a hurricane or tsunami hit Hawaii? It took days to get help to people connected by land...you add in the distance of Hawaii from mainland... AUGH! Plus I heard milk is like $7 a gallon there? I wonder if they pay you higher...

 

[goofy!]

......

 

[ZachnElli]

We stayed at the Puamana this last June/July. We rented from the vacation rentals by owner website. We got a 3 bed/3 bath townhouse ON the beach. It was awesome! It is a gated community off Front St. in Lahaina.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

wrong board perhaps?


(enjoy maui btw)

 

[Laura]

Can you imagine if a hurricane or tsunami hit Hawaii? It took days to get help to people connected by land...you add in the distance of Hawaii from mainland... AUGH! Plus I heard milk is like $7 a gallon there? I wonder if they pay you higher...

Hurricanes and tsunamis have hit the Hawaiian islands on several occasions. Hurricane Iniki was a Category 4 that hit Kaua'i on 9/11/92.

 

[DawnCt1]

I know this is off Katrina topic - but I will go ahead and answer.

Can't help you with the Whaler as we always stay at the Alii. Can't beat the location. And the unit, while a bit pricey (but no more than a suite at WDW) is fantastic. Full kitchen (usually upgraded), washer and dryer, jacuzzi tub and very spacious. We always reserve the 2bedroom/2 bath with den.

If you google the Alii, there are a few private owners that rent their places for a bit less than if you go through the Alii itself.

Yikes, I don't know how I put that on the Katrina board. Sorry guys. I know, I absolutely love the Alii and I can probably find something on www.vbro.com. We stayed next door at the Marriott and probably spent as much per night with the need to eat out, as we would have had we stayed at the Alii.

 

[DawnCt1]

Hurricanes and tsunamis have hit the Hawaiian islands on several occasions. Hurricane Iniki was a Category 4 that hit Kaua'i on 9/11/92.

And the chickens are still loose on Kauai because of it. The Tsunami Museum in downtown Hilo is fascinating. It is in the former Hilo bank because it was one of the few buildings that wasn't destroyed by the tsunami. The wave went in through the front and out the back. The photos really tell the story. Check out the museum at tsunami@aloha.com

 

[DawnCt1]

We stayed at the Puamana this last June/July. We rented from the vacation rentals by owner website. We got a 3 bed/3 bath townhouse ON the beach. It was awesome! It is a gated community off Front St. in Lahaina.

I was thinking about Puamana but I have heard that it isn't a swimmable beach. Did you find that to be true? Were you able to walk to Lahaina town? If you liked your unit could you send me the owner's number on vbro?

 

[DawnCt1]

Can you imagine if a hurricane or tsunami hit Hawaii? It took days to get help to people connected by land...you add in the distance of Hawaii from mainland... AUGH! Plus I heard milk is like $7 a gallon there? I wonder if they pay you higher...

Costco has made grocery shopping in Hawaii more affordable. Even when we didn't have access to Costco, on Kauai for example, I had a Makai card from Foodland (discount shopping card) and a card from Safeway. Even though milk was $6/gal, they had a buy one get one sale. If you shop the loss leaders, you can do okay. I also brought stuff from home; peanut butter, condiments, seasonings, canned tuna and cereal.

 

[aprincessmom]

Which condos have you stayed in and how did you like the location.

Maui El Dorado which is just on the other side of the Sheraton Black Rock. Private beach with fabulous cabana building and friendly staff. Is surrounded by the golf course. Each unit is individually owned so the quality varies but I can vouch highly for L-202 which was a one bedroom but had two full bathrooms, nicely decorated and can sleep about 5 or 6 people (one king, one queen murphy and a HUGE sectional that could easily accomodate two sleeping adults/teens). It was fully equipped as well and maid service each day to clean. The staff there was awesome and the view was terrific. Great pools as well.

I really like being able to walk to the Whaler Shops and Leilani's but I am having a hard time justifying the K.Alii.

Easy walk to the Whaler Shops and the whole area there on the beach -- lovely paved walkway and shuttle available as well.

 

[DawnCt1]

Maui El Dorado which is just on the other side of the Sheraton Black Rock. Private beach with fabulous cabana building and friendly staff. Is surrounded by the golf course. Each unit is individually owned so the quality varies but I can vouch highly for L-202 which was a one bedroom but had two full bathrooms, nicely decorated and can sleep about 5 or 6 people (one king, one queen murphy and a HUGE sectional that could easily accomodate two sleeping adults/teens). It was fully equipped as well and maid service each day to clean. The staff there was awesome and the view was terrific. Great pools as well.

Easy walk to the Whaler Shops and the whole area there on the beach -- lovely paved walkway and shuttle available as well.

That's good to hear about the El Dorado because Wizard Pubs. aerial photos make it look like its far from the beach. I didn't realize it was that close to Black Rock. I will put that on my list. Thanks,

 

[Skatermom23]

Hurricanes and tsunamis have hit the Hawaiian islands on several occasions. Hurricane Iniki was a Category 4 that hit Kaua'i on 9/11/92.

I was on Oahu during that storm. Boy, were we scared. It wasn't like we could leave or anything. I was never so glad to be living in military housing that was made of cement cinder blocks....

 

[aprincessmom]

Their private beach ends right at the Black Rock. DD and I did some snorkeling in shadow of Black Rock...just used some floats from the condo's cabana and swam on over. It was maybe a 100 yard swim to the rock itself. I think we walked across the 5th fairway to get to the condo's beach but you could also go to the Main Office and have the golf cart drive you down whenever you wanted (they pick up as well). The cabana has beach towels, bathrooms, showers, a full kitchen, library and game area, lounge chairs, beach chairs, floats and sand toys.

 

[Tink33]

We stayed at Napili Point. We liked that it was away from the crowds, had one of the best snorkeling spots on the island, and had grills where we could cook fresh fish that we bought at the local store around the corner.

 

[goodeats]

We are going to Maui in June! My good friend is getting married at the Grand Wailea, and we are going to attend the wedding. The Grand Wailea is out of our budget (!) so we are looking at condos. So far it looks like the Ekahi villas in Wailea are our top choice. My friend stayed at them for her honeymoon and can vouch for their location and ammenities.

I also saw Grand Champions, but prefer to be closer to the beach.

 

[DawnCt1]

We are going to Maui in June! My good friend is getting married at the Grand Wailea, and we are going to attend the wedding. The Grand Wailea is out of our budget (!) so we are looking at condos. So far it looks like the Ekahi villas in Wailea are our top choice. My friend stayed at them for her honeymoon and can vouch for their location and ammenities.

I also saw Grand Champions, but prefer to be closer to the beach.

The upper village of Ekahi can still be a ten minute walk to the beach. Do you know if you are closer than that? I would love to stay at Elua. Some of them are so close to the beach but the $$$ goes up. There will also be five of us, which puts us into a 2 bedroom due to the zoning restrictions. Last year however, we did have five of us at the Marriott. I called management ahead of time, told them that I really wanted to stay there but two rooms were not an option and they okayed it. It never hurts to ask.

 

[ZachnElli]

I was thinking about Puamana but I have heard that it isn't a swimmable beach. Did you find that to be true? Were you able to walk to Lahaina town? If you liked your unit could you send me the owner's number on vbro?

We found it very swimmable, as a matter of fact, there is a Puamana public beach right next to the Puamana Estates and you can watch the surfers (you can surf too if you know how ). You can walk to downtown Lahaina but it is a long walk and don't recommend it unless you are doing it for exercise. I did like our unit, but there are some nicer ones too. I'll try to link it to you in a PM.