Having stayed in the Ka'anapali area several times over 15 years ago, we felt that although at the high end of the spectrum, the rest of Maui would not have followed far behind. Kihei, simply put, is one of the poor man's sides of town in my opinion. My first clue to this was the drive in from the airport- as we reached the beach area our first glimpse of the shoreline was a driver who had pulled over and with no attempt to conceal his anguish, proceeded to annoint the sacred grounds with his urine.
Although this was an exception to the following four days we spent in Kihei, I would think twice about choosing this area to stay. The people were friendly enough and we never felt unsafe, it is just far from the nicest part of the island. If you can afford a little more, I would suggest you stay elsewhere on the Island.
We stayed for four days in Unit B-202, a one bedroom unit that was rented four days in early August. We used this condo on the advice of someone my wife knows who stays in one of the units for the entire month of July or August I believe. Since it was part of a package (allabouthawaii.com) deal, I figure it cost about $150.00 a night. The condos consist of two tall structures which face each other at an angle, perpendicular to the beach. There is an A side and a B side.
Pros: All units pretty much on the beach, although more apartment than condo style. This unit was pretty large and included an oversized refrigerator, stacked washer and dryer (knob on washer broken and immovable from the "hot water" position, dishwasher, Cable TV, etc., etc. Has all of the cookware you would expect in your own home. Convenient also to what shopping there is. We found ourselves driving more back to the Airport/Lahaina/ Ka'anapali side of the island most of the time, though. Plenty of free parking in the adjoining lot. Since I am in the food and wine business I will post reviews on the restaurants we ate at, particularly Mama's Fish House which was pretty spectacular.
Cons: The unit has two air conditioners. The one in the bedroom worked fine but even after cleaning out the filter on the one in the front room I never felt cold air blowing out in the four days we were there. We just kept the one in the bedroom at 72 degrees constantly and that made it tolerable. I should have reported it to the management company (which is never on site on these condos, you know) and they may or may not have been able to do anything. TIP: if you are going to be using ice at all, check the ice in the freezer at any condo right away. Ours smelled and tasted really funky. Before we left I emptied it all out so it would make new ice for the next guests. The bathroom off the entry/living room is very small and all but the most diminutive of us will find ourselves riding the commode semi-sidesaddle because of the proximity to the shower door.
Considering the size of our next condo in Kauai (see review on Kanalei Bay Resort), we may have done better than I originally thought, although I would still prefer visiting Kihei on a day trip from a hotel on the north island area.
- Maui Sunset
