Maui – May 2025

“There is more to Maui than Lahaina and there is more to Lahaina than Front Street”

This review is solely for the purposes of selling travel.  If any of these resorts in this Destination are of interest to you, I would appreciate that you contact me to help you book your wonderful Maui vacation! 

It has been 7 years since our last visit to Maui and of course a lot has changed given the fires of 2023 that devasted the tourist town of Lahaina.  I figured it was time to go back and see how things have changed and get a firsthand account so that I can reassure clients who might want to plan a trip to the beautiful island of Maui.

THE PROCESS OF GETTING THERE

Because flying from Reno presents its own challenges, I found a great first-class fare on Hawaiian from San Jose, so we opted to fly down the night prior and spend the night by the airport and then again on the way home.   Our Southwest flight from Reno to San Jose was delayed about 90 minutes due to a “bird strike”- I’ve heard of these but had never been directly impacted by them.  They had the mechanics inspect the engines and then run them and all was good.  Better safe vs sorry for sure.   We landed San Jose around 840pm (instead of 715pm), got our luggage, picked up our car rental and headed to our nearby hotel to drop off our bags and then headed to San Mateo to meet up with our friend who was in town from Italy.   We got to spend 2 wonderful hours together with another lifelong friend before heading back to our hotel and in bed by 1230am for a little shut eye before our 11am flight to Maui. 

We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott San Jose Airport, which was located about 10 minutes away. They do have a free hotel shuttle, but we figured we needed the car to visit our friends.  Our hotel room was clean and mostly comfortable, but the bed was not super comfortable, and we heard music all night from outside.  It sounded like piped in music for the hotel’s outdoor space/courtyard but should have been cut off at the same time as the bistro lights.   We stayed at the same hotel at the end of our trip and our experience was much better, we did not have any music running all night long, the bed was more comfortable, we would have been awakened by the garbage trucks if we didn’t already need to be up at 6am for our 8am flight back to Reno.   We arrived to the hotel about 10pm with a ride from their complimentary shuttle, the driver was super friendly and helpful.  The next morning, there was a different driver but equally chipper and helpful.   San Jose was quite busy for the Memorial Day Monday, and we waited a bit to check out bags but then zipped right through TSA pre-check and picked up Starbucks to take to our gate.  Our gate was very thin with people and as expected, only 50 people on our 160 passenger plane to Reno.  We left early and arrived earlier than planned, so a great trip back.

We flew Hawaiian Airlines and I’m not 100% sure, but this might have been our first time flying to Hawaii with them.  I know we have flown on United, Alaska, Virgin America and way back when I’m old enough to have flown Western and PanAm to Hawaii, but other than inter-island, I think this is our first experience for a long flight with Hawaiian Airlines.   I have to say that I am impressed.  The First-Class cabin is very comfortable; the chairs have leg-rests and recline decently. The leg rests are a huge thing for short people, I often feel as though I struggle to get both feet on the ground when the seats are deep.   Our meal was lunch, and I opted for the chicken since the alternative was Eggplant.   The chicken was Ok but mostly because it was Thigh Meat and I’m a white meat girl.    I ate most of it, but it would not have been my choice if the alternative was something I liked.   Bill ate my tofu salad and offered me his roll or dessert, but I was just fine with my own roll and dessert.  We also discovered “Pog Mimosa” in a can by Summer Club and boy they are yummy and if I am calculating properly 2-3 Weight Watcher points for a 12 ounce can, which is excellent for an alcoholic drink.   Our in-flight experience included free Starlink Wi-Fi, which was a huge winner for Bill because he was able to stream the NHRA drag races, though I think the entire first-class cabin heard him say “it’s an all Force Final” – he was so excited he sort of forgot to use his inside voice.   That’s OK, I’ve been known to forget I’m in public when watching a 49er game on my headphones too.   Our flight was mostly smooth, just a little bumpy the last hour, which was expected and announced by the Captain once we were in the air.   Our return flight from Maui to San Jose was a bit bumpier, the food was better. Again, I had a chicken dish, and Bill had the vegetarian option.   The Starlink was again very good, and we watched many streamed programs on the tablet.  I should also note that in First Class, Hawaiian has tablets and headphones for passenger use.    I would fly Hawaiian again, their employees seemed very happy and friendly.  Showing us the Aloha Spirit.

WHERE WE STAYED

We have been Vistana/Marriott Vacation Club owners for approximately 10 years and have used our ownership in a variety of places, but this was our first time using it in Maui.  We stayed at the beautiful Westin Nanea Villas in a 2-bedroom Resort View Villa.   We had another couple join us for the week and the accommodation could not have been any more perfect for two couples traveling together.   Each room with a King bed and a spacious bathroom for each bedroom.  A nice sized full kitchen with a dining table, and a large pull-out couch in the living room with enough storage for anyone who might join you and call the living room their bedroom.   The Lanai was small for a large table and 6 chairs- because we were only 4 people, it worked for us but would have been tight for 6 as some would need to get up and move to let others get to the door.  

The resort has plenty of lounge chairs around the main pool, the kids’ pool and two plunge pools located towards the back of the resort.  Even around the main pool, we had no issues getting lounge chairs and often with an ocean view and we are not early risers who go save chairs.   There is a water slide for the littles along with a zero entry sandy bottom pool with fountains for the kids to play in…then as part of the main pool there is a shallow area with waterfall fountains for the kids to play with, though I enjoyed entry here and walking to sit on the wall that divides the deeper part of the pool for a quick cooling off. 

There are BBQ stations throughout the resort, and it didn’t appear to be an issue finding one available.  Also, nice dining areas if you want to cook and dine right there.   There are two restaurants and one bar on site and a market for anything you might have forgotten.   The “coffee shop” is inside the market but their Espresso machine was broken the entire week we were there, and the staff had no idea when it would be fixed.   That was sort of a bummer, but I survived without my Lattes most days. 

Most of my mornings began with a nice 3-4 mile walk along the Ka’anapali Beach path.  So it is easy to get exercise while visiting Paradise!   We made breakfast or lunch a few times in our villa but also tried a few local places.  We visited Slappy Cakes one morning, tried Java Jazz another morning, both were very good.   We had shopped at Costco and Safeway to stock up on the essentials for the villa but knew that we would not be doing any formal cooking!  It is vacation!   We had a reservation for our first night at our hotel’s restaurant Mauka Makai and we had a decent dinner.  We were not over-thrilled with our meals or the service, but did decide to give it another try later in the week on “Prime Rib Night” and it was fantastic.   We dined at Monkeypod another evening in Whaler’s Village, we did not have reservations but only waited about 25 minutes for our table.  We visited Duke’s (located at Outrigger Honua Kai Resort) twice during our stay, both times as a “walk-up” and only waited 10-20 minutes for a table and we also went to Maui Brewing Company (located at the Outrigger Kaanapali Beach Resort) for another night and waited about 15 minutes for a table there.   I had read so many reviews advising to make reservations, and we just didn’t feel like making a solid plan, but everything worked out very well for us.  The island was in a lower occupancy though as it was the last week of May before Memorial Day weekend which typically kicks off the busy summer season.   I think Bill really enjoyed dining with our friends because they would order several smaller plates and share, so he got to try so many things that he loves, while I was happy having my personal dish- no sharing here!  I’m the picky eater, but we did all share the Hula Pie at Duke’s – twice!

Our days were filled with some relaxation by the pool, and games in the evening, one night we conquered a puzzle, had lots of conversation and laughed!   And Wine!  We visited the Kula Chocolate Factory.  We toured the fields to see where the cocoa beans grow, it was fascinating and then we tasted 9 different chocolate varieties.  I did take two days to visit resorts and will speak to those a bit later in this review, but we managed to be poolside each afternoon. 

As I said at the beginning, though Front Street and many parts of Lahaina were ruined in the 2023 fire, there is a lot of rebuilding going on around the island.  Though you know of the destruction, any debris has been removed.  What I noticed most were empty foundations and then many new structures being built.  Lahaina will be OK, the healing will just take some time but in the meantime, the island needs our tourist dollars to sustain themselves and there is so much to see and do around and about Maui!   I have had clients steer clear of Maui out of fear that it would be depressing and “in your face” with the destruction, nothing could be further from the truth.  Whaler’s Village was bustling with people both day and night, all the restaurants that we visited had live music and a steady stream of patrons; though we never waited long for a table.   We also had perfect weather throughout our stay.

Now for my resort tours!

We took one day to visit a few hotels that were located close to us in the Ka’anapali Area. 

Sheraton Maui Resort is beautiful! Located by Black Rock and on a relatively secluded beach with a nice vibe.  Like most properties, this resort went through extensive renovation during Covid and its light, airy, soothing tones and I was impressed with our tour.  I thought the rooms were gorgeous and the grounds spectacular.   Though the beach is public (as are all beaches in Hawaii), there is limited public access from one side only as the beach ends at Black Rock. 

Hyatt Regency Maui Resort is an old favorite, and we honeymooned here back in 2006!  I do have some regular clients that I send back to this resort on a regular basis.   They have also made renovations in the past few years and have continued to do more.   The only thing that was a bit disappointing is that they no longer have a swim-up bar and the main pool is no longer connected to the sports pool via the cave/grotto tunnel.  It’s been closed off and now there is a big concrete wall that is not quite done, so I imagine once they finish it with tile work, it will look nice.  But having the swim-up bar and the ability to go between the pools via the grotto was cool.

Day two of the hotel visits took us down to the Wailea Area.

Wailea Beach Resort, a Marriott Property, was nice to see.  I’ve never been to this resort before and didn’t realize just how many nooks there are around the resort.  So many pools and areas where you can have some solitude.  It’s a peaceful resort and I thought that the rooms were done quite nicely.    There was really something for everyone at this resort and a huge focus on being family-friendly but not “in your face with families”, so ideal for couples too. 

Our next stop was at the Grand Wailea Resort, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel and to my surprise, we were also taken to view a villa at Ho’olei.  I’ve stayed at the Grand Wailea before and have toured the property several times, so it was very nice to see one of the 3-bedroom villas.  The villas are all independently owned and decorated, the one we saw was Ocean View, located high atop the bluff and there was more than enough space and amenities.  An easy walk to the pools and beaches of Grand Wailea, but I’d take the shuttle back to the villa.  The Garden View units are located closer to the Hotel and an easy walk to/from.   Our tour of the Grand Wailea Resort was extensive and this resort also did many renovations over the last few years and she is in great shape!  Their spa is amazing too!

We then ventured to Andaz Maui for a self-guided tour of the property. I was unable to see any of the rooms.   It’s a compact resort and lots of stairs.  We walked down several stairs to visit the cascading pools, which were impressive and then finally found an elevator to go back up to the lobby.   The resort had a chill vibe, and employees were very welcoming to us (I think they thought we were guests who had just arrived).  We noticed several dining venues though we were visiting between meals, so they were closed.

On our way back to our resort, we stopped at one final hotel, the Outrigger Kaanapali Beach Resort.  This used to be the Kaanapali Beach Hotel and I stayed here some 30 years ago.  It is “old Hawaii” and even though Outrigger has purchased the property, it still had that old Hawaiian vibe and they plan to keep all the things that guest love about KBH.  This resort has one of the largest “repeat guest” lists.  They have renovated just about all rooms, the last section is in the process now and soon they will begin a major renovation of the pool but they plan to keep much of the beautifully landscaped grounds and lawn areas.  They now have the Maui Brewing Company on property and as stated above, we had the pleasure of dining here one evening.  I believe having the restaurant brings the resort up a notch, yet still staying true to the Hawaiian vibe. 

As always, I am happy to help you plan your vacation to the Hawaiian Islands and travel to places so that I can better help my clients and match them to the perfect resorts!

Here are some photos from these resort tours:

Sheraton Maui

Hyatt Regency Maui

Wailea Beach Resort by Marriott

Grand Wailea Resort, A Walforf Astoria Property

Villas of Ho’Olei at Grand Wailea Resort

Andaz Maui

Outrigger Kaanapali Beach Resort