Condos - Maui Banyan vs. Maui Parkshore

[adjuster-jd]

I'm looking at several different condos to rent in Kihei - several units available at Maui Banyan and one at Maui Parkshore. Anyone have thoughts on on place vs. another?

 

[Abidon]

I stayed at the Maui Banyan for a week in May, 2006 with my fiance' (who's now my wife). We stayed in a one-bedroom standard with a partial ocean view. If you look up this hotel on Expedia or TripAdvisor, you'll find many recent reviews that are pretty spot-on with our experience. We're the type of travelers who spend as little time in the room as possible, so take my review with a grain of salt.

• The room was nice, if not a little outdated. There's ample parking on the hotel grounds. I have no complaints about the job that houskeeping did. Also, there are BBQ grills and swimming pools on the hotel grounds. I don't know why anyone would go to the pool when the beatiful beach is just a stones throw away.

• My only complaint with the room is that it didn't have central air-conditioning. The window unit A/C in the living room was adequate enough to cool that room and the kitchen, but not the bedroom. Being form dry So Cal, I don't do well with humidity, so I spent a couple of nights sleeping on the living room sofa.

• The room had a functional kitchen that comes in handy for making your own breakfast & lunches. I wouldn't use it to cook a gourmet dinner, though.

• I'm sure you're aware of its close proximity to the beach. It's about a two minute walk. There's heavy traffic on the road you have to cross, but it only takes about a minute of waiting for the traffic to clear to safely cross the street.

• Since I stayed there before I was certified, I'm not sure what the diving is like from that particular beach. There were a couple of dive shops that were close enough to walk to. The only name I can remember is Maui Dive Shop.

• It's located in a perfect spot. I don't think we drove more than 45 minutes to any destination along the western coast.

Because of the air-conditioning situation, I probably wouldn't choose to stay there again. But, if I had to stay there, I certainly wouldn't complain. It's Maui for crying-out-loud!:cool2:

 

[bobmaggi]

We stayed at the Maui Banyan for 3 weeks, 3 separate trips. We stayed in a 1 BR 2 BA condo. It only had an A/C in the living room, too, but also had an osc. fan to circulate the air. In our condo the BR was right beside the LR with a sliding door between the 2. Not sure how the bedroom (in the poster above) was situated near the LR and the A/C, but having the fan worked out well for us. The condo complex also has many gas grills by the pool to use-- at least 5-6 by each pool area ( there are 2 pools in the complex).

We just got back from another 3 week trip and stayed this time at the Maui Vista. A bit smaller condo, and only 1 BA vs. 2 at the Banyan. Same situation w/ 1 A/C but this time the BR was in the back and further away from the A/C. Also had a fan and it all worked out fine. The Maui Vista has 3 buildings w/ 3 pools and 3 grill areas, but only 2 grills per area....for ~100 units each...

The Maui Banyan was a lot closer to the Maui Boat Ramp, but the Maui Vista was more centered in between the Boat Ramp and the dive shop ( B & B)

Hope this helps. Maggi

 

[Blazinator]

I'm booked at the Hale Hiu Kai (just a tad south of the Kihei Boat Ramp) May 12 - 26th and can give you a review when I get back.

Someone on Scubabord here mentioned it, so I looked it up Hale Hui Kai Vacation Rental Condominium | Kihei, Maui, Hawaii and it appeared to be all we wanted - right on the ocean for $175.00 a night (four people in our group), 2BR 2bath, nice kitchen and LR. No AC though, but considering the time of year, and I heard that the cool winds from Haleakela fall down the slope into Kihei in the evenings for less than 70Ž° nighttime temps.

ShoreDiving.com has a decent review of the point right in front of the Hotel, and we may dive it out of convenience as well as night dive (in addition to the other sites).

Of course if you're looking for a smaller place for less people, better prices can be had.

 

[adjuster-jd]

Yeah, we need 2 bedrooms. The owner of the Maui Parkshore unit never responded to my emails so I went ahead and reserved a 2 bedroom unit at Maui Banyan. It does have AC which can make a difference - at least my wife prefers it. We really spend little time in our rooms when we're on Maui - usually on the beach, out hiking the rain forest, or underwater somewhere. The kids do like the pools also, but since we'll be so near a nice beach, we'll probably spend more time at the beach.

We'll be there July 25-August 1 if anyone wants a dive buddy that week. My daughter doesnt want to do night dives with me so I'll be looking for someone to night dive with that week.

Thanks for all the advice.