Places to stay in Wailea/Kihei?

[SBP Studios]

WE are in Maui for 9 days and 7 of them are at the Hyatt, e are wanting to venture AWAY from Lahaina/Kaanapali etc, heard Kehei is great.

Anyone familiar with any places to stay down there? We are looking into the Pineapple inn. Anyone familiar?

Thanks in advance!

Gene and Heather

 

[Wildcard]

Kehei, great? Ummm. OK. So just drive there, it's only 30 minutes away.

 

[SBP Studios]

Kehei, great? Ummm. OK. So just drive there, it's only 30 minutes away.

Alrighty then Any preference or opinion on Kihei over Wailea?

 

[SBP Studios]

Were you implying Kihei is nothing special?

We are just wanting to go someplace away from it all that has a nice beach and is'nt going to cost $400 a night.

Any other reccomendations? We are also planning on diving Cathedrals out of Lahaina as well as Molokini.

 

[Wildcard]

Kehai is kind of low end touristy and I never liked it much at all. Maybe a BnB upcountry? Makawao is very nice or real old school hawaii Paia. Hands down Wailea over Kehai.

 

[SCUBAJENNIFER]

I was able to find many nice Ohana's in the Kihei area on www.Maui.net They are usually people's guesthouses. I've stayed in a couple different ones. One was right on the beach and they are usually quite reasonable.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Wailea is a lovely area below Kihei that will cost you much more than Kihei condos. I prefer Kihei myself.

Go to www.vrbo.com and click on the links to Maui and check it out if you want to rent directly from condo owners.

Don't do Molokini with any operation unless they use the south kihei boat ramp. I use B&B scuba myself and while other operations are fine further up north it's a long boat ride with a late arrival to Molokini. Late arrival means the wind is up and the diving isn't as pleasant.

 

[Puddle Pirate]

I've stayed at the Pineapple Inn. It is just above Wailea in Maui Meadows but has a Kihei address. It only has four rooms plus a cottage with two bedrooms. Saltwater swimming pool, Jacuzzi and a lot of tropical gardens. There is nothing that comes close to it as far as price for what you get, as far as rooms thay are similar to the Grand Wailea rooms.

 

[Charlie99]

WE are in Maui for 9 days and 7 of them are at the Hyatt, e are wanting to venture AWAY from Lahaina/Kaanapali etc, heard Kehei is great.

Lahaina is a tourist destination with shops, art galleries etc. Front Street is well suited for strolling around.

Kihei is a rather ordinary town that happens to be right next to some beautiful beaches. Not what I would call a destination. Several miles long and just a few blocks wide, it is a string of strip malls and condos, with the ocean just across the street in most areas.


Wailea has high end golf course, condo, and high end resort hotels. It has one upscale shopping mall. It also has a nice beachfront walk from Polo Beach all the way past Ulua. Although the Wailea Community Assoc spends lots of money to keep the roadside landscaping beautiful, there isn't really much to do or see in Wailea.

There are lots of places to go play tourist on Maui --- Iao Valley, Hookipa park to watch windsurfer, Honolua Bay to watch surfers, Haleakela summit for awesome views of the crater, Paia to see hippies leftover from the '60s, etc. Kihei and Wailea aren't anywhere near the top of the list.

=====================

OTOH, it is about 45 minutes between Lahaina and Kihei/Wailea, and staying a few days in West Maui (Lahaina/Kaanapali) and a few days in South Maui (Kihei/Wailea) makes sense. The Kihei boat ramp is the best place to catch boats to Molokini. Mala Ramp in Lahaina is the best place to catch boats to Lanai.

Top notch hotels in Wailea include the Four Season and Grand Wailea. Kihei has many lower cost condo options. As Al mentions above, www.vrbo.com (vacation rentals by owners) is a good way to find good deals on condo rentals.