Maui Kaanapali Villas

I was very hesitant after booking this place. I had no idea if the affordability of this place was going to translate to a dump. After driving by the Marriotts and Westin’s I was nervous, the outside seemed less than glamorous. The front desk service was inviting and pleasant. She informed me I was upgraded to a premium hotel room for free. This is key for those of you booking here. I saw inside some rooms and they seemed dreary, run down and out dated. Being that the outside wasn’t spectacular I was so happy when I opened the door to a modern, clean room. The next morning I realized I had hit a jackpot. The people were so kind, I was steps from one of the most gorgeous beach with a beautiful view of the other islands. The people staying here were all wonderful and shared stories of loving this place and come back time and time again. You might not have all the upscale amenities of other places but this is affordable and still very nice, besides who spends all there time at the hotel when you are in Maui!! If you are looking for affordable and comfortable with beautiful surroundings, I highly suggest this place. P.s. if you book through a third party timeshare you have less control of what you get and how it’s kept up. And there isn’t much the hotel can do for you

There are newer places on Maui that someone could stay for a less 80's vibe than what this place gives off, but we were 25 yds from the beach and overlooking the pool from our second story privately owned villa. It was a cheap remodel, but it was decent overall. I didn't care for the constant stream of ants that were there all over the kitchen. We walked in and the counter was basically moving with tiny little ants swarming it. it was clean, it just has an ant problem. My other issue I have with the property, being on the front south side we were on.. The 'beach walk' went under our building, cutting between us and the pool, then leading out to the parking lot heading north. Why is that a bad thing? For us it was just watching a spectacle of people walking and running by below our lanai. For the people who were on the ground floor below us in our building.. Imagine going out on your lanai and having hundreds upon hundreds of people walking past you about 15' away all day long. Like having a highway of people while you are just trying to sit outside and relax, never mind that their privacy would have been next to nil even if they went inside and didn't have their drapes closed. it makes for less than an intimate setting with them showing photos of the property with no one on them. When reality is the exact opposite. We had people basically staring up at us when we were eating, or just hanging out on our lanai. The signs call it the 'beach walk', once you are heading towards whalers village and back, I called it the poop walk, or garbage walk. The smells from the back of all the hotels and properties, where the beach walk leads you. It is the grossest areas on any property. Parking is also an issue, you pay $20 a day for a resort fee, yet they will shove you in a parking lot that is on the exact opposite corner of the property. So parking any closer is basically a free for all along the street and in any of the parking lots closer to where the front pool and beach villas are. You can find one, but it happens at certain times when everyone leaves for the day, or in the evening when people drive to go to dinner somewhere. What they don't tell you.. Bring all your card keys and your striped towels back to the front desk when you check out. I wasn't sure and we were already hauling our luggage back to the vehicle when I checked out, I had to run back and get those in order not to be charged for losing them. The beach out front is decent, but as long as it is.. There really isn't much real estate between the bushes and the wash of the waves all along the beach. Our second day all along the front of the property maybe had 10 parcels of dry sand where people could lay out, or set up their beach chairs. They put up warning signs about the waves and how deep the water gets just a few feet beyond where the waves roll over onto the beach. The first day wasn't that bad, but the second day people were getting tossed, we saw multiple people lose their glasses and sunglasses while they were just standing in the water, or right next to the water. There isn't anything worth looking at if you try and snorkle in front the property either. Maybe if you wanted to find a pair of sunglasses someone lost? It isn't the best property we have stayed at in Hawaii, but is also isn't the worst that is out there. On Maui, it is the second from the bottom for us and that is only because our least favorite was along the golf course with no easy access to the beach.

We had a nice week here - people are very friendly, apartment was qite roomy - house keeper was always nice and early. Loved to spacious dressing room area. Didnt really use many facilities, however free trolley service to Whalers was great. Tried to rent a cabana bed on the beach however all had been hired as not many of them - and beach attendant wasnt too helpful. Apart from this cannot fault the resort. Grounds always nicely cared for.

We loved everything about this resort. The rooms, the location, beach, pool, etc. It is difficult to find hotels with 2 King or Queen sized beds and a sleeper sofa. We chose renting a private condo at MKV because it had 2 Queens and a sleeper, plus a kitchen and washer/dryer. It was incredibly large and comfortable. The MVK resort is just north of Black rock on Kaanapali beach. We steered clear of the condo sales & activities desk and “free drinks” and were never bothered with any sales pitches.

We stayed for 15 days at the end of August with my wife and son. As aways the room was perfect and the grounds were always very neatly kept. The pool was very nice as well. We rented a cabana for the time we were there, which I highly recommend. The location was great, with the Luau next door and along the nice beach path that goes all the way to the Whalers Village.