TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Nice resort reserved through Airbnb. Dukes restaurant on site, great pools, and excellent location. 1st visit to Maui and would hope to return. Very happy we were able to experience old town Lahaina with dinner at Kimos, visiting the shops, and just an all around good vibe. Hope they are able to rebuild just like it was!!

To be honest our last time here was Feb of 2020 for a family of 7. Did 3 years in a row here. We always had a mountain view room, we LOVED it, those rainbows against the mountains are beautiful. They always took care of us, we actually asked for our room to be turned over once, no need to have it cleaned daily, just a change of towels half way through was plenty. Room was a 2 bed, 2 bath with a pull out sofa, every time. Perfect for us. 5 stars for all of that. Unfortunately, our time has come to an end with this resort. 2022 and 2023 we went back to Maui, like always we plan far in advance but prices have skyrocketed here. It is close to $5,000 more than what we paid in the past but the rooms are smaller too, a den in place of a bedroom minus one bathroom. Plus the beach area is NOT swimmable, lots of rocks and looks like they were trying to burn down trees maybe clearing it out (not sure), still walkable and petty to look at, walk down a few minutes and you have better beaches. Pay more for less, it was fun while it lasted. I still suggest this place to smaller families. We now stay in the Napili area, better beach and plenty room, such a desirable area and it costs less. Thanks for the memories HK! Side note we have no plans of going to Maui anytime soon, I cannot morally think of any reason I would take away essential resources for the victims of this horrible fire just so we can go on a vacation, we are planning to donate. Peace and calm are sent to all of Maui, you’re a strong Island!

We've now stayed at Honua Kai three times. When we travel with our now 4yo, we love the flexibility of having multiple bedrooms. We stay at another hotel in Ka'anapali and when we arrive to Honua Kai for the second part of our trip it somehow feels so much more relaxing! We love the following: - pool area - layout of two bedroom condo; in our family, it allows whatever parent is monitoring during nap time to actually enjoy the vacation while the other parent can go snorkeling or whatnot - views of the ocean from partial ocean view rooms (WHALES from January-March) - renting from condo owners rather than direct, allows us to choose our exact unit - a few food options on site that allow us to get by if needed - the ambience at night sitting on your lanai - the location - nicely situated on Ka'anapali, but convenient to more of the northwest part of Maui too, a great place to beach hop from Things that would have been helpful to know: - the beach here is not SUPER little kid friendly in comparison to other parts of Ka'anapali. Obviously you need to monitor all young babies like a hawk near the ocean, but this is the type of waves/water where you won't want most toddlers/preschoolers even tiptoeing in without you (at least in my experience) - most units have beach chairs or pool tubes in them - Duke's gets busy! Don't expect to just walk in for dinner if you're during a busy season - you need to rent a car...it would be super inconvenient if you didn't - we often book last minute on vrbo or similar. Prices really fluctuate depending on when you book but last minute competitive pricing is not unheard of - the poolside drinks at Duke's are just okay compared to the other hotel we stay at. Tip: Go to the Fish Market nearby for fresh poke and plates!

We stayed here for 9 days in July in an oceanview 2 bedroom condo. For over 12k I expected so much more. First the room - stains all over the carpets it was gross. The washer was moldy and you had to slam the door a few times before it would work. We needed to request spatula, cutting board and kitchen cleaning supplies. The kitchen is not equipped. We rented this because we needed the kitchen to cook and if you have similar needs you may need to make requests upon check in. Because each unit is independently owned the resort will only do so much. (We rented from the resort but keep in mind if you don’t you will not have access to certain assistance). Cleaning fee is ALOT when they only come in 1x in 9 days. This is not like a regular resort. The onsite services are lacking. There is small store that serves coffee and breakfast items and has some grocery items but that’s it. The only restaurant onsite is DUKES and make sure to make a reservation or you could be waiting hours. (Check out the food trucks next to the resort, faster and better food!) There is another store with more options in the other building and you can walk down to the other resorts and use theirs which were much better. The pools are full all the time. We have teens and they didn’t even want to go in the pools. So many people and kids you can barely move in the pools. If you want a chair get down to the pool at 7am. The concierge services were interesting. The lady was not pleasant or very helpful unless you agreed to buy something and seemed to bothered to talk to us to long. We wanted to rent snorkel equipment. She gave us a 50% off coupon off resort saying it was cheaper - we thought great. Went to get it and after being fitted and ready to go they said the 50% is only good for a 10 day rental. We only wanted a few days. Not an option and after spending an hour there picking stuff out we just paid it and took it. ($350 for 3 sets of snorkel equipment, 2 foam boards, 4 chairs and an umbrella). She didn’t tell us and neither did the snorkel place and the coupon doesn’t say it so make sure to ask questions as they all work together to make money. The coffee shop employees were not happy every day we were there. Not sure what it was but no one smiles or said good morning and would not engage in an conversation. The beach, is steep. You go in the water and there is huge drop. There are much nicer beaches in the area but if you wanted a nice walkable beach this is probably not the best. The positive - There was a nice walking trail from the resort to other resorts. There was some vendors that were out 2x during the week which made shopping easy. The bellmen were amazing, friendly and very helpful, more than any other staff we encountered. The rooms were spacious which gave room and space for all travelers. The beds were comfortable. The balcony and views were very nice. NOTE - pictures will show cushions and you will see come balcony’s have them and some don’t. We called requesting some and they said they don’t have them. The furniture and terribly uncomfortable. If you are paying this much you want to enjoy outside seating that is comfortable this was not the case which was shame given the views were spectacular. I would not stay here again. I would stay at an VRBO or AirBNB as they are more affordable. I thought we were getting more convinces and service with a resort, not the case. Not for us, would not stay again and no a friendly environment. Disappointing for our first trip to Maui. We had way more fun at Halekala, Road to Hana and Lahaina than on the resort.

We have stayed at the Westin down the street before and decided to try out this property this year. CONS: - it kinda of acts like a resort but it is has less services than a hotel - DO NOT COME HERE WHEN IT IS HOT! The rooms have terrible air conditioning. No matter how much you run the AC, it is always humid in your room. - the common areas have no air conditioning or ventilation making it absolutely miserable when you are waiting on the slow elevators; not something I ever worried about when going to a resort for some reason here it is a real issue - there is no beach service for food or drink - if you are at the beach and want an lounge chair and an umbrella for the day, that will cost you $100 (the one we got needed a paint job) - the beach is lame; no waves (not their fault I know) - the property is OK; the pools are lame for a resort; I mean this is where most people spend their time when coming to a property like this. It needs to be better. PROS: - The underground parking situation is great. - The onsite restaurant is great. The pork sandwich is fire! - Good location to nearby shops and restaurants but you will want to have a car There are better places to spend $800 per night.