Hawaii...well it's WAY out west! Condo help

[noryglory]

Hi, I know that Hawaii doesn't officially count here but I wondered if anyone had any luck in finding a similar forum like this for Hawaii-related stuff. In particular, I am trying to arrange a family reunion to Maui and do about two-three condos. I don't know where to start. I've tried a few sites and several sites had good features, but no one has everything that I need. Basically I'd love to find a site that would allow me to navigate condos for rent at various places that I could see what I'm getting and allow me to rent the condos side-by-side. So many individuals rent their condos out that even when I find something comprehensive, I can't find more than one condo at a time...and of course we'd all like to be really close together even if we are at the same resort/complex. We have 13 people so we will probably need three condos or one big house.

Anyone been through this and know what I can do? Or have a favorite condo place in Maui--at this point I am not particular to actual location on the island but it must be Maui. Thanks in advance for any info/light you can shed.

 

[farmfresh]

I have travelled to Maui many times, often staying in condos. The best thing to do is choose which area you want to be in. Ther are a large number of owner operated condos, but often they are also managed by a group as well.

Basically, there is the the Kaanapali area, which is most popular, and then there is the area around Wailea, further south. The best location for you will be governed by price, and the things you wnat, eg proximity to beach, golf etc. Also climate makes a difference - some areas are windier or rainier, depending on the season - trade winds etc. In between are a myriad of other areas. We often stay in Kahana, a few minutes north of Kaanapali and Lahaina.and use the Kahana Sunset. This is a low key condo with its own pool and beach (this is now a complete rarity on Maui.) You need to hire a car for this location, but it does have shops etc nearby. Kapalua, a littel further north, has golf course condos.

Kaanapali has many many condos that are privately owned but managed by a group. Some are beach front, some are directly across the road from the beach. Try a search for Kaanapali condos - you'll find them managed by the big hotel names like Westin, and outrigger - also try Kaanapali alii. You may end up finding a bunch of owner operated , but start his way to sort out what you need.

 

[disneydenisel]

Wow, a trip for 13 to Maui sounds like a great trip! I planned a trip to WDW for 13 once, and two trips to Lake Tahoe for 15!

We go to Maui every year, so maybe we can help. Can you tell me what time of year and what kind of budget you are looking at? Are you looking for some place that comes with hotel-type services, or just a simple condo? We were married on Maui 10 years ago, and stayed in a little place called Lokelani. I think that it was about $100/night at the time for a 2 bedroom. That was a long time ago, and now we have two children (6 & almost 9), so we stay at the Westin Ka'anapali, because there are pools, slides, a great snorkeling beach, restaurants, etc. A studio for a week (sleeps 4) could rent for $1500-2000, a one bedroom (sleeps 4) could rent from $2200-2800, and a 2 bedroom (sleeps 8) could rent for $3500-4200.

You could try craigslist for local house rentals, and also vrbo.com. For timeshare rentals (Westin, Marriott, and others), you probably can't guarantee that units will be close together. If you absolutely have to be right next to each other, then your best bet it to rent from a really small place that does owner rentals, and then you can request that the units be next to each other.

 

[CPT Tripss]

VRBO.com (Vacation Rental by Owner) has lots of listings . . . in some areas too many! It's a good spot to get an idea of how the market is . . . prices etc.

 

[DangerMouse]

Subscribing, as I'm looking for condo rentals in Maui for my family of 5 as well. . .

 

[noryglory]

Wow thanks for all the replies already. I am having "condo overload" on all my research. My mom is actually in charge of this trip, but clearly being a Disboard freak you can know who will really be in charge of this trip. Ahem, that is to say that she's paying and I'm planning! Gotta like that.

Okay. Here's the deal. We want....

Last week in March 2009. Some flexibility here but that would be ideal. For about a week.

Three condos, ideally right next to each other so we can "be together" and have our own place to crash. Four of us will be in one, four of us in another, and five in the third. So, three two-bedrooms would probably work (if one could have a rollaway or a hideabed option for the family of five).

We need Ocean or Beach front accommodations. My mom has made it very clear that she does not like the idea of us having to drive to beach it. That will be the main focus of our "entertainment" as it were and with the huge group of us it would be nice to pop in and out of our condos (a short walk would be okay) to use facilities, get snacks, have part of the party go in when part of the party wants to stay at the beach, etc.

I would personally prefer the feel of a "low density" two or three story units set in a picturesque tropical grounds. Some people rave about a condo and I go to the website and it's some massive twenty-story monstrosity on the beach. Eh. No thanks. If we could have a ground floor room or at best a short walk down a few stairs from the second floor that'd be super.

Must have at least one decent pool.

Must have tennis courts. (This is my family's particular need, none of the rest of the group must have this but since I'm doing the narrowing down of the list this will surely help me find the right place.)

Finally, budget. Not really sure but I know my mom was thinking "a couple of condos" but realistically you can only do that legally if you group is six or less in each condo. With the thirteenth (unlucky number thirteen!!) we can't really do this. (Plus honestly this gets my family its own condo so I'm happy to say Gee mom we can't really share.... ) So, I really don't know. We can't break her bank since she's paying for three rooms. I'd love to find rooms that are around $250-$300 a night. Is that possible??? Less would be better but we don't want anything dumpy.

Okay. In my research I have found three possible options. Open to more suggestions...Maui Kamaole, Maalaea Surf, Hale Kamaole. But that's limiting myself to South Maui...I know nothing about Lahaina or Kaanapali so maybe there's something there...most of what I see are those humongo condo operations though. Am I missing a gem? I will look into the suggestions already posted but thought I'd pop back in with what I've got so far.

HELP!! The Disney trip is SOOOO easy compared to this. Decisions, decisions!! Thanks you guys!!

 

[farmfresh]

Okay - first one trap you may or may not be aware of. Oceanfront doesn't equal beach on hawaii. Oceanfront usually means rocky and unswimmable, although that doesn't always mean thereisn't a swimmable beach somewhere nearby. But don't rely on it. If you want a beach look for beach front only.

Next - South Maui. Check weather for trade winds and surf size which (I think) will be more noticeable west maui than south. Otherwise you have two speeds - kihei, which is less upmarket/expensive, or wailea. However, west maui - kaanapali, napili, are probably not as affected as kapalua.

Kahanasunset has a private beach, and is low rise, but doesn't have tennis courts. Kannaplia condo will hae all that, but beahcfront will be expensive and it will be high rise. There are low rises back from the road.

Try aloha condos for a range around maui.

 

[farmfresh]

sorry about the spellling - for some reason overtype was on! Kihei will have more budget accommodations.

 

[noryglory]

Hi Farmfresh, thanks for the update. Okay, after a marathon night (yes it IS time for bed, why do you ask?!?) now my list has four condo operations on it....

Lahaina: Papakea, Kahana Sunset (the only one that made the list with no tennis available, due to what seems to be a fabulous "private" beach and nice grounds that might trump our need for tennis)
Kihei: Maalaea Surf and the Maui Kamaole
Wailea: Makena Surf (The Makena Surf is likely to be out of Mom's price range but why not throw a fancier option in and see what the deal is (or isn't?)...)

All four resorts listed above with the exception of the Maui Kamaole are "on the beach" and the MK is just across the road from Kamaole III state park. Depending on where our condo would be in that operation the walk could be fairly short...or not!

Tonight I found a site called Maui Revealed (mauirevealed.com) and they have an aerial view of every resort and condo establishment on the island so you can see for yourself exactly what "a few minutes walk to the beach" means!

Anyone have opinions on any of these resorts? What are the beaches like in front of each? We'd want good swimming and snorkeling available. I know I can't have it all...but I want it all!!

BTW I forgot to mention that we'll have a range of kiddos with us, from 5 to 13. So kid-friendly beaches are important.

 

[BillyFan]

First off, the Maui Revealed book was my bible when I planned our trip a few years ago. Buy the book!
We stayed at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel. We also looked at condos, but the location and price could not be beat. It cam with free breakfast buffet and was right on the beach next to Black Rock, which had great snorkling. We were literally swimming with turtles right in front of our hotel! So I definitely reccomend this hotel. And they had tennis there. If you are stuck on gettting condos, I believe Whaler's Village is a condo complex, and is right next door.

 

[ScooterL]

I agree with BillyFan and HIGHLY recommend that you purchase the Maui Revealed book, if you haven't already - it was a marvelous resource for us on our trip last year.

We also had a big family group (12 of us) and stayed in two condos at Maui Kamaole the first two weeks of March last year. It's a very nice complex, but it is NOT beachfront - it's a 5-10 minute walk to the beach from there. Also, since the units are largely rented by owners, I think you might have a hard time getting three units that are right together - we had a couple minute walk between the two that we had.

 

[noryglory]

Hi Scooter,

no we don't have the book yet but with two raving endorsements like yours and Billy's I think I better go out and get it huh?! Their website aerials certainly rocked and really helped me picture EVERY resort on Maui, greatly eliminating the majority of them due to their look in relation to the beach.

Thanks too for your description on the MK...it makes my list as the "affordable" option but since my mom is set on us having super easy beach access it will probably not make the cut anyway. It looks so big I could see the problem with separate units being far, far away from each other. I'll include your comments on my dossier of all the resorts before I hand it off to her to make the decision.

My mom is set on condos due to the cost savings and flexibility a kitchen will give us. She is a Costco lover and has a plan to load up on a week's worth of bevvies, snacks, meats, breads, fruit and the like when we get there, and then we can just forage all week as we choose. Dinners out will happen no doubt, but this way they don't have to be planned or necessitated.

Keep the suggestions coming! Thanks everyone!!

 

[ScooterL]

We also stocked up at Costco on our way from the airport to the condo when we arrived. We still ended up having to go to the grocery store, though, because the condos don't have much in the way of condiments and other stuff you don't want to buy in Costco quantities!

 

[noryglory]

Good point. Or we can lug our mustard and mayo from home! I'd like to see the luggage inspector's face on THAT one.

 

[Tink33]

We stayed at Napili Point in Maui. http://napili.com/

Great snorkeling, close to white sand beach, 3 levels, park right outside your door, quiet, beautiful sunsets, and barbeques.

The pool is small and there are no tennis courts.

 

[disneydenisel]

We rented at Makena Surf for a couple of visits before we found the Westin Ka'anapali. It was a nice, older, quiet complex, with a security gate. Nice beach, we thought. It was very quiet for us. The pool was just basic. Hardly anyone was ever around, so we found it peaceful, yet not social for the kids. We had to lug our luggage up three flights of stairs, which was a pain. Maybe they have someone there to help with luggage now.

We loved it as a romantic couple. Once our kids were born, it was just not as much fun, so we moved to another resort with a slide at the pool, bellmen, and more families.

I pack ketchup, mustard, peanut butter, jam, canned fruit, tinfoil, plastic wrap, cereal, sugar, cinnamon, salt, pepper.....

 

[Pakey]

We rented a 2 bedroom condo at the Kapalua Villas (about 10 miles north of Kaanapali). We did have oceanfront, our lanai, living area and both bedrooms faced the water. We did have beach access although we did have to walk about 50 feet to get to the beach. There was a pool right there and the Kapalua village did have 3 golf courses (reason we stayed there) plus tennis courts. Additionally, we had access to the pool at the Ritz Carlton right there too. And the condos came with daily maid service which was really nice.

This was our 3rd trip over and we felt that Kapalua was the first good choice we have made in accommodations. We loved it there.