With over 1,000 condominium units, this is the mother of all properties on Maui. Seven plantation-style buildings on 26 acres located on beautiful Kahekili Beach. Built as a timeshare property, they also maintain a healthy inventory of vacation rentals.
If you have kids, this is the place to be. They have a dreamy kids’ program and center (which may or may not be available), which offers everything from arts and crafts to cultural activities to video games. You have to love the pirate ship keiki pool because your kids will have a blast (no pun intended) using it. The other pools are lagoon-shaped with a 109-foot waterslide at the south pool, but they do tend to jam a lot of chairs around all the pools. There is also an adults-only pool. Cabanas with four chairs are available per day up to 10 p.m., and casabellas (two chairs) are also an extra fee daily. You’ll see servers wandering the pools taking drink and food orders. They have a small (but pricey) market for foodstuffs and even marinated meats for the BBQs. There is a spa on site with 13 treatment rooms and all the pampering, including couple’s treatments. They also have two 24-hour fitness rooms with sauna and steam rooms. There are all sorts of activities on site every day of the week.
The rooms are classified by the view. Your choice is either ocean view or island view. We felt that some of the “ocean view” rooms should really be called partial ocean view. The rooms are modern with full kitchens, DVD players (rentals in lobby), Bose stereos and “Heavenly Beds.” The North Phase rooms are slightly smaller than the South Phase, but we prefer the décor a bit more in the North Phase, and the separate Jacuzzi tubs there are big enough for two. Lanais on all but South Phase studios, which have standing-room-only Juliet balconies. Two-bedroom units are simply a studio joined to a one-bedroom unit, so there are two washer/dryers in those. (Since the two-bedroom units can hold up to 10 people, you may appreciate that extra washer/dryer.) Personal in-room chefs are available, or you can enjoy a romantic dinner in one of the cabanas by the beach—for a fee, of course. They will also pre-stock your unit with groceries for a fee plus the cost of the food.
They have a very early checkout time at 10 a.m. and a late check-in at 4 p.m., but they allow guests to use their facilities and have a lounge with showers for free use until flight time. This resort is very active in “green initiatives,” which is nice to see. In short, this place has all the amenities of a big resort with the convenience of a condo. Studios are 460–512 sq. ft., 1/1s are 750–1,038 sq. ft., 2/2s are 1,230 sq. ft. They often run specials and packages, too.
6 Kai Ala Dr, Kaanapali