Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

Which Hotels did you stay at and on Oahu and on Maui and why? And if you could please tell us your experience - good/bad. Would you go back? Did you plan it yourself or a travel agent gave you the suggestion(s)?

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

I didn't go to Oahu (I went on my hs senior trip and stayed in a just ok hotel on the strip and it was very commercial - Burger King across the street and stuff - did give the tropical hawaii feel you woud imagine). I did go to Maui and stayed at the Grand Wailea and loved it and would recommend it.

Wailea is a more quiet area of Maui. The Grand Wailea is right next door to the 4Seasons and are of similar quality just totally different atmospheres. Grand Wailea is more my taste - it was recommended to me by a friend who stayed at the 4Seasons and actually worked for the 4Seasons.

Dh and I did a lot of research on our own and came up with a few hotels we liked based on internet research and recommendations of friends. We considered Grand Wailea, 4Seasons and the Ritz Carlton and maybe one other. Then we talked to a couple travel agents and got their reco's and pricing and made our decision. One hotel that I didn't consider before going but looked great when I was there was the Fairmont Keilani. Another girl on the board stayed there and loved it and it was probably my 2nd favorite hotel I visited in Maui next to GW.

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

I stayed at the Grand Wailea on Mauia and the Halekulani on Oahu. The Halekulani has the best customer service. They kiss your butt!
The grand Wailea has an awesome pool. The place is huge!

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

Maui - Hyatt Regency on Ka'anapali Beach.

Stayed there because we got a package that included staying at that hotel (and the same one on Kauai) that worked with the time we were going.

But I have been told the Marriott and Sheraton are good too. They are on the same Beach as Hyatt. Also the 4 Seasons but when we went to see it out of curiosity - very nice but we liked the surrounding areas where our hotel was better than the surrounding area of the 4 seasons. But that's personal preference.

On Oahu - we were there for 1 day only so stayed at Outrigger on the Reef - was OK not fancy though. If you're looking to stay at a nice hotel there, try the Sheraton (the one ON Waikiki Beach!!! They have more than one but that one looked very nice!)


ETA: We went through travel agent.

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

On Oahu we stayed at the Royal Hawaiian and Maui the Hyatt Regency.

I saw pictures of the Royal Hawaiian and it is beautiful...it is one of the oldest hotels on Oahu...and as far as the Hyatt on Maui I send so many honeymooner's there I wanted to experience it for myself.

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

Four Seasons in Maui and Big Island. Here is how someone explained it to me. Oahu is do built up that you wil turn on TV at monday monring rush hour and hear, 'Interstate 78 is backed up, take the alternate Inbound route', etc... There might be more businessmen. I t is like a city. Similar to what you would hear and see in Chicago or center city New York. Maui and Kawai is more like a resort vacation spot- Florida, aruba. You get the pic.

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

In Oahu we stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and loved it- it was a little city! And in Maui we stayed at the Hyatt and loved it too. I think there are more luxurious hotels than these on both islands but for the price and location we chose these and were extremely happy with both!

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

In Oahu we stayed at the Royal Hawaiian and in Maui we stayed at Kapalua Bay. Both were beautiful hotels.

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

Didn't go to Oahu but we stayed at the Grand Wailea in Maui and it was gorgeous! The place is ridiculous, the pools and the hotel itself is amazing!

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

We did Maui - stayed at the Kapalua Bay Hotel. We would go back at the drop of a hat. It was beautiful. The service was great. It was a nice airy open hotel. Kapalua bay also has some of the best snorkeling on the island.

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

BUMP

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

On Maui, we stayed at the Fairmont Kea Lani. I had the most amazing time there. The staff were so attentive. When you arrive, they greet you with a glass of juice, cool hand towels and a lei. At the pool, the give you fresh pineapple slices and mint scented cool towels. They also have terrific restaurants and the rooms are gorgous. I wanted to move in and never leave.

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

We stayed at the Halekulani on Oahu - incredible hotel. Their customer service can't be beat and everything is very, very clean. Even though the city is right outside the front door of the hotel, you would never know it. We had an oceanview room and could also see Diamondhead. We loved Oahu - there is so much more to the island than Honolulu, so don't let the city deter you.

In Maui we stayed at the Hyatt. We did not have the smoothest transition to this hotel, and did look elsewhere because we were considering moving. Our favorite was the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua. We didn't stay there, but we checked out the rooms and walked the grounds, and it was definitely more what we had in mind for a honeymoon. We did stay at the Hyatt, but upgraded our room (at our cost). There were a lot of people and a lot of kids there. I guess we were spoiled from the Halekulani because we noticed every little thing (like a tray of dishes from someone's room service that sat outside on a table in the hallway for about a day and a half before someone cleared). Don't get me wrong - it was a very nice hotel, but it is a mega-resort and we would have liked something quieter, smaller, more romatic and less children.

ETA: We also looked at the Sheraton, Grand Wailea and Fairmont Kea Lani - all nice hotels, but not what we were looking for.

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

Oahu stayed at Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach....
Maui was the Sheraton
and Kauai was Sheraton...I HIGHLY recommend this hotel.

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

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Posted by jcova1019

On Maui, we stayed at the Fairmont Kea Lani. I had the most amazing time there. The staff were so attentive. When you arrive, they greet you with a glass of juice, cool hand towels and a lei. At the pool, the give you fresh pineapple slices and mint scented cool towels. They also have terrific restaurants and the rooms are gorgous. I wanted to move in and never leave.

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cant rave enough about the kea lani. we stayed 11 nights and never got sick of it and cant wait to go back for our anniversary. celeb spotting there was fun too (britney spears & jason fr General Hospital, kevin bacon too but he was at grand wailea).
we wished that someone had been brutally honest about oahu with us bc we spent a lot of $$ to change our trip while there to go back to maui for a 2nd wk. we thought we'd like the nightlife after a quiet week on maui & the kahala mandarin oriental is beautiful but there's just no comparison. JMO oahu was like vacationing in times square with a beach next to it.

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

I second the Kea Lani , we loved it also and and are looking foward to going back as soon as possible.
We stayed at the Hyatt on Kauai adn I was not impressed , if we plan to visit Kauai again I'd get a diffrent hotel.

We also stayed at the Outtrigger wikki beach,we were only there for one night but it seemed nice , the resturant one the beach had good food.
Good Luck!

Re: Hawaii Honeymooners - which.....

Maui - Hyatt - LOVED IT. Georgeous setting, everyone was very nice, concierge was great, they have another recreation service in it called Aloha Services too (to book excursions and whatnot). Bed was awesome, great shops inside and the restaurants were great. If you use a travel agent and choose this hotel ask for the breakfast buffet to be included. It's close to Lahaina (the best luau is there) and it's next to the Mariott (they have a great luau too I heard) and Longhi's restaurant and other shopping is a walk away.

Oahu- only stayed one night so we stayed at the Outrigger on the Reef (or on the Beach, can't remember the precise name) in Honolulu. It was not a 4 star hotel but for our purposes it was fine. The restaurnt is on the beach although after going to the b-fast buffet in the Hyatt's, this one was a let-down. However it wasn't bad at all. But I wouldn't recommend it if you were staying more than 2 days in Oahu.


I think the best thing to do is talk to a travel agent. Because if you have your heart set on specific hotels you might not get the best deals that are suited for you and your DH and for your trip.