A Report on Maui Ocean Club and West Maui

[JIMinNC]

My wife and I just returned from a week at Marriott's Maui Ocean Club, January 27-February 3. This was my 16th trip to Kaanapali, but the first without historic Lahaina town. Here are some observations, from a tourist's perspective, on what it's like to travel to MOC now. I also posted the general observations in the Hawaii Forum, but this is modified to also include some Marriott-specific stuff. I apologize to the moderators for some duplication, but hopefully it won't break any rules:

West Maui in General

• The visitor economy in the Kaanapali area appears to be recovering, and most of the restaurants we ate at were busy and appeared to be operating normally. We dined at Hula Grill, Longhi's, Leilani's, Merriman's Kapalua, The Sea House, The Plantation House, and Duke's Beach Club. Service was good and these places did not seem to be seriously short staffed, if at all.
• The retail businesses in Whaler's Village are open and it appears they are basically fully operational now.
• The beach walk in Kaanapali was active, maybe slightly less active than in the past, but not significantly so.
• Safeway and Long's Drug at Lahaina Cannery Mall are open and seemed fully stocked, at least for our minimal grocery needs.
• Most of the boat tour/snorkel/whale watch operators appear to have found alternative operations options with Lahaina Harbor closed for the foreseeable future. Teralani, Sea Maui, and Gemini are operating from Kaanapali/Whaler's Village as always, as are some Trilogy cruises. Also Ultimate Whale Watch and at least one other rigid hull inflatable operator are now offering beach loading from Kaanapali. Ultimate (and maybe others) are also offering departures from Mala Wharf near the Lahaina Cannery Mall. Most of Trilogy's operations and all of PacWhale EcoTours have moved to Maalaea Harbor, about 30 minutes or so from Kaanapali.
• Due to the reliance on beach loading and the loss of Lahaina Harbor, rough surf conditions (like we experienced during much of our week) can be disruptive to the commercial boat operations, requiring trips to be cancelled, or for some operators, moved at the last hour all the way down to Maalaea, 30+ minutes away by car.
• One boat operator told us they expect Lahaina Harbor to remain closed for at least another year, but it will likely be two years or more before commercial operations are allowed to resume. If I were a betting man, I would take the "over" on both of those aspirational dates.
• We definitely missed having Lahaina Harbor as an option for whale watches and we missed walking down Front Street before and after a boat trip. The biggest loss for us, though, was losing two of our three favorite restaurants - Fleetwood's on Front and Lahaina Grill. We also missed going to Pacific'o, which was also lost.
• Every waiter, waitress, store clerk, and Marriott staff member we came in contact with were as warm, welcoming, and full of Aloha spirit as always. We tipped very generously everywhere.
• As tourist, you really don't see much of the fire damage, with the exception of a short stretch along Route 30/Honoapiilani Highway between Cannery Mall and the Post Office/Civic Center area. They have erected tall black plastic/fabric fencing to partially block the view, but you can see burnt structures rising up on the mountain side of the road along this stretch.
• Traffic on Honoapiilani Highway south of Kaanapali, on Keawe Street, and on the Lahaina Route 3000 bypass gets very heavy southbound around 3pm. It was much worse than we have ever seen. Anyone with late afternoon flights from Kahului should take that into consideration. My theory is with the loss of Route 30 through Lahaina now being blocked, all rush hour traffic from employees leaving Kaanapali, Napili, and Kapalua must use this single route. It also must filter through the bottle neck on Keawe Street onto the Route 3000 bypass.

Marriott's Maui Ocean Club

• The Marriott appeared to be close to full occupancy and full operation. I would guess at least 90%+, but can't be sure.
• We booked this trip with Abound Club Points for Ocean Front and were assigned 7th floor in Napili Tower. This was better than our two previous Napili Points assignments in 2022 and 2023 which were on the 6th floor and 5th floor.
• We don't really use the pool during the day, preferring the chairs on the Napili Lawn or the beach, so I can't comment on if the daily pool chair competition is back to normal or not. When we walked by the pool area though, most of the prime spots appeared full.
• We had hoped to attend General Manager Bill Countryman's weekly Wednesday morning resort update for owners, but unfortunately he had to cancel the meeting for last week.
• The renderings of the new Molokai, Maui, and Lanai wing renovation are posted in the lobby, and color swatches are in the Welcome Center. We heard nothing to indicate that the renovation schedule has changed from what is posted online - Electrical from March-May 2024 and Plumbing/Unit Refresh June 2024-June 2025. Not getting updated information at the GM meeting was disappointing.
• The Kaanapali Beachwalk is fully functional and intact except for the stretch at the Kaanapali Alii that was washed away in 2022. You still have to walk on the sand for a hundred yards or so. There is a section now on the Marriott property near Starbucks and the Beach Walk Kau Kau To Go where last fall's erosion came close to undermining the concrete. Now that the beach has rebuilt over the winter as it always does, that area has been filled in, but the stabilizing vegetation is gone, so a big swell later this year when the beach there is at it's smallest could do more significant damage.
• Longhi's is open for dinner, but due to staffing, they are not offering their excellent brunch, at least for now.

Overall, I would say that while we missed, and will continue to miss, Lahaina town very much, Kaanapali, Maui Ocean Club, and the rest of Maui is still a great place to visit. We did several whale watches with PacWhale and Ultimate Whale Watch. We had probably the best whale watch ever on January 29 with Ultimate. The seas were incredibly rough, so we came back soaked from head to toe, but a large competition group treated us to over 10 whale breaches, including a triple breach where three whales jumped at once. We also saw more head lunges and pectoral slaps than we could count. The only bad thing was, since it was so rough, I had to keep my camera wrapped in my raincoat for most of the trip. I did manage to find a way to grab a few pics and below is the best one, one of the head lunges.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Thanks for posting and sharing info.

 

[MOXJO7282]

My wife and I just returned from a week at Marriott's Maui Ocean Club, January 27-February 3. This was my 16th trip to Kaanapali, but the first without historic Lahaina town. Here are some observations, from a tourist's perspective, on what it's like to travel to MOC now. I also posted the general observations in the Hawaii Forum, but this is modified to also include some Marriott-specific stuff. I apologize to the moderators for some duplication, but hopefully it won't break any rules:

West Maui in General

• The visitor economy in the Kaanapali area appears to be recovering, and most of the restaurants we ate at were busy and appeared to be operating normally. We dined at Hula Grill, Longhi's, Leilani's, Merriman's Kapalua, The Sea House, The Plantation House, and Duke's Beach Club. Service was good and these places did not seem to be seriously short staffed, if at all.
• The retail businesses in Whaler's Village are open and it appears they are basically fully operational now.
• The beach walk in Kaanapali was active, maybe slightly less active than in the past, but not significantly so.
• Safeway and Long's Drug at Lahaina Cannery Mall are open and seemed fully stocked, at least for our minimal grocery needs.
• Most of the boat tour/snorkel/whale watch operators appear to have found alternative operations options with Lahaina Harbor closed for the foreseeable future. Teralani, Sea Maui, and Gemini are operating from Kaanapali/Whaler's Village as always, as are some Trilogy cruises. Also Ultimate Whale Watch and at least one other rigid hull inflatable operator are now offering beach loading from Kaanapali. Ultimate (and maybe others) are also offering departures from Mala Wharf near the Lahaina Cannery Mall. Most of Trilogy's operations and all of PacWhale EcoTours have moved to Maalaea Harbor, about 30 minutes or so from Kaanapali.
• Due to the reliance on beach loading and the loss of Lahaina Harbor, rough surf conditions (like we experienced during much of our week) can be disruptive to the commercial boat operations, requiring trips to be cancelled, or for some operators, moved at the last hour all the way down to Maalaea, 30+ minutes away by car.
• One boat operator told us they expect Lahaina Harbor to remain closed for at least another year, but it will likely be two years or more before commercial operations are allowed to resume. If I were a betting man, I would take the "over" on both of those aspirational dates.
• We definitely missed having Lahaina Harbor as an option for whale watches and we missed walking down Front Street before and after a boat trip. The biggest loss for us, though, was losing two of our three favorite restaurants - Fleetwood's on Front and Lahaina Grill. We also missed going to Pacific'o, which was also lost.
• Every waiter, waitress, store clerk, and Marriott staff member we came in contact with were as warm, welcoming, and full of Aloha spirit as always. We tipped very generously everywhere.
• As tourist, you really don't see much of the fire damage, with the exception of a short stretch along Route 30/Honoapiilani Highway between Cannery Mall and the Post Office/Civic Center area. They have erected tall black plastic/fabric fencing to partially block the view, but you can see burnt structures rising up on the mountain side of the road along this stretch.
• Traffic on Honoapiilani Highway south of Kaanapali, Keawe Street, and the Lahaina Route 3000 bypass gets very heavy southbound around 3pm. It was much worse than we have ever seen. Anyone with late afternoon flights from Kahului should take that into consideration. My theory is with the loss of Route 30 through Lahaina now being blocked, all rush hour traffic from employees leaving Kaanapali, Napili, and Kapalua must use this single route. It also must filter through the bottle neck on Keawe Street onto the Route 3000 bypass.

Marriott's Maui Ocean Club

• The Marriott appeared to be close to full occupancy and full operation. I would guess at least 90%+, but can't be sure.
• We booked this trip with Abound Club Points for Ocean Front and were assigned 7th floor in Napili Tower. This was better than our two previous Napili Points assignments in 2022 and 2023 which were on the 6th floor and 5th floor.
• We don't really use the pool during the day, preferring the chairs on the Napili Lawn or the beach, so I can't comment on if the daily pool chair competition is back to normal or not. When we walked by the pool area though, most of the prime spots appeared full.
• We had hoped to attend General Manager Bill Countryman's weekly Wednesday morning resort update for owners, but unfortunately he had to cancel the meeting for last week.
• The renderings of the new Molokai, Maui, and Lanai wing renovation are posted in the lobby, and color swatches are in the Welcome Center. We heard nothing to indicate that the renovation schedule has changed from what is posted online - Electrical from March-May 2024 and Plumbing/Unit Refresh June 2024-June 2025. Not getting updated information at the GM meeting was disappointing.
• The Kaanapali Beachwalk is fully functional and intact except for the stretch at the Kaanapali Alii that was washed away in 2022. You still have to walk on the sand for a hundred yards or so. There is a section now on the Marriott property near Starbucks and the Beach Walk Kau Kau To Go where last fall's erosion came close to undermining the concrete. Now that the beach has rebuilt over the winter as it always does, that area has been filled in, but the stabilizing vegetation is gone, so a big swell later this year when the beach there is at it's smallest could do more significant damage.
• Longhi's is open for dinner, but due to staffing, they are not offering their excellent brunch, at least for now.

Overall, I would say that while we missed, and will continue to miss, Lahaina town very much, Kaanapali, Maui Ocean Club, and the rest of Maui is still a great place to visit. We did several whale watches with PacWhale and Ultimate Whale Watch. We had probably the best whale watch ever on January 29 with Ultimate. The seas were incredibly rough, so we came back soaked from head to toe, but a large competition group treated us to over 10 whale breaches, including a triple breach where three whales jumped at once. We also saw more head lunges and pectoral slaps than we could count. The only bad thing was, since it was so rough, I had to keep my camera wrapped in my raincoat for most of the trip. I did manage to find a way to grab a few pics and below is the best one, one of the head lunges.

View attachment 88228

Fantastic report. We'll be there in May for 2 weeks and can't wait to enjoy our beloved Maui again.

 

[aland0524]

My wife and I just returned from a week at Marriott's Maui Ocean Club, January 27-February 3. This was my 16th trip to Kaanapali, but the first without historic Lahaina town. Here are some observations, from a tourist's perspective, on what it's like to travel to MOC now. I also posted the general observations in the Hawaii Forum, but this is modified to also include some Marriott-specific stuff. I apologize to the moderators for some duplication, but hopefully it won't break any rules:

West Maui in General

• The visitor economy in the Kaanapali area appears to be recovering, and most of the restaurants we ate at were busy and appeared to be operating normally. We dined at Hula Grill, Longhi's, Leilani's, Merriman's Kapalua, The Sea House, The Plantation House, and Duke's Beach Club. Service was good and these places did not seem to be seriously short staffed, if at all.
• The retail businesses in Whaler's Village are open and it appears they are basically fully operational now.
• The beach walk in Kaanapali was active, maybe slightly less active than in the past, but not significantly so.
• Safeway and Long's Drug at Lahaina Cannery Mall are open and seemed fully stocked, at least for our minimal grocery needs.
• Most of the boat tour/snorkel/whale watch operators appear to have found alternative operations options with Lahaina Harbor closed for the foreseeable future. Teralani, Sea Maui, and Gemini are operating from Kaanapali/Whaler's Village as always, as are some Trilogy cruises. Also Ultimate Whale Watch and at least one other rigid hull inflatable operator are now offering beach loading from Kaanapali. Ultimate (and maybe others) are also offering departures from Mala Wharf near the Lahaina Cannery Mall. Most of Trilogy's operations and all of PacWhale EcoTours have moved to Maalaea Harbor, about 30 minutes or so from Kaanapali.
• Due to the reliance on beach loading and the loss of Lahaina Harbor, rough surf conditions (like we experienced during much of our week) can be disruptive to the commercial boat operations, requiring trips to be cancelled, or for some operators, moved at the last hour all the way down to Maalaea, 30+ minutes away by car.
• One boat operator told us they expect Lahaina Harbor to remain closed for at least another year, but it will likely be two years or more before commercial operations are allowed to resume. If I were a betting man, I would take the "over" on both of those aspirational dates.
• We definitely missed having Lahaina Harbor as an option for whale watches and we missed walking down Front Street before and after a boat trip. The biggest loss for us, though, was losing two of our three favorite restaurants - Fleetwood's on Front and Lahaina Grill. We also missed going to Pacific'o, which was also lost.
• Every waiter, waitress, store clerk, and Marriott staff member we came in contact with were as warm, welcoming, and full of Aloha spirit as always. We tipped very generously everywhere.
• As tourist, you really don't see much of the fire damage, with the exception of a short stretch along Route 30/Honoapiilani Highway between Cannery Mall and the Post Office/Civic Center area. They have erected tall black plastic/fabric fencing to partially block the view, but you can see burnt structures rising up on the mountain side of the road along this stretch.
• Traffic on Honoapiilani Highway south of Kaanapali, on Keawe Street, and on the Lahaina Route 3000 bypass gets very heavy southbound around 3pm. It was much worse than we have ever seen. Anyone with late afternoon flights from Kahului should take that into consideration. My theory is with the loss of Route 30 through Lahaina now being blocked, all rush hour traffic from employees leaving Kaanapali, Napili, and Kapalua must use this single route. It also must filter through the bottle neck on Keawe Street onto the Route 3000 bypass.

Marriott's Maui Ocean Club

• The Marriott appeared to be close to full occupancy and full operation. I would guess at least 90%+, but can't be sure.
• We booked this trip with Abound Club Points for Ocean Front and were assigned 7th floor in Napili Tower. This was better than our two previous Napili Points assignments in 2022 and 2023 which were on the 6th floor and 5th floor.
• We don't really use the pool during the day, preferring the chairs on the Napili Lawn or the beach, so I can't comment on if the daily pool chair competition is back to normal or not. When we walked by the pool area though, most of the prime spots appeared full.
• We had hoped to attend General Manager Bill Countryman's weekly Wednesday morning resort update for owners, but unfortunately he had to cancel the meeting for last week.
• The renderings of the new Molokai, Maui, and Lanai wing renovation are posted in the lobby, and color swatches are in the Welcome Center. We heard nothing to indicate that the renovation schedule has changed from what is posted online - Electrical from March-May 2024 and Plumbing/Unit Refresh June 2024-June 2025. Not getting updated information at the GM meeting was disappointing.
• The Kaanapali Beachwalk is fully functional and intact except for the stretch at the Kaanapali Alii that was washed away in 2022. You still have to walk on the sand for a hundred yards or so. There is a section now on the Marriott property near Starbucks and the Beach Walk Kau Kau To Go where last fall's erosion came close to undermining the concrete. Now that the beach has rebuilt over the winter as it always does, that area has been filled in, but the stabilizing vegetation is gone, so a big swell later this year when the beach there is at it's smallest could do more significant damage.
• Longhi's is open for dinner, but due to staffing, they are not offering their excellent brunch, at least for now.

Overall, I would say that while we missed, and will continue to miss, Lahaina town very much, Kaanapali, Maui Ocean Club, and the rest of Maui is still a great place to visit. We did several whale watches with PacWhale and Ultimate Whale Watch. We had probably the best whale watch ever on January 29 with Ultimate. The seas were incredibly rough, so we came back soaked from head to toe, but a large competition group treated us to over 10 whale breaches, including a triple breach where three whales jumped at once. We also saw more head lunges and pectoral slaps than we could count. The only bad thing was, since it was so rough, I had to keep my camera wrapped in my raincoat for most of the trip. I did manage to find a way to grab a few pics and below is the best one, one of the head lunges.

View attachment 88228

@JIMinNC - Great summary. We arrived in MOC-Napili on Jan. 26 (and stayed 2 floors below you) and will be here till end Feb. The bad windy weather has moved on so we're getting gorgeous weather and calmer seas. We're scheduled to go on a whale-watch this Friday and hope we get better weather than what you had but can get to see those competition breaches also! I don't think I've ever seen 10 breaches! Your observation about the traffic is something to consider. We were coming back from golf (Dunes at Maui Lani) a few days ago and the traffic must have stretched for over 3 miles around the 5 pm time! No problem going West...it was all East bound. On the beachwalk being washed away - if you don't want to walk on the sand, there is a path between Kaanapali Alii and the Napili Tower that will take you through Kaanapali Alii (just act like you belong) and it winds through the property and takes you out to where there is the beach walk again to to the Westin/Whalers Village. I should mention that there are a lot of "tents" which seem like temporary housing - even on the beachfront in front of Whalers and also on Mile marker 14 as well as Wahikuli Beach Park (across from Lahaina post office).
There are still a lot of food trucks next to the Times Supermarket. Lastly, there are a lot of Lahaina Strong, Ka-ko'o Maui (Support Maui) and other t-shirts being sold in the various shops (the Hyatt gift shops sell some good ones) that also go partly to certain funds for Lahaina-related groups, including the Humane Society.

 

[JIMinNC]

I should mention that there are a lot of "tents" which seem like temporary housing - even on the beachfront in front of Whalers and also on Mile marker 14 as well as Wahikuli Beach Park (across from Lahaina post office).

The tents on Kaanapali in front of Whalers Village and the Westin were set up by the folks who are protesting the reopening of West Maui and the lack of affordable housing. They call it a "fish-in", saying they are planning to fish 24/7 to raise awareness of their issues.

Some Locals Believe Tourism Resumed Too Soon On Maui. Now, They’re Protesting On A Popular Tourist Beach

I did see some large fishing poles set up, but they did not appear to be in use when we walked by.

 

[aland0524]

The tents on Kaanapali in front of Whalers Village and the Westin were set up by the folks who are protesting the reopening of West Maui and the lack of affordable housing. They call it a "fish-in", saying they are planning to fish 24/7 to raise awareness of their issues.

Some Locals Believe Tourism Resumed Too Soon On Maui. Now, They’re Protesting On A Popular Tourist Beach

I did see some large fishing poles set up, but they did not appear to be in use when we walked by.

Good observation about the tents in front of Whalers. I wanted to take a closer look but didn't feel comfortable "invading" their space. Must difficult for different parties affected - those who need tourism dollars and those who are trying to get attention to their local issues like housing.

 

[SteveinHNL]

Nice report!

 

[NTP66]

The renderings of the new Molokai, Maui, and Lanai wing renovation are posted in the lobby, and color swatches are in the Welcome Center.

Any chance you snapped a photo of the proposed changes?

 

[JIMinNC]

Any chance you snapped a photo of the proposed changes?

No we didn't. Should have.

 

[JIMinNC]

Any chance you snapped a photo of the proposed changes?

No we didn't. Should have.

Just remembered that last year in 2023 when we went to Bill Countryman's Wednesday Resort Update presentation, they showed slides of the new decor. Here are two I snapped then. These appear to be the same pics that were posted in the lobby on this trip. They did not show or post the renderings of the new Master Bath with walk-in shower.

 

[NTP66]

You have redeemed yourself. Thank you!