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Maui Questions

suzanne

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Never having been to Hawaii before which area of Maui is the best for TS resorts? I see 3 areas when looking at RCI availabilty, but have no idea which is better and why? Would prefer beach front resort any suggestions?

Suzanne
 

Passepartout

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Go for West Maui- Lahaina area. Tons of resorts.

Jim
 

K&PFitz

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I have to agree with Jim. West Maui, but not just for the resorts. You also have the restaurants and shopping of Lahaina nearby. Also, I've driven around the whole island, and Kihei and other places seemed to have rough surf. Great if you're a surfer I guess. But not so great if you're a snorkler, or just want to cool off and relax in the water. The Ka'anapali coast is best for that.
 

GregT

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Resorts Owned
Marriott: Maui Ocean Club Lahaina Villas (3BRx5), Ko Olina, Shadow Ridge II, Willow Ridge, Aruba Ocean Club, DC Points HGVC: Flamingo, Sea World, I-Drive, Starwood Bella (x4), SDO, TradeWinds, Worldmark
I agree, West Maui is wonderful, I love it there.

However, I'll make a couple of comments about Kihei, which is a charming (in a funky way) little town in South Maui. We stayed in Kihei (at our Worldmark) as our main location for years, only in 2008 did we move up consistently to Kaanapali (West Maui).

Kihei has a wonderful set of beaches (Kamaole I, Kamaole II and Kamaole III) and is also right next to Wailea, which has stunning beaches. I actually prefer the South Maui beaches to West Maui beaches.

Second, Kihei is a terrific place to use as a base camp to explore Maui. It's very central and if you wish to visit Haleakala or Hana, it is well located (in addition to visiting Wailea). Further, you can easily drive up to West Maui (Lahaina/Kaanapali/Kapalua) to visit.

There are a number of timeshares in Kihei, they lack the amenities associated with the nicer timeshares in West Maui (Marriott and Westin). The other thing about Kihei that is relevant is that the wind kicks up in the afternoon, and if you're still at the beach when the wind kicks up, you have to hurry to pack up because it can be unpleasant. We learned to start packing at 1:30pm even though there was no sign of winds, because by the time we were fully packed, it was time to go.

So.....both locations have their merits and I love both and would stay unhesitatingly in either.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

Best,

Greg
 
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Luanne

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We own in Kihei, so my bias is going to be obvious. :D Love that side of the island. It's quieter, Kihei is more of a "beach" town than a resort area, but you have the Wailea resort area close by. For the beach we drive down to the beach in front of what used to be the Maui Prince, which is near Makena.
 
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