Things are not always as they appear!

We are just back from 10 days in Maui (July - August 2004). We have in the past booked our accomodations through an agency known as Maui Condos and usually stay at the Sugar Beach Resort in North Kihei (nice place) but could not get the unit we wanted on this our third trip to Maui. The people at Maui Condos suggested the Maalaea Surf as an alternative (it is located just slightly south of Sugar Beach Resort). We looked at the website for Maalaea Surf and read the glowing review in the "Maui Revealed" book (get it, it is the definitive guide to Maui). The resort looked great.

When we arrived the unit looked worn and not nearly up to the standard shown on the website. When we could find no instruction sheet re: facilities in the unit nor could we open the safe that was advertised on the website we spoke to resort management. That was when we learned that some units in the resort, such as ours. were outside of the regular resort rental pool and were rented through agencies such as Maui Condos. As a result, those units were not required to be up to the same standards as the regular units. Nor were those units provided with the daily housekeeping service and other ammenities that are touted on the website.

We visited with some guests staying in the unit next to ours which was part of the regular resort rental group. The difference was significant. Their unit was wonderfully furnished and spotlessly clean.

In our unit we found on arrival: 1 dead cockroach; 1 dead cricket; countless invading ants; leftover clothing and shaving razors from previous guests; a non-working blender; filthy wall to wall carpeting; and a noisy and barely functioning ceiling fan.

The air conditioning unit shut down and leaked buckets of water on the 2nd day. The resort manager was helpful but limited in what he could do as the unit was outside the rental group. We eventually contacted Maui Condos who sent people to fix the a/c and the ceiling fan. Both repairmen advised that the a/c unit and fan had not been maintained properly and should have been replaced long ago.

The Maalaea Surf is a nice resort that is well located in the North Kihei area. The grounds are well kept and the views from the units are quite nice. However, the only way I would ever return would be by renting directly from the resort itself and not through an intermediary agency such as Maui Condos.