I have to say that I disagree with the review comparing the Westin to the Hyatt. I stayed at the Westin on my Honeymoon 15 years ago when it was fairly new and while I enjoyed it, I wouldn't say it was spectacular either. It was done on the same grand scale as the Hyatt but in much smaller quarters (i.e. less land). For my 10th anniversary we returned with our son but stayed at the Hyatt this time and totaly loved it. That was in 2000. In 2003 we returned to Maui with our son but decided to go back and try the Westin again. After one night we all woke up in the morning missing the Hyatt. I called the Hyatt and they got me into the hotel and we moved that morning. The beach in front of the Westin had suffered tremendous errosion that year and was virtually non-existant. While the Westin did have all the nice features like the pools and slides, everything was crammed into a smaller space and you just felt like you couldn't breath without someone right there. Granted, the Hyatt can be very crowded as well around the pool but the grounds are big enough that you can escape if you need too. The Westin used to have a beautiful restaurant comparable to Swan Court in the Hyatt but now it's been replaced by Tropica and it's more of a beachfront casual place than upscale. All in all, the Westin is a nice place but the Hyatt sets the standard. Needless to say that this coming August I'll be returning to the Hyatt again.

We just returned from a wonderful trip in paradise. We thought the Hyatt was great. On previous trips, we have stayed at the Ritz and Kea Lani. The Hyatt is not as nice as the Ritz but equal to the Kea Lani (minus the suite factor and better beach). We were upgraded to an oceanview room on the 6th floor of the Lahaina tower. It was an incredible view. The luau noise was not a factor. We had access to the Regency Club and ate breakfast there every morning. Not much variety: fruit, muffins, pastries, oatmeal, cereal, breads but it served us well. We never munched on the evening appetizers but the afternoon snacks were yummy cookies, fruit and drinks. The pools at the Hyatt are outstanding! The children's area keeps kids busy. You walk/swim through the caves to get between the kids area and the big pool. Inside the cave is the grotto bar were many a male was watching the NCAA tourney. The beach in front of the Hyatt was more than adequate for us - we walked down and entered near the Napili tower and it was plenty wide enough for sand play. I cannot comment on the snorkeling. I thought the service was great and the offerings more than sufficient. We would come again for sure. PS Our room received a turn down service with chocolates every night (comment on above post). I agree that for the price, you would expect more but I didn't find any "deals" when I was searching for our trip - Ritz, GW, FS, KL $500+ and Sheraton and Westin along the same lines as the Hyatt. Believe me, for what I paid, I would have liked more luxury but couldn't spend $500+ a night!

Always go with what you know. The first time my husband and I traveled to Maui, we stayed at the Westin (a few hotels north of the Hyatt on Ka'anapali beach). We had no complaints, and we could have stayed there this time around, but, I decided it might be nice to try another hotel. Bad decision. While the Hyatt has a great location and a lot of beach front property, the amenities and the rooms left much to be desired. At over $400 a night, one expects to have a nicer bathroom than one finds at a Comfort Inn in upstate New York as well as some Charmin type toilet paper (the stuff we used was about 1/2 ply). Also, it would be nice to have bath towels that are a little (just a little, that is all I ask) on the plush side; I thought they were going to disintegrate during each pat dry). The pool was a good size, but there were too many chairs (which, by the way were the cheap plastic variety; shouldn't they have upgraded to nice chairs with cushions on them by now (the Westin has had them for over 4 years, at least) on top of eachother. Also, the cabanas on the beach were dirty and there was no bar service (what is the point then?). I may sound too critical or nitpicky, but, it is the little things that matter -- especially for the price you pay at the Hyatt. I guess they figure they can charge these rates for their location without needing to provide stellar service, etc. Wrong. Oh, and did I mention, no turn down service at night. I will definately be heading to the Westin for my next trip to Maui.

We had a mini family reunion at the hotel and for this purpose, the hotel was very nice. This was our first time staying in the Kaanapali area and was a bit disapponted in the amount of traffic noise you could hear from the main highway from the hotel room. Not that it was noisy, just noticable. The rooms were fairly standard but clean. The hotel hallways were a bit dated. The staff was very pleasant and made for a nice stay.

The kids pool was great for the three year old as well as the other pools for everyone else. We didn't eat on-site as there are too many places good places to eat at on Maui.

Good experience, not great. If you wanted great, you would choose one of the more expensive resorts.