My family of three spent 17 nights here over Christmas. It was not a surprise to us that the building was older, the snorkelling at the resort has poor visibility, and the decor of the suite is a little dated...in fact these are good things, not bad. They all meant that there was availability and that it was afforable. You likely cannot rent a 1 bedroom suite with full kitchen anywhere at this price, nevermind on the ocean in paradise. We'd researched and knew what to expect.
We were not disappointed. Great snorkelling at Kahekili beach park and out front of the Westin (25 minute walk) and at Kapalua (15 minutes on the bus, then 4 minute walk.) Farmer's market and health food store were 3 minute walk north. Snorkel/fishing shop 1 minute away.
Full grocery store 8 minute walk south. Depending on what you wish to do on Maui, there may be no need to rent a car, there wasn't for us. We walked or rode the transit bus to all sorts of great snorkelling and beach adventures. It'll take you to the Maui Ocean Center in Malaea (a very good aquarium, and well worth it.)
Maui sands may not be for those who are accustomed to 5 star comforts and whiteglove service. As for me and my family, we had an excellent vacation, enjoyed cooking for ourselves with saltwater breezes blowing through from the lanai and falling asleep each night to the sound of the surf and the memories of a day well-spent exploring undersea wonders.

Nov.-Dec. 2011. A location long pasted it's prime. When we booked our stay, no one told us they would be replacing the roofs on all the buildings. All day long you hear banging and hammering, workmen talking, heavy equipment moving or parked on the grass areas and walkways. Much of the lawn was brown from the building repair. The part of the grass that was green had animal feces from all the cats. No safe or healthy place for kids to play.To add to our stay. The nights were not much better. At night there was road work right out front of the property. No, rest from the noise.

The pool was cloudy. One of the units near the pool has a 3 or 4 year old child that would cry and fuss at all times of the day or night. (The parents of that child need to be on Dr. Phil's Show)

I guess much of their reviews must come from the owners themselves. The parking lots is not secure. Although, we did not have any problems with our rental. We did talk to people who lived there. That told us their cars had been stolen or broken into.

The bus stop is very close and it is easy to get downtown by bus. Only $2 for an all day pass. You should find Lahiana Town a fun place to shop,eat and just spend the day.

Next time, we will spend a few more dollars and stay at a place we can relax and enjoy. Some place safe for our kids.

I think this is 10th time we have rented on the oceanfront and we love it. The proximity of the property to the ocean is a few feet and yes you can swim in front but best at low tide. The gardens are very well kept and the Prperty mnager Ken does an excellent job keeping this older resort in good condition. We usually stay in 5B but have rented other oceanfront units such as 5A, 5C, and 5D and they were fine. This is an older property so do not expect the style of the Marriot Ocean Club. The rates are very reasonabble.

We really liked Maui Sands unit 5C. It was nicely decorated and updated for the most part. Great location, great view, very quiet, nice lanai, and beautiful grounds. The condos do look very old when you drive up, but once you explore the unit and grounds, you will see how nice they are. You cannot swim in the ocean right in front of the unit as it is too rocky and the waves can get rough. We ended up driving to beaches, but there are many close by so not a problem. We saw whales from our Lanai which was very cool! Close to Lahanai which had great shopping and good restaurants to chose from. There are 2 negatives. One is the year round residents are older and tend to get crabby with any kind of noise. My 13 and 14 year old were playing Marco Polo in the pool and a resident yelled out of their window that they couldn't play the game because it echoed and it was too loud. We thought that was ridiculous! Also, no toys, floating chairs, inflatables, etc. allowed in the pool area. If your children like to play in a pool and make some noise, this is not the place for you to rent. The other issue we had was dealing with the rental agent.
Hard to communicate with and slow to respond. We would rent this unit again, but just us and not the kids. This unit is probably best fitted for people without kids or older teenage kids.