We arrived at The Whaler's on February 6th, 2008 and stayed until February 28th, 2008. After staying at the Sheraton Maui several times, we decided to book a condo for its' kitchen and extra space. We booked through a Maui Vacation Specialist, so we had seen many pictures of each of the units we were considering, and chose this one for it's sofa sleeper in the living room as we had our teenaged son with us. We didn't feel we needed a whole extra bedroom for him, and he loved having the big screen TV all to himself after we went to bed.

The unit was large and airy, with high ceilings and lots of room. We had one bedroom that was very large, one bathroom with the toilet and shower closed off for privacy, a full, extremely well equipped kitchen, and a wonderful LR and DR. We faced south and had 180 degree views of the ocean, sunset over the island of Lanai, and beautiful mountain views. The furnishings were perfect; rattan with pineapple motifs on the upholstery. There was a 52" TV, DVD, CD and wireless (free) internet in the LR. The bedroom had a king sized bed, large TV, DVD and CD player. The closets are HUGE, and with all the furniture having cabinets or drawers, storage was definitely not a problem. The kitchen had all the large appliances as well as an iced tea maker, coffee maker, hand mixer, salad spinner, Cuisinart, coffee grinder, frozen yogurt maker, rice cooker/vegetable steamer, can opener, toaster oven, blender and toaster (that was totally destroyed). The furniture was very comfortable and the king sized bed had a pillow top on the mattress. There were an abundance of games and books in the LR cabinets, mirrored walls throughout the unit, and lots of beach accessories--chairs, boogie board, umbrellas, coolers, etc. There was even a huge supply of plasticware for taking food or drink to the pool. The entry and kitchen floors are tiled, the bathroom is faux marble.

Now, for the cons: Hot water took a long time, and at peak times, we didn't have any at all. Our ice maker flooded the kitchen until we called maintenance (who responded immediately), and the tile floor on the lanai got very hot from the sun. Our carpets were so filthy, our bare feet turned black. There was vomit on our bed blanket, but fortunately, there were several extra blankets in the hall storage closet. There is no washer or dryer in the unit, but there is a pay laundry ($1.25 washer/$1.00 dryer) on each floor. Even though the owners say this unit was completely remodelled in 2002, tennants have been very hard on it. The white kitchen Formica has knife cuts all over it, wallpaper is peeling, there are a couple of large holes in the drywall, the trim on the kitchen cabinets is gone, and the unit needs painting. The aluminum screen doors to the lanai kept coming off the track, and never really closed properly.

But the biggest drawback was the NOISE. Our unit overlooked Whaler's Village, and the noise from the refrigeration trucks early in the morning supplying the Hula Grill and the Rusty Harpoon was horrible; the backing up beeping from delivery trucks, clanging of sliverware, smoke and fumes from the Hula Grill and constant construction noise from the Whaler's was deafening. Many days our unit filled with wafting smoke from the oven ducts on the roof of the Hula Grill, and the stench of fetid cooking grease was unbearable at times. When you can hear the beautiful sounds of waves breaking on the surf, you don't want it drowned out by loud city-like noises or closed lanai doors.

The pool was small and rectangular, not particularly kid friendly like the mega pools at the Sheraton or the Marriott, but more than adequate for adults. Seating around it was very good, and the pool attendants were extremely helpful (as was all the hotel staff), and the beach was wonderful.

One of the nicer things were the outdoor grills. There are three granite picnic tables and three gas grills for each tower. They were very busy, and it was a nice touch to be able to grill.

All in all, even though the Whaler's is older, it is more than adequate, and depending on each owner's decor and remodelling, you can either get a hit or a miss. Do your homework. If you can, write the owner and ask for more pictures than you see online. Ask when the unit was last updated. And, look for reviews here. Everyone sees things differently, so one person's dirty carpet, is of no issue to another. Just do your homework and rent from either an owner or a reputable vacation rental site that can be a liason between the owner and you. DO NOT rent from ResortQuest, as you will not know what unit you'll be getting until you check in. ResortQuest is like the front desk of a hotel complex. You get what they have, sight unseen.