o'kay after reading some of the reviews prior to our trip, I must admit I was nervous. We were returning to Maui for our 20th Anniversary, and wanted the same experience as our honeymoon. That being said there is no place better in Maui than South Maui for a romantic trip. We stayed at the Prince from July 4th thru 8th and found the reviews to be relatively accurate. The hotel is a little dated, but we found the rooms clean and the staff was incredibly accomodating. Although the hotel was booked, it never seemed full and the beach was fantastic. Snorkling off the beach was very convenient and we saw turtles everyday. On our last day we saw Clint Eastwood snorkling! As far as the rooms go it is nice to be able to open the solid door and lock the louvered door and the the lanai door to sleep in the open breeze and hear the ocean. This can make you room a little humid, which may be what people complain about. Overall we got what we expected and the location was the best for a quiet romantic vacation. We visited the Grand Wailea and although it is beautiful the beach was not near as nice and the place was an absolute zoo. If we had brought the kids is may have been ok but I equated it to Disneyland at Maui. So I guess it all about what you expect.

We stayed here for our honeymoon four years ago, and while the rooms are outdated ( and probably even more so now), we found the hotel grounds beautiful and relaxing. The beach is very nice and despite other reviews saying there isn't a lot to do, it depends upon what you're looking for. You are within miles of fantastic beaches and many great restaurants in the Wilea and Kihei area. You just have to ask around or get a good guide book. Also, just down the road from Maui Prince ( down a road that barely looks like a road) heading away from Wailea, there are amazing snorkling pools that you can hike to over lava fields. I think it's one of the prettier areas of Maui and doesn't feel like a tourist trap. However, for the same price, you may be able to find a nicer room elsewhere- I am not sure.

My husband and I went on our honeymoon at the beginning of July and were booked at two Prince Hotels, 1 on the Big Island, 1 on Maui. After staying at the Hapuna Beach Prince hotel on the Big Island, we had high expectations of the Maui Prince Hotel. However, our expectations were not met.

When we checked in at the front desk, we asked about a room upgrade since we were on our honeymoon, and we were told that the hotel normally does complimentary upgrades but they did not have anything available since the hotel was booked. That was fine with us, so we went to our room. We got off the elevator and there was our room, right in front of the elevator. Not a good location at all. We opened the door and found our roomm in really bad condition. It was equivalent to a run-down Jersey shore motel, except 3 times the price. Our lanai was extremely dirty (see picture), the carpet was ripped in spots, shower was not clean, and the decor was extremely outdated. The showerhead was like nothing I have ever seen. Our view, which was partial oceanview, was mostly of the roof of some building.

Now, we do not complain about things, it has to be VERY bad for my husband or I to speak up and complain about something, and this was bad enough for us to go down to the front desk and let them know how unhappy we were. We could not stay in a room like that for the next 7 nights of our honeymoon. We were told that they might have an oceanfront view room available, that the people who were possibly going to stay in it hadn't called back yet, so that we might be able to stay in that room for an extra $80 a night. They said we could check out that room. So, we went down, got the key, and headed up to that room. It was the same type of room, dirty and outdated, the only difference was a gorgeous view off of the lanai. We weren’t really concerned about the view, so didn’t want to spend $80 more a night for this! We went back down to the front desk, and I asked about the complimentary upgrade we were at first told we couldn’t get. Now that this room was available, wouldn’t this be a free upgrade. We were given some -- story about how since they were booked up it couldn’t be given to us for free. So basically we were lied too, told one thing, then another. I just became angrier and angrier.

I asked to speak to the manager, I needed some answers. An assistant manager came out to talk to us. She offered us the oceanview room at $60 more a night. We didn’t want that. We already paid so much to stay here, and the oceanview room wasn’t in any better condition. I felt trapped, and I could feel the tears coming. We were also told before by the man at the desk that if we wanted to leave and cancel our room that they need 72 hours advanced notice or we get charged for the rooms. That’s 3 nights, I couldn’t waste 3 nights there! I asked the manager about this and she said she would waive that policy for us if we found somewhere else to stay, she didn’t want us to be trapped on our honeymoon somewhere we were unhappy.

So, we went back up to our room and started calling around to other resorts to see if we could be accommodated. My husband was set that he wanted the Four Seasons, and he called and they did have rooms available, just not for the current night, but for the rest of our 6 nights. We got prices, and it would be about $80 more a night for a mountainview room there. So, we booked it.

We told the hotel we’d stay the night and cancelled our other nights. We walked around to check out the rest of the Maui Prince. The nicest part of the hotel was their courtyard in the center. It is a garden like setting, with a very nice waterfall and gorgeous koi pond. We checked out the pool, unimpressive. We went down to their beach, nice beach, but beat up beach chairs and umbrellas. It’s really a shame!

All in all, the hotel is in desperate need of an update, and will need it in order to stay in commpetition with the other hotels in Maui that are gorgeous and have comparable prices.

Ok, after reading all the reviews, I was a little worried. But now I just wonder if some of these reviewers arent just people with interest in other hotels. We stayed at the Maui Prince for 7 nights in July, we were immediately checked in and told there was a beautiful room waiting...we did not ask for an upgrade, because I already knew all rooms came with an ocean view, our room was clean, smelled nice and was overall a great experience, we ordered room service and ate out on the lanai a couple of times the food was great, listening to the waves crash in. Housekeeping was excellent, our room was cleaned expertly everyday. We went and toured the place, and when we came back there was a chilled bottle of wine from the hotel, since it was our honeymoon. We made great use of the activities people booking different tours, they were great even with stuff we decided to do last minute. I highly reccomend the snorkeling trip that sets off right on the hotel's beach. A valet person offered up an excellent, excellent local breakfast spot. The pool was round and small (there are 2, one for kids, one for adults), but was nice to swim in, the beach was great, on our last morning, there was a turtle swimming right at the water's break. We flew over 12 hours to make it to Maui, so it wouldnt take much for me to find something to complain about, however at the Maui Prince I found nothing short of a great time. It is true that if your looking for nightlife then you should stay in Lahaina, because as anyone will tell you most places are closed after 10pm in Makena and Wailea, but thats not exactly the hotel's fault.... The thing I loved the most was even though the hotel was full, you never had the feeling of crowededness, if you wanted to be off on your own on the beach or anywhere, you could be. I would go back in a heartbeat.