My wife and I just returned from Maui. Stayed at the Ritz Carlton and the Kea Lani. Some hybrid of the two would have been perfect. (As a point of reference, on previous trips to HI we stayed at the Princeville resort, the Royal Hawaiian, the Lodge at Koele, and Kona Village.) Problem with the Kea Lani was with the check-in experience. Arrived, impressed by valet, lobby, and reception. My wife had told the reservation person we were in Hawaii to celebrate our anniversary. This information was never conveyed to staff. (At Ritz we received much love.) Anyway, still high on the check-in experience we came crashing down to earth when we saw the room--a mountain view that was actually a parking lot view. Room looked worn and dingy. So depressing. We complained and were led to another room, this one in the renovated section of the resort, which was nice, but what a journey. What was the guy thinking? We saw the bowels of the resort, construction workers ripping up carpet; the cold towels, lei greeting, and juice were a very distant memory. This new room was much better than the first, but was a double, not the king we had requested--at least we were spared the parking lot view. Why couldn't we have been offered this room in the first place. (We changed to another room the next day, which was very nice--if they had offered this room at the start all would have been great.) Ate at Nick's; had braced for ridiculous prices and Nick exceeded expectations. We had a very pleasant evening--excellent service, good food, but wildly overpriced. All in all, service at the resort was very good, bathroom in room is great, the beach is lovely, grounds are beautiful. If you have read this far, let me say this, the Ritz strived to make us feel special, the Kea Lani was terrific, less the awkward beginning.

We stayed five days at the Fairmont three weeks ago and had a wonderful time. The hotel is beautiful and the staff is very attentive. Yes a small section of the carpet on the corners is dark along the edges with what is probably mildew given the amount of heat and moister that is part of the Hawaiian climate. I doubt the rug cleaning machines can clean those areas properly. It is barely noticeable. That being said the Fairmont needs to be vigilant that the furniture and rugs do not look too worn or they will lose their reputation. Otherwise the suite was immaculate. The bathroom is huge and it had an enormous tub with an open shower beside it. The bathroom is completely done in earth tone marble. Side by side pedestal sinks and a lots of mirrors. House keeping comes twice a day - once in the morning to do the usual stuff and again in the evening to tidy up your suite and turn down your bed. I would caution about the mattress in the pull out sofa it is very uncomfortable. We stayed in a deluxe ocean view suite and the view was truly magnificent. I advise not to stay on the very top floor as we did because there is very little shade on the laniai. All laniais have a chase lounge and a glass topped table with four chairs. The grounds are beautiful and Polo beach is great for body surfing or boogie boarding. Bring or buy your own boogie board. The prices that are charged to rent one are ridiculous. The beach chairs are free. Forty-four dollars a day for an umbrella. Sixty a day for one of those tented cabana chairs at the beach (needs to be reserved in advance). Yes its disgraceful to be charged for a bogie board or an umbrella when you pay so much for a room but the Fairmont is not the worst of the offenders. At least the Fairmont gave you the beach chair – the Hilton in Honolulu, which we had visited the week before, charged for that too. They charged extra for so many things that for a while there I though they were going to charge me a toilet paper roll restocking fee. Many guests grumbled that they were being soaked so Paris could afford to keep her dog in the latest designer outfits. Here is my advice … stay away from Oahu … it is a dump and I'm not just talking about Honolulu. Crowded, run down, and trash strewn. Maui on the hand was a clean, well-kept, and incredibly beautiful island and I highly recommend it. On a side note we spoke to a couple staying at the Four Seasons in Maui. They said the hotel was beautiful but very crowded everywhere you went. Also Wailea beach has a new condo project going up next to the Shops a Wailea so make sure you don’t have to look at the giant construction crane.

Just returned from a short trip to the Kea Lani over Labor Day. I wanted to post my review as I have referred to this site often for opinions, etc.

The resort is fabulous, plain and simple. The service is outstanding from the valet to the housekeeping staff. The grounds are beautiful. The suites are spacious and very ideal for families with children. I traveled with my 2 young children and the suite was perfect. The bathrooms are huge! Housekeeping does an excellent job and "services" your room twice daily......turn down service in the evening includes replenishing of everything in the suite once again.

Our check in service was friendly and efficient. My husband and I both received leis and our children received candy leis. We were not offered fresh juice or cool towels as I have seen mentioned in these reviews.

We NEVER had a problem finding a chair poolside. Perhaps the resort was not as busy over Labor Day as it is other times of the year. There is an ample supply of lounges all over the resort. If you can't find one poolside, there are some located a few steps away all over the lawn. We were never offered fresh pineapple, cool towels or water poolside. They have cucumber/lemon water stations set up at various points around the pools. I have read where people find the kids to be numerous here at the resort. There is an adult pool and area that is very serene and quiet where you can relax and not be "bothered" by the noise of children enjoying themselves on vacation. The activity pool doesn't compare to the Grand Wailea, but the one slide was fun. If you are looking for a more relaxed pool area and non water park atmosphere, this is it. Rentals poolside were ridiculous....$12 for an intertube per day!

Everything is pricey, but it's Hawaii and to be expected. Cafe Ciao was excellent for dinner. Great food and service. We ate at the breakfast buffet one morning. The food is average and can be found at any resort in Wailea. It's mostly convenience. The birds at that particular restaurant are terrible. They will steal your food right in front of you! We did not eat at Nick's as we had 2 children with us. It was busy every evening and the people we met had good things to say about it.

If you are staying for more than a few days, I recommend stopping at Safeway in Kihei to stock up on essentials for the morning or light lunch as it is cheaper than dropping $50 on the same breakfast and lunch food every day.

I would highly recommend this resort to ANYONE.....honeymooners or families. You won't be disappointed. You get what you pay for. I will be returning in November.

This was our first visit to the Kea Lani. My husband and I usually stay at the Four Seasons when we visit Maui each year. But with two young children, we were looking for a hotel that would better suit our needs. The Kea Lani was perfect. Not as frenetic or massive as the "disney-esque" Grand Wailea, yet more to do that the more sedate Four Seasons.... the Kea Lani was the perfect mix of service, luxury and fun for the family. The suites were spacious (make sure to request a renovated suite) with a fold out queen size sleeper sofa in the living room. We were able to put my 2 year old in the sleeper sofa and had plenty of room for the crib for our infant. The suites have mini kitchens (microwave ovens, small fridge, sink) and entertainment systems with TV, DVD/CD players. Each floor has complimentary washer/dryers (4 machines per floor... you can buy detergent at the gift shop). The bathrooms are huge... large soaking tub, large walk-in shower.

The pool area was great. There is a lovely, quiet adult pool (no one under 18 allowed) and the two-level family pool. There is a water slide...great fun for kids (mostly 3 and older) and the upper pool has a swim up bar. The lower pool has a basketball net for water play and a separate wading pool for the littlest ones. Be warned, when we were there at the end of August, most of the chaise lounges by umbrellas were spoken for by 6:30AM. There are cabanas that rent for $50 a day (they supply you with as much chilled bottle water as you want) but you would have to reserve well in advance of your stay. The pool hut has all sorts of float toys for rent.

The beach is lovely and the staff will set you up with chaises and umbrellas (rented at $9 an hour). They also have sand toys for the kids that they will lend you.

The restaurants were a mixed bag. The Beach Grill was okay, Nick's Fish Market was excellent and Ciao Tratorria was just okay. They do have a deli which is great for getting good deli sandwiches.

There were activities every day for the kids (They have a kids club for children 5 and older for a fee). Every afternoon they set up a big bounce on the lawn. And they would have a juggler/magic show, face painting, hula lessons.... all free. Every morning at 9AM they allow the children to help feed the koi fish. And every evening, the guy who lit all the torches was followed around by a group of children... it looked like the Pied Piper....adorable.