Let me first start off by saying this condo is amazing-clean, modern, relaxed.

I was VERY impressed with our room, the grounds, the pool, and beach access. We just arrived at the Grand Wailea after being at Honua Kai for 6 days, and I'm already a little let down by the GW (I will review once we are finished staying here). I miss the modern look and feel of the Honua Kai. In comparison the GW looks a bit run down.

Duke's was fantastic for easy meals by the pool, and dinner in the evening was exceptional (and pricey). 'Aina market was nice, they had a great selection of gluten free snacks, fresh salads, etc, but if you want to save money walk across the street to Times market. And DO NOT miss a meal at Ono Taco up the street.

The staff was superb, very welcoming. It was a near-perfect visit.

Here is my only concern: there is a sewage treatment plant across the highway, and there were times when the odor was horrible. I mean, pure, raw sewage smell. At first we thought the problem was a resort south of us, because we would encounter the odor while walking on the beach. But soon it became clear that the odor was coming from across the highway.

Our room was in the Konea tower, and for the most part we experienced no odor while in our room or by the pool. However, walking south on the beach, or even sitting by the pool at the south tower was nearly impossible without a near-constant stench. I kid you not, it was like hitting a wall.

My concern is, if we return to this lovely resort, will we get a room in the tower that does not have an odor? And what happens if the wind shifts? I have no idea if we simply got lucky, or if the Konea tower is always out of the odor's path.

You can read more about the problems with the treatment plant here:

http://www.lahainanews.com/page/content.detail/id/502407.html

http://www.thehipmothership.com/2012/04/06/maui-part-1-sewage-smells-instead-of-ocean-swells/

The suites themselves are nicely appointed, although there are many simple things lacking in the kitchen (i.e oven mitts). The grounds and the lobby are nice, but here are the list of problems:

The rooms are not cleaned well on a daily basis. The same stain remained on the tap in the bathroom until I removed it using a tissue and water. If it was that easy for me to remove, what did the cleaning staff do? We were there for two weeks and had to ask for the sheets to be changed at day 10. Staff were knocking on the door at 8:30am to "clean" and if we weren't ready to go, our room would not likely be cleaned that day without a great deal of reminders to housekeeping.

The exercise room was well equipped, however, every piece of equipment with a television monitor was broken. Having a TV to watch while you exercise is a plus especially if the view isn't great (an empty grass field), but they're no good if none of the ear phone jacks work and you don't have the option of enabling close captioning so you can at least read the dialogue.

There were four pools on the grounds including the one reserved for "quiet" use. All of the pools were only 3-4 feet in depth which makes swimming out of the question. They are too small given the number of people trying to use them. Guests hold several spots first thing in the morning and then disappear for hours. Other resorts I have stayed at remove items after an hour to allow other guests to use them. Many of the umbrellas used for shade were broken. Babies were allowed to use the pools without swimming diapers and, if fact, I saw one woman cleaning her baby's poopy bottom in the pool in between a diaper change. It was absolutely disgusting.

The beach in front of the resort is narrow and there are a lot of rocks in the water. We found ourselves traveling 5-10 minutes up the road to spend time at any number of bays which were sheltered, had rocky areas for snorkelling as well as sandy areas in the water so you could play without hurting your feet. Our favourites were Napili, Kapalua and Honolua.

Take a look at those who provided a good review. Too much emphasis is placed on the suites which are nice, but don't make up for the problems, especially given the rates charged. We won't be returning.

We stayed with our 3 and 5 year old in a two bedroom condo. We loved the modern, clean, spacious living area and decent sized balcony. The curtains are very good at blocking light allowing a sleep in too. There is a great coffee shop in the foyer selling icecreams and interesting local boutique produce as well as a supermarket in walking distance. That's important for us as we ate dinner in a few nights and lunch most days. The pool area is busy but plenty of deck chairs around the four or five pools. The beach is just over a dune which is nice to be out of sight from the hotel. The water is flat and I had my 5 year old snorkelling and we saw turtles every day. It's a 15 min taxi to town, we didn't hire a car. The kids club is a bit lacking, staff not terribly enthusiastic and seems more like supervised play rather than organised activities. Not sure it would be suitable for kids old than mine. Dukes for dinner is perfect to have right on the premises. We will be back!