Sunfinder Vacations

Renovated in 2005, Outrigger Aina Nalu resort consists of nine low-rise buildings situated on nine landscaped acres. The shops and restaurants of Front Street are within a couple of blocks, and the beach is a half-mile away. A busy whaling port in the 1800s, Lahaina now offers visitors a variety of experiences, including a live theater, art galleries, and a whaling museum.

An orchid-filled, open-air lobby opens to tropical gardens with waterfalls, swans and flamingos, and koi ponds. Adjacent to a sandy swimming beach and within a half-mile of Kaanapali's two championship golf courses, the 12-acre Westin Maui Resort and Spa is popular with celebrating couples, golfers, families, and other leisure travelers.

An inspiring view of the blue Pacific and famed Black Rock greets guests as they enter the copper-trimmed, open-air lobby with vaulted ceiling. Hotel staff offer welcoming leis. Tropical gardens, lagoon pools, sunset bars, classic Hawaiian ambience, and a coveted oceanfront location along the Black Rock promontory draw vacationing families and couples. Golfers appreciate the proximity to Kaanapali’s and Kapalua’s championship courses.

Flagstone pathways meander through an open-air atrium with palm trees, bromeliads, orchids, and Asian art. Peaceful koi ponds, sparkling waterfalls, and swinging rope bridges dot the lush tropical grounds, and the ocean beckons at the edge of the resort. Families, celebrating couples, conference attendees, and leisure travelers are among the guests who return here year after year.

A majestic, open-air lobby with floor mosaics, vaulted ceilings, and a fountain courtyard leads to serene garden lawns with flowering trees and playful aquatic areas. Adjacent to Polo Beach, this 22-acre, Mediterranean-style resort attracts families, leisure travelers, and celebrating couples.

An avenue of oleander and flowering trees leads to an open-air lobby draped around a koi-pond atrium with waterfalls and streams. The Maui Prince Hotel's A-shaped structure points toward a crescent beach and Molokini Islet in the distance. Golfers, celebrating couples, families, and other leisure travelers come to the hotel for its secluded location and modern comforts.

Set on 14 acres on North Kaanapali Beach, the seven-story resort has a two-story, open-air lobby leading to landscaped gardens, a large tropical heated pool, and the Pacific Ocean. Located within a five-minute drive of Kaanapali golf courses and Whalers Village, and a 15-minute drive from historic Lahaina Town, the resort attracts families and leisure travelers.

Guests check in at a reception building, then proceed to one of four 11-story oceanfront buildings housing condominium residences. Footpaths meander through lush tropical landscaping and spacious lawns. The complex is located within Kaanapali Resort and dining, shopping, and golf are within a five-minute walk. Its location and size make the resort popular among multi-generational families needing room to roam.

A glass-walled lobby with skylights opens to a koi-pond garden, a large pool with sun terraces, and, beyond, the beach walk and Kaanapali Beach. Gracious service, high-end amenities, picture-perfect views, condo convenience, peaceful ambience, and access to the beach and golf courses draw guests to this gated oceanfront condo resort. Many are repeat visitors.

The lobby has a modern, upbeat look, with sunshine streaming through the skylights. Flagstone pathways wind through the palm-dotted grounds, and the ocean sparkles beyond. Young, upwardly mobile families and couples return here year after year, drawn to beach and pool recreation, on-site dining and shopping, and the convenience of suites with kitchenettes.

This condo resort is arrayed along one of West Maui’s loveliest beaches, ideal for swimming, snorkeling, boogie-boarding, and walking. Eleven acres of tropical gardens are planted with at least 80 Hawaiian species and dotted with vaulted, low-rise buildings. Families, active travelers, celebrating couples, and golfers appreciate the quiet oceanfront location with easy access to Kaanapali Resort activities.

Built in the 1960s amid 27-acres of tropical gardens facing Kaanapali beach, the casual Royal Lahaina honors the past with a tiki-style Hawaiian ambience of wicker, rattan, a canoe on display, Polynesian (pitched) rooflines, and a Don the Beachcomber bar. Celebrating couples, golfers, families, and other leisure travelers come here for privacy and service combined with proximity to a prime beach and the amenities of the Kaanapali Resort.

What to expect: Winner of numerous prestigious awards, the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua is located in the midst of the 23,000-acre Kapalua Resort on the quieter, western coast of Maui. Soft golden sands lead to the clear Pacific Ocean. Inland are lush rainforests, a protected marine-life conservation district, a native Hawaiian sacred site, and golf courses that double as wildlife sanctuaries. After a $160 million transformation (January 2008), the resort has achieved a new level of luxury.

Amenity highlights: Two championship golf courses adjoin the resort. The Plantation Course unfurls across island canyons, native vegetation, and panoramic oceanfront plateaus. At the Bay Course, the signature hole extends onto an ocean-framed black-lava peninsula.

The Ritz-Carlton's Waihua Spa offers treatments based on native Hawaiian healing and island plants. Most of the 15 treatment rooms open to private outdoor shower gardens. The resort also features a three-tiered outdoor pool with two spa tubs. The Banyan Tree, the resort's signature seafood restaurant, overlooks the Pacific Ocean and Moloka'i.

Insider tip: Dr. Stephen Leatherman (a.k.a "Dr. Beach") named D.T. Fleming Beach, which fronts the resort, America's Best Beach for 2006. A professor of environmental studies, Leatherman is recognized as one of the nation's foremost authorities on beach quality.

Upon check-in, guests are greeted with a fragrant fresh flower lei and a cool towel. The two-story, open-air lobby faces the ocean and includes three restaurants, a casual bar, a spa, and health club wrapped around a courtyard with fountains, swimming pools, and spa tubs. By day, couples and families stake out prime poolside and white-sand beach spots. At night, live piano, ukulele, violin, and guitar music at the dining spots fills the air.

For residential-style accommodations—with the recreation, spa, dining, and shopping of a luxury resort next door—golfers, families, and long-term visitors seek out this 1,600-acre resort on the beach in west Maui.

A tree-shaded esplanade curves toward a majestic lobby with an open-air waterfall pond inlaid with mosaics. A meandering network of pools leads to famed Wailea Beach. With immaculate grounds and an extensive art collection, the 40-acre Grand Wailea Resort attracts families, leisure travelers, and celebrating couples.

From an open-air lobby with ocean views, a grand staircase leads past gardens toward pools, terraces, and Wailea’s beach walk with the ocean beyond. Occupying 22 acres, Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa draws families and other leisure travelers who appreciate the proximity to the famed golf courses, shops, and tennis courts of Wailea.

The lobby of this Maui resort sets a casually stylish tone, with gold-colored beams and wicker-and-rattan furnishings. Family-friendly, with three pools, the low-rise condos also draw couples, seniors, and golfers seeking a relaxed getaway with the ease of condominium living.

Opened in 1947, this 66-acre coastal resort was fully renovated in 2002. Isolated on the eastern side of Maui's Haleakala mountain, it's accessed by a three-hour drive on a winding, two-lane coast highway, with one-lane bridges over waterfalls. The hotel is set in a working ranch, and horses graze on a bluff overlooking Hana Bay. Honeymooners, eco-adventurers, and vacationing businesspeople come for Hawaiian history, culture, and entertainment, and the many on-site recreational and spa services.

The focus of Kaanapali Beach Hotel is Hawaiian culture, history, and values, translating into warm hospitality and an unpretentious ambience. Families and leisure travelers gather for cultural activities in a lobby with lava-rock wall and Hawaiian art. Departing guests receive farewell songs and kukui leis.

With arched colonnades and plantation-style balconies, this seven-story hotel pays tribute to Lahaina’s heyday as a whaling seaport. The lobby opens onto a beachfront splash pool, offering sweeping ocean views. Leisure travelers and couples enjoy the hotel's location within a half-mile of Lahaina Harbor and Front Street attractions.

This low-key hotel draws budget-minded families and honeymooners who wish to prepare their own meals and set their own pace, ocean-side. Fifty yards away, Napili Bay's sand beach slopes to the water, reachable by an ocean-side path.

Located between Kaanapali and Kapalua, the Outrigger Royal Kahana hugs a sandy West Maui beach. The casual 12-story hotel attracts families, celebrating couples, and leisure travelers with the convenience of condominium lodging close to shopping, golf, and ocean sports.

This low-rise oceanfront resort is arrayed on 13 acres with tropical gardens, plumeria trees, palm-fringed koi ponds, putting greens, and pools. Families, couples, and leisure travelers come here for privacy, condo convenience, and beach access, which can be combined with hotel-style amenities available at a companion property next door.

Set on six tropical acres with jade-green hills as a backdrop, ResortQuest Kaanapali Shores faces popular Kaanapali Beach. A porte-cochère leads to a stylish lobby with floor-to-ceiling windows, Polynesian artwork, abundant greenery, and inviting seating areas.

A placid, well-maintained resort situated away from the resort-area bustle, Sugar Beach lives up to its sweet name. The resort's developer, struck by the soft, light-colored sand along the ocean, bestowed the name. (Hardly anyone uses the beach's Hawaiian name anymore.) Families and budget-minded travelers come here to rest, relax, swim, barbecue at sunset, and walk the beach.

Sand-colored stucco, aqua awnings, and hillside gardens create a serene Mediterranean ambience at the 10-acre Outrigger Palms. A half-mile from Wailea's shops and beach, the condominium resort is within three miles of downtown Kihei and Wailea Golf Club.

Guests check in at a lobby with wicker and rattan couches before heading to condos housed in 10 four-story buildings. Located on the quieter end of busy South Kihei, across the street from Kamaole Beach Park III, the 15-acre Castle Kamaole Sands draws families and other leisure travelers with its tropical landscaping and recreation facilities.

Ceiling fans and antique and contemporary Hawaiian quilts decorate the glass-paneled lobby of this secluded condominium hotel. Set on five oceanfront acres, ResortQuest Mahana at Kaanapali is a mile from Whalers Village shopping and four miles from historic Lahaina Town.

What to expect: Families and other leisure travelers are drawn to this condo-style West Maui resort set on 10 beachfront acres. The open-air lobby houses cushioned cane furnishings and metal sea-life sculptures, and the reception area opens onto gardens. A conch shell is blown at 10 AM each morning to announce complimentary coffee, tea, and lemonade.

Amenity highlights: Napili Kai Beach Resort offers four outdoor pools, two 18-hole putting greens, and a large spa tub. Weekly classes include hula and lei-making, and a seasonal kids’ club is complimentary. Live Hawaiian entertainment is performed nightly in the open-air restaurant, and a weekly Polynesian dinner show (surcharge) showcases Hawaiian children performing traditional music and dance.

Shaded by flowering trees and set back from Kihei’s main road, ResortQuest at the Maui Banyan attracts families, leisure travelers, and couples seeking proximity to ocean activities and a condominium setting.