Resort vs. condos???

[jay45]

My fiance and I are planning on having a Maui wedding. We have been doing some research online and are having a hard time on deciding whether or not to book accomodations at a resort (and have the wedding right there) or condos (and have the wedding somewhere else). We like the idea of condos because we can then do some of our own cooking, however, most of the ones we have looked into are more expensive. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?? Thanks!

[mspattemac]

Not sure if this is an option for you but we rented a house with 3 other couples.

It was super nice (ocean view, pool, hot tub, etc) and was like being at a resort but was more affordable since we could split the price up.

We ate out a lot but it was nice to be able to cook breakfast and have snacks (an alcohol) at the house. After an unsuccessful deep sea fishing trip, we went and bought a bunch of a fish and cooked ourselves. It was really nice because we were able to have people over who weren't staying with us. We looked into having a chef come in and cook a meal but it was pricey. I was a little worried beforehand about people being left out of activities if we rented a house and didn't stay at a resort that other could choose to stay at, but it actually worked out well because if people wanted to do activities with us then the house served as a meeting place.

A lot of these luxury kind of houses also double as wedding venues so you might want to look into that.

Not sure how many guests you are having. We had our wedding and reception at another location but we only had 14 guests so if we wanted to have it at the house, it would've worked.

If you do look into something like this, I would try to negotiate the price. I can't remember how much we saved but my husband saved us a good amount by negotiating.

 

Do you know what part of Maui you are wanting to stay in? We were in the Lahaina area.

[newCDNbride]

That's a great idea to rent a house with other couples. Mspattemac, which website did you use?

 

I've had a few friends book condos through VRBO and have really enjoy their experiences. They really like having the convenience of having their own kitchen and washing machine. Plus I think there's a bit more privacy at the condos compared to a resort. On the flip side, they had to do all the cleaning, linen changes, etc themselves, which some people might not want to do on their vacation.

[Amanda81]

My Fiance and I as well as all of our guests are staying at the Aston Kaanapali Shores. Its a condo complex but does have some resort ammenities like an onsite restaurant and 2 pools. We chose it becuase it had regular hotel rooms, studios as well as 1 and 2 bedroom condos. Our guests could choose what unit type fited their needs and budget. I might be wrong but I think they do provide daily maid service, they just don't do your dishes.

Hope that helps!

[Amanda81]

My Fiance and I as well as all of our guests are staying at the Aston Kaanapali Shores. Its a condo complex but does have some resort ammenities like an onsite restaurant and 2 pools. We chose it becuase it had regular hotel rooms, studios as well as 1 and 2 bedroom condos. Our guests could choose what unit type fited their needs and budget. I might be wrong but I think they do provide daily maid service, they just don't do your dishes.

Hope that helps!

[jay45]

I have never thought about renting a house. Thats a great idea!

[Stacy015]

My fiance and I are looking into renting a timeshare. It seems like the cheapest way to go. Actually some of my family already owns timeshare property at Sands of Kahana - so my guests are all renting timeshare rooms there as well so we're all together. Even if you wanted to stay somewhere like the Marriott, it is cheaper to rent through someone's timeshare than book online (such as their website or Orbitz).

 

I would like to hear other people's opinions as well though - we are looking at what to do for our second week when it is just the two of us...

[mspattemac]

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

 

This is a video I saw today on cnn. We had to check out of the house by noon and our plane left at 10pm so we rented a room at the Seaside hotel he is talking about and stored our groups luggage there while we did more sightseeing and were able to freshen up before we headed to the airport.

It's not a nice hotel but it was great for what we needed it for.

 

I also wanted to to mention that if you go to buy banana bread, the girls at Julia's were a little rude and they were out of bread. So we continued on to Lorraine's Shaved Ice were they also sell banana bread (ice cream sandwiches made with banana bread, and jellies and stuff. I found this youtube clip someone posted of her. She was great! When we go back, we will make a special trip just to go to Lorraine's.

YouTube - Lorraines Shaved Ice, Maui

 

Incase someone is reading this later and the video isn't available, they mention the website vrbo.com and that is a good website if you are wanting to rent a house or condo.

[lizconemac]

I'm getting married in Maui in August, and we're staying at a condo and on our invites telling our guests where we're staying and suggesting all of our guests stay at the same condo complex. I've reserved it through VRBO is Vacation Rentals By Owner - on that website you can rent the condo directly from the condo owner so it's usually a lot nicer and less expensive. I LOVE staying at a condo over a hotel. The one we stay at is right on Sugar Beach, so you can wander out to the beach in the morning with your coffee. With a condo you can grocery shop, make breakfast each morning (fresh pineapple!), bbq by the beach - it just feels more homey to me.

[AlexsBride]

I have lots of experience in the condo/all inclusive debate...I own a condo company on the North Coast in the Dominican Republic. Several of my clients opt for the condo route after "getting bored with AI's"...and after a few vacations at an All Inclusive, you do get bored.

 

For our wedding, we are going the AI route simply because we don't want to have to look after anything once we get there. Also we are getting married in Cuba and I am guessing the condos in Hawaii are going to be much nicer!

 

Being able to make your own meals, especially breakfast is nice in a condo.