Is there any action at night in Maui?

[Lees]

Hi ladies! My fiance and I have  been to the island of Oahu and loved it! We stayed in Waikiki and had a blast! Now we are deciding on having our wedding next year in Hawaii and are thinking Maui! We are aware that Maui is way mellower and no Waikiki but we are looking to stay in a hotel with somewhat of a bit of action at night! Does that exist in Maui? Any recommendations on the best location to stay? I hear Lahaina or Kaanapali? Are there any hotels that are reasonably priced with a bit of a pool scene ( drink service, nice atmosphere), and perhaps a hotel with a bar/pub or close to some evening action that our wedding group would enjoy? Thanks lots for any replies!

Lees

[Larisa629]

Hi Lees!!

 

I just came back from Maui and Oahu and I have to say that Maui is way different than Oahu.   It's a lot more chill and not very big into the party scene.  However, there is this one place in the Lahaina area called Timba.  This is the closest club/lounge place that I have heard about.  My wedding coordinator suggested that I do something fun here with my wedding party and I've checked out reviews and photos and it looks great.  My fiance and I were actually thinking of renting it out for my wedding but they don't allow any guests at all under 21.

In terms of best location to stay, it's kind of hard to say just yet.  I'm biased because I've stayed in the Ka'anapali area twice and I love it!  However, I'm going out to Maui for my scouting trip at the end of May so I can give you a better update cause I'll be staying in Kihei/Wailea area.  Lahaina is fun and full of shops, restaurants, art galleries and the port for many excursions.  It's also a better value than Wailea cause it offers different condo's/hotels/resorts in all price ranges.  I've heard that the Kihei area is also a good value.  Hope this helps a little bit.  Let me know if you have any more questions

 

Larisa

[Lees]

 Hi Larissa, thanks so much for the reply!  It sounds like Kaanapali area would probably be best for us all to stay! We are still undecided if we are going to have our wedding in Oahu or Maui but hoping to make our decision soon ahhh! I love the idea of going somewhere new but my fiance is still worried Maui will be too dead and quiet! Ha its not like were party animals but we want to make sure theres a lot to do for our guests in the day and night time! Another concern of ours is how everyone gets around.Did you find it easy to get to Lahaina from Kaanapali or does everyone need to rent a car? One advantage for Waikiki is everything is right there, no need to hire a car right!

Do you have any suggestions for places to stay in Kaanapali? We want to pick a hotel that will suit many budgets. A middle of the road hotel that has pool service a restaurant and on the beach! Sort of like the Outrigger Waikiki. Does anything like that exist in Kaanapali? I think the entry price for some of the fancier hotels ( hyatt etc) would be too expensive for some of our guests!

Sorry for the questions overload, its so hard when weve never been to Maui!

Ps Who's your wedding planner? Would you recommend?

Thanks again for the reply,

Lees

[Larisa629]

Hi Lees,

No worries!  I am happy to help out  You're completely right about Oahu, you dont need a car cause you're right there on the strip.  It is so convenient.  In Maui, though, your guests will need a car to get to Lahaina from Ka'anapali.  It's about a 10-15 minute drive, however, I think that some hotels offer free shuttles and I believe that there are buses in the area that go there.  In Maui you sort of need a car because a lot of the beautiful things you would want to see, i.e Road to Hana, IAO needle, Haleakala, are all a drive's away.

Ka'anapali is a strip full of all different hotels/condos/villas for all budgets.  Through research for our own wedding, I've found that Royal Lahaina Resort and Ka'anapali Beach hotel offer some good deals.  However, I'm not sure if they have the amenities you're looking for.  I got a travel agent and I do a lot of my own research as well, and it's hit or miss.  Sometimes I check travel websites and see that the Westin Maui Resort and Spa (which is really nice) is going for the same price as one of the other hotels that are not as nice.  So just look around and do your research.  I completely agree with you about Hyatt, it's absolutely gorgeous there BUT most people cant afford their $400/night price tag!

If you dont care that you are not directly on the water, but like a 5 minute walk away, then the Outrigger Maui Eldorado resort may be an affordable option.  The couple times that I've been to Maui, I've always stayed at the Whaler on Ka'anapali.  It's a condo with a full kitchen, which ends up saving me money cause I try and eat breakfast and lunch when I can.  That way I can justify staying on vacation for a longer period of time

If you want some information about activities, I can send you the link to my website that I'm working on.  I posted some of my favorite excursions and I think you'll be really amazed by all the things that Maui has to offer!  Although, Maui is definitely different than Oahu, I think that it really has it's advantages.  Its not as touristy, no huge buildings or traffic jams, and beaches are a lot less crowded.

My wedding planner is AMAZING!  Her name is Kara from youralohawedding.com  She helps you with EVERYTHING!  I mean I probably went through hundreds of emails with her already and I'm not getting married till January!!!  My fiance and I are having a very detailed ceremony and are both very particulate about what we want.  If you do decide to do Maui, talk to her for sure, cause I initially had a really hard time finding someone that didn't try to offer me all these packages that I didnt want or need,  Then I finally found her on theknot.com and everything just clicked.  Let me know if you want any more info or if you have any questions.

 

Larisa

[choeft201]

Hello,

 

I lived in Maui for 3 years and visit my family there once a year..not lots of night life anymore but if I were to choose a place to stay it would be Wailea. A nice bar/ irish pub  close called Mulligans..it is fun and they have dinner and a show usually on Friday night. Also a few fun bars in a section of Kihei off off South Kihei Rd. The plaza/area they are located in is called the Triangle and is next to Foodland. Lahaina is also nice for night life but it is a pretty far drive from the nice hotels in Ka'anapali. If I was to have a wedding in Maui I would do it at one of 2 places depending on guest size and budget..The Grand Wailea Hotel (best pool and swim up bar on the island) and beautiful chapel or at Mama's beach house. Let me know if I can be of any help to any of you.

[Lees]

Hi ladies, thanks so much for the replies Although Wailea sounds beautiful, I hear that Kaanapali area has more affordable options to stay at no? Any recommendations for Wailea?

Larisa, that would be amazing if you could send me the link to the website you're working on! Any tips at all would be so great! We are in the very preliminary planning stages but have a goal to have hopefully things figured out by end of May eek!! Any group activity ideas would be so hopeful as we would like to plan some exursions for everyone! 

I've contacted a few wedding planners so far and fees tend to range from $1000 to $3000!! What is Kara your wedding planner fees like?

Have a great evening, thanks again so much for the feedback!

Lees

[greysgirl]

 

 

Originally Posted by Lees 

 

Hi ladies, thanks so much for the replies Although Wailea sounds beautiful, I hear that Kaanapali area has more affordable options to stay at no? Any recommendations for Wailea?

Larisa, that would be amazing if you could send me the link to the website you're working on! Any tips at all would be so great! We are in the very preliminary planning stages but have a goal to have hopefully things figured out by end of May eek!! Any group activity ideas would be so hopeful as we would like to plan some exursions for everyone! 

I've contacted a few wedding planners so far and fees tend to range from $1000 to $3000!! What is Kara your wedding planner fees like?

Have a great evening, thanks again so much for the feedback!

Lees

Hi Lees:)  We were just married in Maui on April 11th, and had a lovely time.  We stayed in Wailea at it was amazing.  We did rent a car, though b/c you'll want to explore the island too.  I'd definitely go into Paia and see Twin Falls (where we did our TTD).  I also would HIGHLY recommend our planner, Cherise with The Perfect Maui Wedding.  She was so great, easy to contact, very organized, and was only $500!!  Here's her website: http://www.theperfectweddingmaui.com/   We also used several vendors whom she recommended and they were great.  Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

 

 

[Deetskc]

Aloha Lees!

It might be a little late for recommendations, but I thought I'd still give you some tips about Maui!  My mother's family is originally from Oahu, but my Aunt currently lives in Kihei in Maui and my fiance and I have visited her there twice.  We actually recently got engaged on our trip to the island just last month!  Like you, I'm planning a wedding in Maui and have been dealing with a lot of the same questions and concerns you have. But, I will say I that I wholeheartedly agree with choeft201 that South Maui is definitely the way to go! You're right that Wailea is more expensive, but Makena and Kihei have much more affordable options for hotel accommodations.  As of right now, my guests and I are likely staying at the Aston Maui Hill in Kihei which has fantastic pricing for condos, but any of the Aston resorts are a good value and are really well-managed!  The problem with West Maui (Lahaina and Ka'anapali) is that you're more likely to encounter days of cloudy or rainy weather because of the mountains and wind on that side of the island.  Also, the beaches in my opinion are more crowded (due to all the resorts), not as pretty, and very windy.  So, although there are resorts and hotels a plenty, South Maui actually is the better place to stay (and get married for that matter) if you're worried about weather because it rarely gets rain or prolonged cloud cover.  

 

Also, the nice thing about South Maui is there is SOO many things for your guests to enjoy! Kihei has great beach bars, casual restaurants and shopping and it's only a 5 minute drive to the absolutely stunning beaches of Wailea and Makena.  Makena Beach (or Big Beach) is rated the most beautiful beach on Maui and they aren't lying! Makena is relatively undeveloped so there are times where you can have a beach all to yourselves!  

 

Also, since renting a car on Maui is a MUST (no reliable public transportation on Maui), you could still travel up to Lahaina and it's only a 35 minute drive.  It may sound like a trek if you're used to staying on Oahu, but the drive is stress-free and the scenery is so beautiful you'll forget you're driving! For people who stay in Ka'anapali, the drive is pretty long to get to all the beautiful locations in South Maui, so they end up missing the best of what the island has to offer!  Other than it's proximity to Lahaina, the Ka'anapali area doesn't have as much to offer as Kihei/Wailea/Makena in terms of beaches, nightlife, shopping, and restaurants, so it was definitely the first on my list for places to recommend to you!  It's important to balance your pros and cons and every group's needs are different.  But, in my opinion, the pros of staying in South Maui and having a wedding there far outweigh any negatives.  Hope this helps!

 

As for group activities or excursions, we have thought about chartering a boat to take us to Molokini.  The only downside is that if you get a cloudy day, snorkeling is not nearly as amazing as everyone makes it out to be because the colors don't really pop without sunshine!  One thing my wedding party and I are going to do when we go next summer is the Old Lahaina Luau.  It is by far the most amazing show I've seen in Maui! My aunt also recommended seeing Ulalena but we have not done that yet.  Other than that, almost all the bars in Kihei are within walking distance of each other, meaning you can park at one of the Kamaole beaches and have a night out!  Most also have nice views of the sunset, Moose McGullicuddy's in particular, and great happy hour specials!

-KCD

[karyan]

Thanks for posting this Deetskc!

 

Really makes me glad we are based in Kihei! We too are staying at the Aston Maui Hill, and the Old Lahaina Luau is our group luau choice.....you've just gotten me so excited to go there in October

 

Thanks!
 

[Deetskc]

You're very welcome!  If you couldn't tell, I loooove South Maui haha.  My parents actually suggested we look at condos in Lahaina since we are thinking of getting married at the Olowalu Plantation House and I shot them down haha.  South Maui just has too much to offer to pass up!  But, I will say that Lahaina is most definitely worth experiencing one night, perhaps before or after your trip to the Old Lahaina Luau.  I recommend going to Kimo's for a nice dinner, it's awesome and not as pricey as Mama's Fish House.

 

If you have any other questions about that area, feel free to ask me!

-KCD