Before you can decide where to stay on Maui, you have to decide whether
you prefer a hotel or a condo. Here's how to decide.
The advantages of a hotel are:
- More elaborate grounds and pools and lobbies -
Hotel grounds are usually lush with beautiful plants and flowers, pools
are usually large and interestingly shaped and there are often multiple
pools, lobbies are large and may be lavishly decorated.
- Air conditioning - All major Maui hotels, but only
some Maui condos, are air conditioned.
- Shops and restaurants in the building - You don’t
have to drive or even walk far to shop or to eat.
- More service - Hotels usually have daily maid
service, available room service, and a bellman to help with your luggage
or to park your car if you wish.
- Consistent quality of rooms - All of the rooms in
any one hotel are similarly decorated and updated, so if you are staying
at a top-quality hotel you are not likely to get a poorly maintained or
worn-looking room.
The advantages of a condo are:
- More space - Condos give you more room to spread
out, especially helpful for families traveling with children.
- More rooms - Condos usually have a living room,
bedroom and kitchen, and sometimes a dining room and extra closets.
Two-bedroom condos often have two bathrooms.
- Kitchen - Since condos have a kitchen, you can
save money on restaurants by eating some of your meals in the condo. Even
if you don’t want to cook, you will have a full-size refrigerator to store
carried-in foods.
- Sharing - Two couples traveling together can share
one condo and split the cost.
- Price - Most Maui condos cost less per night than
most Maui hotels.
- BUT - Some of the cheaper condos do not have air
conditioning or daily maid service, so be sure to ask about that. Some
people don’t mind using just open windows and ceiling fans, but personally
I would not stay on Maui without air conditioning, especially in the
hottest months of June through October.
- AND - Bear in mind that the quality of condo rooms
varies widely, both from one condo building to another, and from one unit
to another within the same condo building. Each unit in a condo is
individually owned, and some owners do not keep their décor and
furnishings updated as well as others. So when you make your
reservation, and again when you check in at the condo, ask for a room that
has been renovated within the past few years.
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