We booked a hotel room at the Mana Kai Maui thru Expedia. Expedia gave me alot of conflicting info about the deposit, type of room and every time I called, I got a different story. I was worried that when I got there, I might not have a room. We arrived at the Mana Kai Maui rather late and checked into our hotel room. The units are basically a two bedroom condo, with the hotel room bedroom as a lock out from the main condo. They can be booked seperately, or as a two bedroom condo. When we got to our 1 room hotel room, we were very disappointed, as a sofa, coffee table and bed were all crammed into one room that wasn't that big. The thought of staying there for a week was a disapointment.

We went right down to the front desk and luckily we were able to transfer to an deluxe superior oceanfront condo 1 bedroom on the 7th floor....what a big and happy difference! We loved our oceanfront condo. It had shoji screen type dividers that could be slid open to make the bedroom livingroom dining room, kitchen one big L shaped room. That's how we kept it the whole time. The doors to the balcony or lanai as it's called in Hawaii, opened really far and stretched across the entire livingroom-bedroom wall. The view was OUTSTANDING!! We were so happy with every thing there. The lobby was beautiful, the staff friendly and helpful. It had a beautiful pool and beach area. One of our favorite things to do was to go down to the bar for happy hour and get half priced appetitizers (called pupus in Hawaii) and Mai Tais and watch the sun go down. It's one of the nicest beaches and it's right next to Wailea which is a higher priced area to stay. So you are getting a great deal at the Mana Kai Maui.

I don't really recommend the hotel room tho, it really was too small and compared to the condo, quite a big difference.

My family (Dad, Mom, Boy aged 8, Boy aged 6) rented condo #314 at Mana Kai Resort from its owner for 10 days in late January and early February.

We're from Toronto, so the trip with young kids to Maui was long. At first we were full of excited anticipation. As the trip progressed, we became more and more concerned that we may have picked the wrong place to stay. I guess it was some of the negative (and I believe unfair) reviews that we read here before leaving that generated our anxiousness. Regardless, by the time we picked up our car rental, we were in a near state of panic. That was, right up until we reached the entrance to Mana Kai.

It was early evening and the entrance was lighted by two authentic looking (but gas fueled) torches. Nice touch! The building itself was quite attractive and looked like it had been re-surfaced or painted fairly recently. The lobby was smallish, but beautiful and tranquil. Our unit (again I highly recommend #314) was absolutely perfect! The view (water, mountains, close-by islands, whales, rainbows, etc.) couldn't be better and you could clearly hear every wave and ripple in the ocean. The furniture was great and the beds and pillows were more comfortable than our guest room's at home. I've never felt as relaxed and immediately comfortable in a rental space/hotel room in my life. It felt as if we were "home" right off the bat. The owners included simple but much appreciated things like beach towels, beach chairs, snorkeling equipment etc. The unit also had a very well equipped kitchen and their was a great deli/store on the main floor (prices were high but not really much higher than anywhere else we bought food at on the island).

The beach (and you are literally right on it) is absolutely stunning and perfect for children to swim (even with taller waves in the afternoon, the under-toe didn't seem too concerning). There is also a coral bed and lava rock foundation off to one side that's perfect for snorkeling (and only 10 or so feet deep). My wife and eldest son even saw a giant green sea turtle swimming around below them. Our kids spent a total of 95% of their swimming time in the ocean and only 5% in the pool (which was itself heated and recently renovated). In fact, they only chose the pool when it was night time and swimming in the ocean would be a little creepy. That's the complete opposite of the norm for them. There seems to be a real sense of community at Mana Kai even though most of the people there any given week are renters as apposed to owners. Still, you can count on peace and quiet. There are thick walls (didn't here anyone below or next door) and only the very occasional scraping of chairs, etc. from above. Outside, it goes from chatter and laughing to silence pretty much at the stroke of 9:30 PM everyday. We really didn't hear anything other than the ocean from then through to about 7:30 AM the next day.

The activity lady outside by the lobby was great! She knew the island very well and didn't try to sell you on any one activity or provider over another.

The condos might seem expensive (approx, $300 per night depending on the season). But, we checked the real estate listings and saw a unit just down the hall for sale with an asking price of $1.55 million. That's for the exact same floor plan, similar furnishings, etc. to what we were renting. Where else can you rent a $1.55 million home right on a great beach for $300 per night?

If you have kids (0-to-15), and you plan on spending your time with them, then Mana Kai is a MUST stay in Maui. Some suggestions for a family vacation there:

- buy boogie boards (approx. $25 each at various stores) for the wavier afternoons on the beach; send the kids on one surfing lesson (my boys were both on their feet and riding all the way to shore within 10 minutes)

- bring or buy swim/sun shirts for the kids to protect them both from the sun and the boogie/surf boards; eat breakfast and lunch in your condo (preferably on the lanai) and go out for dinner

- don't bother with the GPS offered by the car rental places (the major roads all pretty much stick to the coast of the island and it's really easy to follow the maps)

- go to the aquarium (they have a pretty big tiger shark there that they captured about 14 months ago)

- Stay in condo #314!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Visited again in January 2008 and the newly upgraded property and rooms are a great improement. This hotel is located on one of the best beaches on Maui and you have a spectacular view fom each apartment. The hotel rooms have also been renovated but the view is limited. I suggest going with the full apartment for a little extra money. The staff including the maids were wonderful. This is a great hotel for everyoe from families to newlyweds.

Jimmy N

Reno, NV

We booked the Mana Kai for 2 weeks in early January 2008. We were a little leary, since we had been in the Restaurant several years previously, and thought the place looked a little run down. We were assured that the entire complex had been renovated. When re arrived, the remodeling was still going on. Old furniture was piled up along every walkway, and the elevators were in construction mode. Our room which supposedly was upgraded, may have been so 20 years ago. It even had shag carpeting. A previous reviewer talked about the small size of the main area, which was little more than a large living room with a divider in place to separate the "bedroom". The large separate bedroom was occupied by our daughter. She could not sleep from the noise in the parking area below. Cars and motercycles were leaving the restaurant late. The parking attendents used the alarms on the cars to find them, which contributed to the noise.
We left after 4 days, to a much nicer property. Of course, since we rented the Mana Kai far in advance, we were locked into the rate for the entire 2 weeks.
We were very disappointed, and don't understand how this place gets such high ratings from both TripAdvisor review, or some of the National travel publications.