My wife and I stayed at the Royal Kahana from March 21-28 and we had a great time. We stayed in a 1-bedroom unit that was very well decorated and in great shape. Even being on the 2nd floor offered a clear view of the ocean and neighboring islands. We even got some great views of the whales breaching from our lanai.
Yes, the complex isn't the Ritz-Carlton, but it wasn't in that bad of shape as some of the other reviews have claimed. The staff was also very pleasant and not rude at all as others have claimed. The daily maid service was super and efficient. She even did our dishes! The carpet was clean and in very good condition as was the furniture in all the rooms. The only "dated" aspect of the room was the tile in the bathroom (it was still in good shape though).
Having a car (a must) made it very easy to get to the various beaches, Lahaina, South Maui, etc, although the traffic can be a bit congested at times. And speaking of beaches, we found the D.T. Fleming beach to be a great place to use the body board, but the ones in Kihei (South Maui) offered calmer water and nicer facilities. Just a matter of opinion as ALL the beaches we went to were very good. The only downside for my wife was the water temp (74 degrees) and the cool evenings. This was our first trip to Hawaii as we have been going to Jamaica the last two years which does have warmer water, but it just takes a day or two to acclimate.
Yes, if you want to save some bucks, go to Safeway or Star Market for food items and do some meals in the room. We did breakfast there and prepared our lunch on most days before we headed out (bought a small cooler at Star for $9 and got ice at the condo in the basement).
Parking was NOT an issue as another reviewer recently stated (I was there at the same time he was), but the slots are very narrow. If you stay with an intermediate size car you'll be fine.
Overall, our seven days in Maui were great, and staying at the Royal Kahana was much better than we had expected.







Value
Rooms



Value
Cleanliness
Value



