Aston at the Maui Banyan — Hotel in Maui

This is a bit of a hard review to nail down with the good and the bad. It's a great location right across the street from the beach. The grounds are very well maintained and on site parking is included in a ramp. There are restaurants and shops within walking distance.

We signed up ahead of time to receive notices from them and this would get us a free upgrade (if available) and gift at check in. I was tired when I checked in and forgot to ask about this. Our first room was two double beds and carpet that should have been replaced a long time ago. It was also very small.

My wife went back to the front desk and they found us a better room that they said was an upgrade because it had been updated. She asked about the gift and the desk person said they would check to see if they had any. After a few minutes the desk person wondered why my wife was still there and she reminded the desk person about the gift. She then went and retrieved a box of candy, which is about what we expected, but she didn't seem happy about having to go get it.

The second room was slightly bigger and had a king size bed. The entire space had new tile floor and it was very clean, but the mattress had the shape of a banana. We didn't feel like trying to get yet another switch, and shouldn't have to, so we went with it. We slept OK but there is no excuse for a mattress like this in a room that costs this much money.

There was an extremely small balcony/lanai that was unusable. There were two chairs and a small table but the space was so narrow that you couldn't get around the front of the chair and table to get to the second chair and barely had room for your feet if you could sit in the chairs.

The air conditioner was decent for February but I wouldn't want to rely on it in the summer heat and humidity. It also blew directly into your face when you were in bed. I adjusted the vent and it made no difference. I had to take one of the room chairs and place it in front of the A/C at night with a pillow and some other things on it to block the air so it wasn't in my face all night.

The price is way too high for the quality of the room. We did our research so we know Maui is not a cheap vacation, but we have visited Oahu and The Big Island and had better quality rooms at lower prices. We live in the Bay Area of CA so we are very familiar with "expensive." If it's the best deal you can get it's not horrible, but I would recommend looking somewhere else. We will definitely not be staying here again.

Edit after manager comment: You completely missed the issues here. Your rate is competitive for the area, but it's not just the money. If your property and the one around the corner are the same price but the accommodations at your property rate 2 stars and the one around the corner rates 4 stars, the other property is a better place to stay.

We didn't need or want a bigger room. We just wanted a quality room with a decent mattress for what we paid.

I never mentioned anything about whales or sunsets. Please don't add to my review to detract from the problems I identified at...

We booked this place through Priceline, the description was a room with microwave, refrigerator, kitchen, couch, and either and King or 2 double beds. Right after we booked this place we called and asked for a room with 2 beds, and was told they were booked and this room is all they had. The room we first got was a plain, small motel type room with a mini fridge and a small microwave, awful king size bed that would bounce every time you slightly moved. It had small bugs crawling around the sink, and it had a view of the parking lot. We complained about the bugs and was told they would spray, but it was tropical and there are bugs. I doubt that they sprayed because the bugs just never went away. We called Priceline to complain about the room and we did finally get changed to a different room that had a kitchen, living room and dining room area, it still had a king size bed but at least it was a decent bed. It had a window air conditioner that did cool the room quite well and 2 ceiling fans to circulate the air. This room also had bugs. It depended on who was at the front desk as far as a friendly staff, the first day there was an older lady, very grumpy and not at all friendly, the 2nd day there were 2 ladies and they were very friendly and helpful, those were the only times we had any contact with the staff. There is not enough parking spaces for handicap parking. We only found 4 or 5 spaces and those were usually always taken, so we had to park on the 3rd floor of the parking garage. The first 2 floors had signs that were "reserved for Owner" . These rooms are apparently owned by individual owners. The whole lower level of the parking lot should be for handicap parking and able body person's can park in the garage, there should not be reserved places for the owners since they are probably not even in Hawaii and live in the mainland most of the year, or at least let the guest staying in their room use the parking spot that is reserved for them so at least the guest had a place to park. There are also extra fees that are tacked on for cleaning and staying there that they don't tell you about until later, which was around $250 to $300 Dollars more. It was right across the street from the ocean. However we didn't have much of the ocean view from the room. We spent most of our time there sightseeing so didn't spend much time in the room anyway. This was our first time in Maui, and it was an experience we'll never forget, the views are beautiful and breathtaking . We drove the Road to Hana and yes the road is narrow and has lots of twists and turns but it's incredible to see the flowers , wildlife, the ocean views, the waterfalls along the way. We went to a Luau one night, we visited the aquarium, my daughter went snorkeling, it was a fabulous time, hopefully we will return to the area again, but would choose a different resort...

What a great place to stay! The way that these rooms are set up is it is a hotel like feel, but each of the units are individually or corporately owned. There is a staff that manages all of the rooms

When I arrived I pulled right up to the check-in building, and luckily there were not a lot of cars there because there is only a fire lane to use for temporary parking. Not horrible, you just have to take that into account.

The room that I was staying in was great. Of course you have to remember that your room will be different because there are a ton of owners. The one that I stayed in was really nice. It had one bedroom and two bathrooms, and a spacious living area.

All of the amenities that you need for a great stay are available, including utensils, coffee maker, coffee, refrigerator, and even some condiments. There was a decent sized TV and Wi-Fi that works great. My unit had a washer and dryer and also a closet with everything that I needed to go to the beach, including chairs, Matt's to lay out on, towels, and body boards. Remember, eating it might be a little bit different since they are owned by different people. There is also access to a resort pool if you would like to do that instead of go to the beach on a given day. This might be a great option for people with kids.

My room specifically had a balcony that looked out into the ocean. This complex is literally right across the street. It is a 3 minute walk to the beach. The beach was never too crowded. I went one day in the morning around 10:00 a.m. and another day around 2:00 p.m. there are public restrooms and a place to shower off your feet or other equipment that might get sandy. I really appreciate that. The beach was clean and there were lifeguards on duty.

The area is generally safe. I went on morning runs before it was light outside and felt comfortable doing so. If you want to walk to the nearby shopping center it is only a few minutes away. People are always walking up and down the sidewalks. Cars are generally respectful and are always aware of pedestrians.

All in all if you want to stay in a nice place, whether you are single, married, or have an entire family, this could be a great...