Mana Kai Maui — Hotel in Maui

We stayed at Mana Kai during our first visit to Hawai'i. I used my Visa points to book 5 nights at Mana Kai Maui for my honeymoon and this resort was absolutely beautiful. The beach is stunning with a sandy beach and also a grassy lawn to lay out on with palm trees for some shade. It was beautiful and so peaceful and romantic walking the beach for sunrise and snuggling up to watch the sunsets. Our visit was right after the whales had left but we saw some stragglers from the beach some of the nights we were here! The lava rocks at this beach are home to a wonderful little snorkel location! The visibility wasn't amazing the days we were here but the snorkeling right off the beach around the lava rocks was still outstanding! We saw turtles most of the days we were here; one morning we saw 5! We visited several other beaches to snorkel at and the snorkeling off the beach here was my favourite of those we visited. Since this resort is at the outskirts of Kihei it felt very quiet and secluded while still being in walking distance to shops and restaurants. There is a great little path along the coast that connects the resort to a more built up area of Kihei. One afternoon we walked the beach in the other direction to the beach path in Wailea to get a drink at one of the big resorts in Wailea and to visit the shopping center there. Our room was small but contained all of the necessary amenities and since the resort is not in a busy part of town we were able to sleep with the windows open every night and not be disturbed by traffic noise (and I am a very light sleeper). After getting more familiar with Kihei I am so glad I booked this resort as the location truly was so beautiful.

As for other amenities at the resort, during our stay, the 2 restaurants at the resort were closed, which was unfortunate, as it would have been nice to be able to enjoy a fancy meal or drink right at the resort. We arrived after the front desk closed and despite there being some initial worries with the phone number supplied not being answered, the young man working security was tremendously friendly and got us into our room with no issues! We booked a snorkeling tour through the lovely lady working at the activities desk (I'm sorry I forget your name!) and she got us booked onto a tour with very short notice and with a tour company that I hadn't come across in my own research! I am quite extensive with researching activities and excursions, but sometimes it pays off to just use the people whose job it is to help you find activities to do! She made me a plumeria pin for my hair which made me feel extra special!

Overall, the seclusion, the quiet and romantic feel of this resort, and the unbelievably beautiful beach made this resort the perfect place to celebrate our honeymoon as travelers who are budget conscious who still appreciate feeling a little but luxurious. If you are looking for a resort with lots of activities, lots of amenities, and lots of staff to cater to your needs this may not be the right fit for you, but if you are looking for a laid back, romantic, casually elegant but no frills experience, you will love this resort. The beach here truly was "heaven on Earth!" I think the price of this resort would have been out of my budget had I not used rewards points but I do not regret spending my points on my stay here! I would love to return in the future for an anniversary once I accumulate enough...

I booked 3 nights at the Mana Kai Maui as an extension of a another trip with my girlfriend. My terrible experience started the day prior to my arrival when I called the hotel the day prior to see about upgrading to an ocean view room. I was met with the rudest front desk attendant Paula who talked in circles to tell me she didn’t know and she couldn’t tell me til the following day. So when she texted me the following day with the door code I again inquired and she said “she couldn’t because she was leaving at 5:30.” It was 5 and I said I’d be over in 20 min- maybe she could take credit card info over the phone. She answered with “no because I need my manager to show me the new system and nope sorry not tonight.” LITERALLY no effort to accommodate or TAKE MY MONEY. Then we get to the hotel where you call to check in because NOBODY WORKS ON PROPERTY AFTER 5pm and she answers (hiding behind the closed desk window) saying well maybeeeeee I can call Winston the manager and maybe he’ll call you back maybe he won’t. And she also said she couldn’t do it because she “had a lot of things to do.” —again talking in circles. Do you want my money or not?! Winston never called. So we found his number on the directory and left a message never heard from him. Checked in the next day with the desk who “had note of this” but couldn’t upgrade us without moving us each night. Which made TOTAL sense- not sure why Paula couldn’t articulate this from the beginning. Then fast forward to our last night when we got home to COCKROACHES in our room and all windows and doors had been closed. We tried to call the front desk for a new room, help with killing it- idk anything but again. EVERYONE leaves the property at 5:30. Also of note the restaurant there does not serve breakfast or lunch so plan to have a car. Apparently there are also plan to remodel it in two weeks so I imagine that won’t be entirely peaceful. Which is disappointing as their food was pretty good. The general store next to it is stocked 1/3 full and the woman that works there is almost more rude than the staff at Mana Kai who power wash the lobby EVERY morning and yell at you to go around (I’m not joking) There is a rental place next to hotel chairs $10 a day but no umbrellas so buy your own at the ABC store. All in all the location is fabulous but I have never felt more disregarded by staff working in the hospitality industry. And all I wanted was to spend more money and not have cockroaches. Still no call...

We were there on our honeymoon, and after some mishaps at the wedding, we were looking forward to our trip; little did we know it would be a disaster. When we arrived, they told us that the restaurant and general store were closed, so we had no food or drinks available. We didn't rent a car as the plan was to enjoy and relax at the resort and then have a day or two to explore Maui via uber; unfortunately, since there was no restaurant/bar or general store, we had to Uber way more than expected. We spent so much money and got little return on it. The only nice thing was access to the beach, but that is relatively standard at (almost) any resort and the maid service was pretty responsive and nice. The room was small and had a glass sliding door for the bathroom. When we asked about the honeymoon package we were supposed to receive, we were told that they didn't know anything about it and asked where we would see something like that. I sent them the email, and once they received it, they apologized and told us they'd get back to us. We didn't hear back until after we had told our travel agent all the information. It was such a bad experience and so disheartening as we had expected a lovely honeymoon, especially for the amount we paid and after our mishaps at the wedding. In addition, we were told the resort couldn't hold our bags (and if they did that, it would have to be before 5 pm because when the front desk closes) but that we could leave them in the lobby and use their facilities as needed. It wasn't until our travel agent called that they let us stay in the room until 8 pm since our flight left at 11 pm. However, they called us around 11 am to ask if we had permission for a late checkout and that they were ready to clean our room, but our stuff was still there. This was just human error, but with all the other added problems, it was just what we had expected from the resort. We both wish we had just stayed home. It...