Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows — Hotel in Maui

Disappointment is the simplest summary of our stay at RLR. There's so much unrealized potential at this resort that our final reaction upon leaving was one of frustration. The location is amazing. But the service and quality of accommodations was underwhelming to say the least. I was optimistic after reading recent reviews and direct email correspondence with the resort prior to booking, but we were seriously let down.

I booked a Deluxe Oceanfront King Bungalow only after being told that all had been "recently renovated." They have an entirely different definition of "recently" than the rest of the world. The manager spoke to us as we were checking out, and continued to insist the bungalows had been renovated "sometime in the past 8 years." To me that's a marketing ploy -- a lie basically.

The mini split system air conditioner was installed circa 2014. It had a terrible time maintaining a constant temperature overnight, and often made noises like a jet engine revving up for take off. The sound proofing between units is horrible. We heard every word of the berating argument of our neighbors at 1 AM the first night. The one night someone stayed in the studio above us, it sounded like a herd of elephants.

No one noted when we checked in that housekeeping was shorthanded and would only be in every other day. Of course, they came in on random days, only to swap out towels and make the bed, hardly ever replenishing soap or paper supplies. We had to ask for a Privacy door tag, and it was promptly stolen the first day. The floors had a dirty film that turned our feet black. There was mold on a lot of the bathroom molding. The window shades were torn and frayed from years of abuse. The cushions on the lounge chairs on the patio were stained and so old they offered no actual cushioning. The shower was weak and the head leaked despite efforts to tighten it. Most disgusting was the bathroom sink faucets that leaked some kind of black moldy goo from the hot water faucet every time I used the cold water.

We also were surprised that they charge a "resort fee" when they have fairly limited amenities. The two pools are woefully undersized for the resort and in need of repairs. The spa was permanently capped. No chairs or umbrellas were on the beach. The pool bar closes at 5 PM! Though they make surprisingly good cocktails, better than the restaurant bar. We only ate twice in the restaurant and they were bland and underwhelming for the prices, even acknowledging Maui inflated prices. The experience was odd, sitting there sipping cocktails, with kids playing Marco Polo in the pool right in front of the restaurant...

Another surprise that angered me was the fee for parking. The booking I made said $30 per day for self parking, $37 for valet. When we checked out the bill showed $35 per day for self parking! Their excuse was that they have been trying to get 3rd party booking to update the advertised prices... But they would not honor what we were promised in our booking.

This resort is one of the older ones in Maui and even with the circa 2014 updates, it shows since those were superficial. We were told the tower units were last refurbished "long before that." The manager confirmed a notice that was left in our room that the bungalows are going to be totally gutted and refurbished starting May 2023. They will still be simple motel rooms on a spectacular beach, but at least clean and updated. They might finally be worth the prices they charge, though I fully expect their rates to increase.

We booked this through Diamond Resorts -- Hilton Grand Vacation Club now. They will not allow you to make a guest booking here. Why? Who knows. It's a stupid rule for some of their affiliated resorts. That's OK; I wouldn't subject any friends or family to this place until they upgrade the rooms. The only reason I didn't give them a 1 star rating is for the location on a fantastic wide beach. Even after they refurbish I would be a bit hesitant to go back or recommend them without clear evidence of the...

Review for Royal Lahaina Resort – Disappointing Experience

I recently stayed at the Royal Lahaina Resort in Maui, booking through Costco Travel. While our trip to Maui was meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, our stay at this hotel was not quite what we had hoped for.

I specifically searched for a room that would accommodate three people, entering my daughters' ages (10 and 14) during the booking process. The search resulted in a king room with the option of a rollaway bed, which I requested, thinking it would be a better fit for us than two full beds. However, upon check-in, I was advised to look at the room first before confirming the rollaway. When I asked again, I was informed that it would cost an additional $90 per night—an unexpected expense that was not within my budget. As a single mom trying to create special memories for my daughters, this was disappointing.

By the fourth night of sharing a bed, we became sleep-deprived and cranky, often needing extra sleep during the day to make up for what we lost at night. To add to this, our view was not truly of the ocean—we could only see it from the far left edge of the patio. While the view itself was beautiful, it was not the full ocean view that had been advertised, which was a major factor in choosing this hotel over others.

Additionally, there was a constant loud exhaust fan that never stopped, preventing us from keeping the patio door open and completely drowning out any sound of the ocean. This was extremely frustrating, as one of the things we had most looked forward to was hearing the waves at night.

On top of these inconveniences, the elevators were not always functional. There were multiple times when we had to wait over ten minutes for an elevator, only for it to arrive full of other frustrated guests. This made getting around the hotel difficult, especially after long days of exploring.

Another major issue was the lack of housekeeping service. The hotel's policy states that housekeeping is provided every other day, but we went over three days in a row without receiving any service. This meant we ran out of toilet paper, had constantly overflowing garbage cans, and were stuck with wet towels, which made our stay feel even more uncomfortable. We texted the number provided for the front desk but never received a response. When we called, we were placed on hold for over ten minutes at a time. Eventually, I had to go down to the front desk myself to ask for basic necessities, and I was surprised to see that the front desk staff was not busy at all. I’m not sure where the disconnect was, but it left us feeling like we were not getting the service we paid for.

While the resort itself is beautiful and the location is undeniably stunning, the lack of transparency regarding extra fees, the misleading room view, the constant noise from the exhaust fan, the frustrating elevator situation, and the poor housekeeping service left us feeling let down. For future travelers, I recommend confirming all additional costs in advance, clarifying the exact room view before booking, and being prepared for potential service issues.

This was a very special trip for us, and while we made wonderful memories in Maui, I wish our hotel experience had been more aligned with our...

I first would like to say that Google says this is a four star hotel, but I disagree.

We could feel the springs/coils of the mattress poking through.

There was black, what I assume to be mold, in the grout in the shower. The shower is in a separate room with the toilet that only has one decorative light, so the shower is very dark and the room doesn’t have good ventilation. The shower/toilet room smelled like humid urine when we first walked in.

I appreciated having an extra hand towel and bath towel.

Self parking is usually fairly far away.

We booked through Costco so we had trusted that it would be a decent place. We were placed on floor 3, which is the first floor after the lobby (there is no 2nd floor). It was nice to be able to use the stairs, since there was often a line for the elevators. But we could hear everything going on outside including the nightly Luaus.

I was told the housekeeping would come every other day. They finally came and replaced our towels and did nothing else. Didn’t make the bed, didn’t swap out the used coffee cups, no cleaning, nothing. I called the front desk who transferred me to housekeeping who never answered; I left a voicemail and never heard anything else.

The food at the daily breakfast buffet is very bland. They made a “quiche” one day that was just egg cups with some green onion on top. No crust, no flavor. It’s been akin to a continental breakfast rather than something you’d expect at a four star hotel. Heck, we ate breakfast at the American Express Centurion Lounge lounge before flying here, and it was the same boring potatoes and flavorless eggs, but the Amex lounge at least had more appealing options to accompany it! And watch out- I thought I was going to get diabetes from the guava fruit juice - super sweet is an understatement!

I’m writing this from the room and as I look around, I see how dirty this room is (not from me), like gunk smeared on the glass of one of the pictures hanging on the wall that was just never cleaned, the glass doors were never cleaned, it goes on and on... They were painting the hall while we were here and it smelled horrendous. This just seems like a budget hotel that is trying too hard, unsuccessfully. And they give you a room key on a dumb wristband. I don’t want to wear that all over the place - why can’t I have a card I can put in my wallet and not have to wear when I’m out in the sun?

Oh, and the mowers were out at 9:30 am for some reason. We got to the pool, and had to wait for them to string trim the edge of the grass around the pool. But they like stood there not doing anything while all these people were waiting to get their seats back, and then ended up only doing a small portion of the area and just left the rest of it undone. Then they didn’t blow all the grass off the cement. Very tacky for the timing and it being incomplete.

The plug in one of the room’s lamps doesn’t work. The old cord for the lamp that was cut is hanging...