The Hotel Hana-Maui is absolutely amazing. This is the type of place that soothes your soul. It is tranquil and relaxing - perfect for romantics. My husband and I agreed it was an excellent way to begin our Hawaiian honeymoon.

We booked an ocean view sea ranch cottage but we upgraded to a deluxe ocean view upon arrival. We received a lei greeting, as well as some tasty fruit juice, and cold washrags to refresh ourselves. We could feel the stress and tension just melt right off. After a quick tour of the property in a golf cart we arrived at our cottage next to the rocky shoreline.

The cottage was spacious and decorated simply. We appreciated the wet bar and complimentary drinks and snacks (especially the delicious banana bread and whole bean Hana coffee). The bathroom was huge with a soaking tub, separate shower, and separate toilet room. I usually pass on the complimentary toiletries but in this case they were awesome and made in Maui. For the most part the room was clean, though if you looked very carefully you could find some scum buildup on the bathroom fixtures and grout. When we first walked into the room it was on the hot side so we opened the windows, which kept the room cool throughout our stay. (FYI: there is no a/c, no tv, and no alarm clock. We were glad to be away from all three, at least for a few days.) The best part of the cottage was the wall of sliding glass doors that could be opened up to screens. There was lanai (porch) outside with chairs and an end table. This is the perfect place to enjoy a fresh brewed cup of Hana coffee and enjoy the sunrise. I hesitate to mention it, but there is a possibility you will encounter bugs and geckos in and around your cottage. We only saw a few and weren't really bothered but some people may feel differently.

The grounds are meticulously manicured. The hotel restaurant and lounge both served wonderful meals - we particularly enjoyed breakfasts. The restaurant is fancier and reservations are appreciated in the evenings. The lounge is a good alternative. You can order off the restaurant menu or the lounge menu. The lounge has a relaxed dress code, reservations are not needed, and in the evening there is live entertainment.

The hotel grounds are on the shoreline but it is rocky with no beach. There are, however, several beaches nearby. Hotel Hana-Maui guests enjoy complimentary services at Hamoa Beach, including chairs, towels, and use of complimentary snorkels and boogie boards. When we visited the conditions for boogie boarding and body surfing were excellent but snorkeling wasn't so good. There is a shuttle running between the hotel and Hamoa beach during the day. A beautiful red sand beach is a 5-10 minute hike from the sea ranch cottages and it was absolutely amazing.

The road to Hana is incredible and I would recommend that everyone take it. Don't try to do it all in one day - stay at least one or two nights in Hana. Trust me, you will not regret it.

Myself and my new wife stopped at the hotel for 7 nights as the middle part of our honeymoon after 3 nights in Vegas - what a difference!! We stopped for 4 nights in a cheaper Bay cottage then switched (as arranged) to an Ocean view sea ranch cottage with spa.

First things first - the drive from Kahului is fantastic but a bit stressful especially if doing it in the dark after a long flight like we were. The drive back to the airport in the day was much better and we could see the spectacular scenery. It does however cut you off from the rest of the island unless you fancy spending 4-5 hours in the car - if you want to travel round the island, this hotel should not be your base. If like us however you want to totally switch off, relax and have a total break from it, this place is ideal. The grounds are fantastic and green, especially down near the bay where the sea ranch cottages are - we especially enjoyed the little pitch and putt golf course - watch out for the golf buggies however - they are biggest hazard!

Breakfast and dinner are served from the dining room which overlooks the Ocean in the distance. Breakfast was great (try the Eggs Benedict) and kept us going until Dinner every day. Dinner in the main restaurant was also very good, with other cheaper options being in the bar and at the Hana Ranch (on Wed & Fri only) although the food and service at the Ranch reflected the cheaper prices.

Rooms - the garden rooms are good if not spectacular for the price. Big main room with double bed, separate good size bathroom with sunken bath and walk in shower and separate living area which opens up onto a shared balcony. The living area contains a fridge which is refilled each day with water and coke etc which is a nice touch.

If you can afford it, go for a sea ranch cottage, they are in a separate part of the grounds from the bay rooms, conveniently located overlooking the ocean (its not a beach) and next to the pool facility. The cottages are generally bigger, more refined and have a better feel - I will remember the view from ours for the rest of my life.

We also had a spa treatment included in our rate - we went for a couple lomi lomi massage which I would recommend.

Other recommendations - go to the Ola Gulch national park (probably spelt that wrong) and go swimming in the cascading pools. Its about 30 mins further down the coast from Hana.

One strange thing I did notice about was the amount of travellers there with laptops in the club room day after day - perhaps a US traveller could explain this one to me as I never see this on holiday in Europe.

We stayed for one night on our honeymoon, and wish we could have stayed for much longer.

We rented a deluxe sea ranch cottage. It had a large bed, bathroom, kitchenette, living room, and spacious deck. The sliding doors on the front of the cottage were ceiling high and could be opened so that the entire front of the cottage was screened in. There is no air conditioning in the cottage, but with the screen doors and overhead fan it was not a problem. The cottages are tastefully decorated and come with a basket of bannana bread, pineapple, and other snacks.

The grounds are beautiful. There are many banyan and plumeria trees. From many of the cottages you can see the ocean and the church's in tiny Hana are the tallest structures on this side of the mountain. The pool and hot tub are ringed with lava rock. We also visited the spa which was equipped with a steam room and cold plunge pool, as well as its own large lava rock hot tub. Below the check-in and dining building is another pool and a building where they offer complimentary yoga classes.

The dining room served a good dinner that consisted mostly of locally sourced ingredients. Getting between the dining room, pools, and the room is accomplished by walking the grounds paths or by calling for a complimentary ride on a golf cart.

The staff was very friendly and helpful. It seemed that most of them grew up in Hana.

This was probably the most relaxing place that my wife and I have ever stayed. The pace was slow and the grounds uncrowded in November. There was no television, radio, or clock in the room to distract us. It felt like being in a secluded jungle paradise on the ocean, which in fact is exactly what it is.

The Hotel Hana is very expensive relative to most places that we have stayed, thus the short stay. However, if this place is within your budget then I feel that it provides good value for the cost.

We just returned from two wonderfully relaxing nights at the Hotel Hana Maui. After spending six nights at Ka'anapali with its "Disney World" atmosphere, we were a bit apprehensive that the Road to Hana would lead us to Dullsville. We couldn't have been more wrong!

We managed to miss the throngs of daytrippers and tour buses by starting the drive later in the day. We passed Kahului just after 12 noon on a Wednesday and arrived at the hotel right at 3pm (this included a lunch break on the road, at a state wayside point that counted a menagerie of chickens and feral cats as inhabitants - quite amusing!!!). As such, we found ourselves alone on the road for much of the drive, which made it more enjoyable. That being said, we did not stop to see any of the sights along the road, given we had a convertible and our luggage was visible in the back seat.

Upon arriving at the hotel, we were greeting with sweet-smelling leis, a glass of cold juice, and chilled lemon-scented towels - quite refreshing after the long drive. We were taken to our sea-ranch cottage via golf cart, and then discovered that there was a parking lot within a few feet of our cottage. Quite convenient!

The cottage was lovely! It was *very* clean, bright, and breezy with a spectacular view of the ocean. We were given a welcome basket with a mango, banana bread, dried fruits, nuts, and chocolate macadamia nut candy. There was also a refrigerator stocked with water, Diet Coke, and Coke (complementary). We spent our first hour out on our private deck, enjoying the view and having some refreshments. As the previous poster mentioned, there was a can of Raid in the closet. However, we never saw any bugs in our cottage. Ah well - better to be prepared, I suppose? It is a tropical location, after all. We didn't experience any problems (we did have a bug problem at our resort in Ka'anapali, however!!!).

That night we ate at the Hana Ranch Restaurant, which was a five-ten minute walk through the hotel grounds and down the road. A relaxed place, the menu didn't have a lot of options; however the food was good and not as pricey as the hotel's main restaurant. We enjoyed looking out at the ocean and listening to some live music.

The next day, I took advantage of the complementary morning yoga class (with Laney - who was a great teacher), while my husband put on his running shoes for the trek up to Fagan's Cross (visible from the resort, as it is 30 ft. tall and perched on a high hill). He reports that the run was very challenging - a great option for runners who wish to continue training while on vacation.

Our room rate included daily breakfast at the hotel's main restaurant. We were allowed to pick one entree, as well as one fruit-based "side", such as freshly squeezed juice, a smoothie, etc. A nice touch, as I was prepared for the typical "continental" fare normally reserved for "included daily breakfasts" at other places I've stayed. The service at the restaurant was relaxed, but I wouldn't call it slow.

We ordered a picnic lunch to be delivered to us at Hamoa Beach later in the afternoon. This was pricey ($40 for two). Each box lunch included a large sandwich or wrap, two cookies, fresh fruit salad, and a bag of chips. Honestly, had we split a wrap and the salad, each had a cookie, and shared the bag of chips, it would have been more than enough for us and would have only cost $20! Before going to Hamoa Beach, we walked over to a red sand beach and a black sand beach for some photo opportunities.

Hamoa Beach was fantastic - it was exactly how I imagined a Hawaiian Beach would be. There is complementary shuttle service to the beach - or, you can drive there (I also heard there is a walking trail to it). There was a beach attendant who gave us fair warning regarding the tide and roughness of the surf that day. It was nice to have beach chairs, towels, and umbrellas waiting for us, free of charge (as compared with the exorbitant $40/day charge at our Ka'anapali resort for beach chairs with an umbrella!). We spent a few hours at the beach, playing in the ocean, eating our delicious box lunches (delivered as promised), and people watching.

Afterwards, we returned to the hotel and relaxed by the Wellness Pool. The pool bar had a nice selection of snacks and drinks (which were not watered down, like our other resort's drinks). We were also offered complementary chilled bottles of water.

Although we did not book any spa services, we did take advantage of the sauna/cold plunge pool experience. One saunas for a few minutes, then plunges into a cold pool for a minute and repeats. My goodness, the cold plunge was.... COLDDDD! However, it was fun and felt really nice after the initial shock wears off! :-) We spent a few hours reading in the spa's garden, which was beautifully landscaped and very serene. Although we tried the beautiful lava rock hot tub, the temperature was a bit too hot for our day-old sunburned legs to take.

We were invited to partake in a pupu/cocktail reception at the Plantation House; this was fun and we met the hotel's General Manager, who just took the helm two months ago (former Hyatt with 30 years of hotel experience). Sounds like he will do a lot of good for this place, which seems to have suffered from inconsistent service in years past.

We enjoyed the tasting dinner at the hotel's main restaurant in the evening. It was very, very expensive ($300). The food was flavorful and the wine pairings were spot on, but I am not sure I would say it was worth what we paid. Given that it was our last night, we thought we'd splurge... but I wouldn't do it again. Next time, we'll likely eat our meals at the less expensive Paniolo Bar.

Overall, we enjoyed staying here immensely and plan to return. We simply adored our cottage and with only 1.5 days at the resort, we didn't take advantage of the 3-hole golf, the bikes, the full suite of spa services, the workout room, the hammocks, the horseback excursions, the croquet, or any of the nearby sights (O'heo Gulch, Venus Pool, etc.). Next time, we plan to stay at least 3 full days, so that we can relax as well as have enough time to do all of the things that are available.

You will not find a bunch of things to do in Hana - that much is true. However, if you enjoy the outdoors, there are plenty of athletic choices as well as relaxing sightseeing that can be done, which is where we found most of Hana's charm. We can't wait to return!