Oh my gosh! We stayed at this place when we were in Hawaii for a wedding. We were at the Fairmont Kea Lani for the first part of our trip (the bride and groom footed the bill for the first 4 days) and moved to the Mana Kai for the portion of the trip that we were paying for. When I first stepped foot into our room at the Mana Kai, I actually cried. It was such a dump! The room looked exacty like the picture from the website-just from about 20 years ago. We had a 2 bedroom "condo"....don't be fooled, this isn't a condo, it's 2 seperate rooms that are joined by another door that was a total afterthought. So while we had enough room for everyone, the AC was in the other "room" and did not offer my husband and I any releif from the 100 degree heat. Not that I would have been able to sleep anyway, as the bed dipped so badly in the middle it was like sleeping in a taco. The sheets were scratchy, the bathroom was disgusting and the furniture was older than me. The "master" bedroom was actually an efficiency that had a sliding room divider for privacy, but it was not a seperate room. The kitchen had bugs, there was bird poop all over the patio and the walls are paper thin. This was a devistating experience, especially after staying at the Fairmont. I wasn't expecting the Mana Kai to be 5 stars, but the pictures that were on the website (from which we based our decision to stay there) were truely false advertising. What a dissapointment.

Stayed in Unit 803 and my friends and I couldn't have been happier. Tish, the condo owner was super sweet. I had found her rental online through VRBO and highly recommend booking through here as you know exactly what kind of unit you are getting. The condo was immaculate - 1 bdrm, 2 baths. Very nice and clean with everything you needed. Condo was also on top floor so it was much quieter without anyone above and we were far up enough that you didnt hear the people down by the pool. The location was awesome too. Right off the beach and the views were heavenly. It was my first visit to Maui and we cannot WAIT to go back! Thanks Tish - we had a great stay at your place!

We stayed at the Mana Kai , room 611 in Kehei, Maui from 7/27-8/6/2007.
Rented thru Alii Resorts.
We wanted to stay at a beach front condo--- wanted to walk out the door to the beach. (ie, not have to cross a street or walk a mile) This place was awsome!! The photos were right on, in that what I saw in the photos, was what I saw when I walked into the condo. It was breathtaking!! The view was spectacular!! We were able to go out on the beach and snorkel, body surf, swim, relax.

We went to sleep with our slider door wide open.....watching and hearing the ocean and awoke w/the same. It was quiet, peaceful, romantic and fun.
We were off the main crowded beaches. Some of the reviews that I read from some of the condos on the crowded beaches were that it was too noisy and busy.

Our bedroom faced the ocean, right off the living room. Most of the condos we looked at had bedrooms over the parking lots.

My 13 yr old son was in heaven in that his room had a closing door, had air conditioning, a TV, DVD player.

The only drawback for me was the tradewinds. Laying on the sand on the beach with sunscreen, I got totally sand blasted!!
However, these tradewinds made Kehei comfortable. My husb doesnt prefer the intense heat, so he was very happy there.

The room was not all updated and highly fancy, but that didnt matter to us. It was clean with a spectacular view and right on the beach!!
If you want a beach front condo, with a breathtaking view, this is the place!!

My favorite place to eat was "Jaws" , a taco stand (well truck, that is!!) which was down towards Makena. He made the best fish taco ever!!
After, we encountered a local selling coconuts. He shucked one, we drank the milk, he talked about the young coconuts being the best and how the milk is supposed to be clear, not white. Then he cut the coconut for us to eat. It was the best!!

Now, if you want to snorkel with sea turtles------Go to Kaanapali area and snorkel at Black rock(or black point). We swam and snorkeled w/huge sea turtles!!! It was amazing!!!

Dont forget to visit the blow hole past Napili.

We just returned from an 11 night stay at the Mana Kai Maui and can't say enough about what a great condo it was! We were on the 6th floor, Deluxe-Ocean Front View and boy what a view it was! Please don't worry about the no A/C - you leave the huge sliding glass doors open 24/7 and the Ocean breeze keeps it just perfect - not only that you can hear the waves continuously all night long!

The maid service was great - they were there every day and even cleaned up our dishes when we did leave them. We had no trouble with any locals, the resort has hired security which maintains a visible presence near the pool and on the grounds and they are constantly watching for locals. The front desk was always friendly and available when we needed them (we arrived late afternoon) and didn't have to leave till late at night as well. One nice suprise was the day we left - they kept our luggage for us and let us use the facilities that whole day (we had a 9 pm flight) and they even let us clean up and shower so we wouldn't have to get on the plane all sticky and sandy!

Zacks was a great little convenience - and yes some items were pricey - but the necessities were the same prices as any local convenience store. Their coffee was always hot and fresh, anytime of day!

This was our 5th trip to Hawaii (our 2nd to Maui) and we have always stayed in condos - but the location and service of this resort / for the price you pay - has beat out all the others for us. We have two teenage boys that went with us and in the past we have spent a lot of time driving them around to find a good beach with good snorkeling and boogie boarding. Not this time! They were content (and even asked to stay there and not go anywhere else for the last 4 days) to stay at the condo and beach for the majority of the time.

The snorkeling over the reefs just to the right of the beach was exceptional. Some of the best we've seen, especially early in the morning when the waves were calm. We had a couple really great boogie boarding days as well right there.

Yes they were working on the elevators all during our stay - I have to agree with the rest of the reviews - it was a nuscience however - hey you're on Maui - it was worth a little inconvenience, and they are scheduled to be completely done with the elevator work in early September. It looked like most of the other remodeling in the hallways had been complete, the ones we ventured to anyways. They were working on a couple of the rooms but to me it's always good to see a place working to improve. Two missing things - which are not necessities, but nice to have - bar-b-que grills and free wi-fi. We didn't mess with the internet (even though the teenagers wanted it), you had to call a number and give them a credit card, and the teens survived. As far as the bar-b-que grill - we headed over the Kamole Beach 3 for an evening picnic and used the grills there, which made for a nice change - just not as convenient if we could have grilled right there.

Overall - it was a top-notch stay and we are definitely planning on returning, and would recommend this resort to any of our friends and family!