We recently stayed at this hotel and had a great time. Our room was renovated and very spacious. Me and my husband were traveling with 2 kids (12 and 15). Our room had 2 full beds in the bedroom and the kids alternated nights on the couch (sleeper sofa was uncomfortable, so they opted to sleep on the couch instead).

We did sign something at check in about the 50 dollar deposit for towels, but never had to do anything. When we wanted towels, we simply asked the front desk and that was all - NO DEPOSIT was ever requested and at the end of the day we simply put the wet towels in a basket and got fresh ones in the morning. The information in the room states that housekeeping is only twice a week unless you pay extra, but housekeeping came everyday and cleaned our room (including the dishes). We booked our stay through Hotels.com and maybe that was why. They charge 13 dollars a day for parking (self or valet).

We were not pressured at all to sit through a timeshare meeting. We told the concierge that we weren't interested and that was that. The concierge was helpful at booking excursions, but I recommended shopping around a bit. They do give you discounted rates, but you may be able to get even more discounted rates through the countless activity wholesalers you'll see advertised in every pamphlet or magazine.

Tips:
-The Star Market accross the street is extremely expensive. The Safeway in Lahaina is a little cheaper. (everything is expensive in Hawaii)
-Heard good reviews about Bubba Gumps, but was disappointed when we ate there. Recommend eating at Leilani's.
-We used the book "Maui Revealed" to guide us on the road to Hana instead of the much advertised CD. Start out as early as possible.
-We went bottom fishing instead of sport fishing, since me and my 12 year old niece were not likely to haul in a Marlin. Everyone caught fish (the biggest was a 18 lb snapper). We used Absolute Fishing and rented the whole boat for 4 hours for $550.
- We also did horseback riding (Ironwood Stables), helicopter tour (Air Maui) and Snorkel tour to Molokini and turtle town (Quicksilver) - we enjoyed all of it.

This is a huge and beautiful resort. Unfortunately, when you have multiple elevators down at a huge and beautiful resort, you have a huge problem! I literally waited 20 minutes for an elevator to arrive once. It was not practical to take the stairs with luggage, etc.. There was also a long walk to the few working elevators in the resort. When checking out, we commented to the desk staff that the elevator situation was a huge inconvenience. He responded, with major attitude "that's out of our control."

On our second night, our TV blew out. It was replaced however the whole ordeal took a couple of hours.

On the third night, the alarm clock blew out. It took only an hour to get a new one. The person who brought it up had no idea how to set it or the alarm. He handed me his copy of the manual- so that I could figure it out myself. Customer service, anyone?

The food at the resort was mediocre, at best. My friend got sick- for the rest of the day after eating at the breakfast buffet.

Enough complaining, here's the good stuff:

Housekeeping staff- great!
Concierge- great the first time (unhelpful the second time)
Magic show/breakfast welcome- great!
Birds in lobby- great!
Front desk staff, when checking in- great! (awful when checking out)
Suite- lovely!
Location- great!

We stayed in a one bedroom oceanfront on the eight floor. We rented from the owner directly the week of January 4-11 2008. We decided to stay here because we had previously toured the hotel and we were shown a one bedroom apartment which we liked. The apartment we were shown was newly renovated, but the one we were given upon check in was not - there was no flat screen tv or new furniture. You may want to ask at check in if they can give you a renovated unit. The pull-out sofa is not exactly comfy to sleep on.

Overall I was disappointed with a few things - one, the pool is in deep need of maintenance, there are cracks on the bottom and sides; two, there was a heavy smell as soon as you headed on the beach to the left to walk, I believe there is some water maintenance or some sort of similar facility close by where the smell comes from. The balcony is so small you can barely sit there on a chair, you get light headed since you are so close to the edge. Location is not great either - there are two-three hotels close to each other in this area, and there are some stores right across, but this area is nothing like the nice stretch of beach and nightlife at Kaanapali Beach (where the Westin, Marriott Ocean Club and Hyatt Regency are).

On a positive note, the grounds on the property are well kept, and the units are in decent condition. The hotel prices for food are typical for Hawaii - overpriced, mediocre food, expensive cocktail drinks in plastic glasses. The new covers on the pool chairs (they are naturally pink to match the horrible color of the hotel) are very comfy - they did not have them when we were there in May 2007 - but they are soaking wet in the morning - and it takes a while before they dry. Finding dry chairs at 7 am was always a challenge.

Overall, I would not stay here again. It is ok but nothing spectacular, especially for the price. We will stay at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club in December 2008, see how that compares.

Having stayed at the former Embassy/Sunterra version in Poipu, we were expecting comparable things from the Maui property. We were quite disappointed; our kids, ages 13, 15, and 17, said that they wouldn't go back. Our room, 603, was terrible - no tub, cheap shower curtain, broken telephone-style nozzle with clogged holes, minimal water pressure. Access to the bathroom was only through the bedroom. During the timeshare presentation on day 5, we realized that we were in a handicapped room that hadn't yet been renovated - our bad luck. The standard rooms are really quite lovely, not that we got to try one out. Hotel has a policy regarding towels, each of which requires a $50 deposit. Two days into our visit, my sons put their towels on a pool chair and went for a swim. Thirty minutes later, the sacred towels were gone, along with a room card. The concierge was unsympathetic, so there we were, down $100 already. Timeshare salespeople were fierce. After 3 hours, the saleswoman went into the lobby and tried to sell to my kids. I still can't believe it!